The Interns had the pleasure of meeting with Sheena Weir, the Executive Director of the Law Society of Ontario. Created through an act in 1797, the Law Society of Ontario governs Ontario’s lawyers and paralegals and protects the public by ensuring high standards of learning, competence and professional conduct. The LSO is the largest Law Society in Canada and is responsible for 57,000 licensed lawyers and 10,000 licensed paralegals.
We had a lengthy and enlightening discussion about the role of the LSO, its governance, the protocol for the election of “benchers” to the Board of Directors, the Covid-19 pandemic response, and equality, diversity, and inclusion within the society.
Ms. Weir was also happy to share a little bit about her career journey. She has been working at the LSO for more than two decades, but her previous professional experience was in government and public affairs. We talked about the changes that Sheena has witnessed during her time at LSO, and some of the current policy areas and initiatives that LSO is actively working on.
We would like to extend our gratitude to Sheena Weir for meeting with us and to the Law Society of Ontario for their generous support of the Ontario Legislature Internship Programme!