Canadian Lawyer

38 www.canadianlawyermag.com INHOUSE INTERVIEWS FEATURE DINA MAXWELL Company: PwC Canada Title: Chief Privacy Officer & Intellectual Property Lead Leading internal data protection and IP strategy for one of Canada's top professional services firms Dina Maxwell's entry into privacy law started in a newsroom. After her first year at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law, she worked as a reporter in New Brunswick. Assigned to a government consultation on access to information legislation, she recalls, "To others, [it] might sound a little bit dry, but I found it fascinating." That experience sparked an interest law school hadn't yet ignited. "15 years later, here we are." When Maxwell was called to the bar in 2010, privacy law was still niche. "You didn't necessarily have the same opportunities to focus on privacy and data in the same way that you do now," she says. Her first role was at a privacy research firm. "That's when I started getting into the study of privacy law," she says. But she missed litigation. "A pure research role didn't quite feel like the right fit," she says. Returning to private practice, she worked in litigation but continued to build a privacy practice "off the corner of my desk." She later took a year off. "I felt this sense of just constantly going and going," she says. "It was a transformative year." That clarity led her to PwC, where she first worked externally on GDPR compliance. Eventually, she joined in-house. "I started out as senior legal counsel, and then I was promoted to chief privacy officer," she says. Now, her small team oversees data protection, incident response, vendor contracts, and more. "We are very, very bought into technology," she says. On AI: "It's almost like you think you're cheating a bit ... which is not the case." She reframes in-house counsel as collaborators. "We're here to ... foster all of their creativity and their innovation," she says. Maxwell reflects, "It worked out the way it was supposed to." LYDIA DE GUZMAN Company: Manulife Title: Head of Legal, Group Benefits Building a collaborative legal team to support innovation in group benefits at Manulife Lydia de Guzman didn't plan to spend her legal career at Manulife. She told her first interviewer the role might be short- lived – but a four-week stint turned into a decade. Now leading the group benefits legal team, she oversees a unit that's doubled in size and supports over three million Canadians and 28,000 employers. "It's a great team," she says. "Incredibly enthusiastic … a really great attitude and willingness to take up any challenge." Articling at Fasken, de Guzman expected to be a litigator. "I'd bought the robes, they're still in the closet, never been worn," she jokes. With no litigation opening, she took a temporary business consultant role at Manulife. "I was asked to join the legal team here … and now it's 10 years later," she says. Mentorship shaped her path. "I've also found there's a lot of peer mentorship that starts to come out," she says. She encourages her team to embrace discomfort. "You only grow in that bit of discomfort," she says. She points to privacy, AI, and data governance as evolving regulatory concerns. "The regulators are … always up for a refresh," she says. Her team leans on Manulife's broader legal and compliance network for support. "You have folks that you can call … and they already have a fundamental understanding of the organization," she says. AI is integral. "There's an expectation … that there is AI to be leveraged … that shouldn't be something that is secondary," she says. Her team helps shape initiatives early. "Have you considered what needs to be disclosed … how the consent is going to appear?" she asked of a recent health platform. "I really think in-house … is a bit of a team sport effort," she says. "It is never boring."

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