THUNDER BAY — For only the second time in about half a century, a Thunder Bay lawyer will head the Ontario Bar Association.
Katy Commisso moves up in September from her current post as lst vice-president to assume the leadership of an organization that serves as the voice of the legal profession and represents over 16,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, academics and students across the province.
The graduate of Lakehead University's Bora Laskin law faculty has lived in Thunder Bay for the past dozen years or so, and has strong family roots in the community.
She has a varied practice in litigation and is a partner with Buset LLP.
Commisso feels it's significant for Northwestern Ontario to have an area lawyer serving as president.
"Part of the reason I ran for this position a couple years back is that I think it's important the Ontario Bar Association is reflective of the regional diversity of our members. We have a strong membership in the region, so I think it's frankly about time that there's a lawyer from the Northwest leading the OBA," she told Newswatch.
Commisso said her mandate will be focused on supporting lawyers through various transitions they may experience in their lives and in their careers.
"Some obvious examples are for early-career lawyers, to find those first jobs and build confidence. The OBA has kind of like a mentorship portal, so I'm looking to expand upon and build those resources further. For mid-career lawyers looking to make changes to different opportunities, perhaps go in-house, becoming parents, that's something I've just gone through and it certainly impacts how you approach decisions relating to your careers."
Commisso said her experience with lawyers in the Thunder Bay region is that they are generally leaders.
"The principles of civility that apply to our profession, and access-to-justice issues, those are goals that the OBA also holds dear. The goals are pretty compatible with the way lawyers practise, basically, in Thunder Bay."
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