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www.canadianlawyermag.com 39 start-up, and she says lawyers chasing predictability are not suited to this area. She focuses on infrastructure and energy investments and sits on the boards of a district energy business and a social infrastructure company. "One of the best parts of the job is that it's a great mix," she says. "You work, day to day, on asset management matters, which means I'll be answering legal questions from the business teams on assets spanning multiple sectors and jurisdictions. BCI uses external counsel on major cross-border deals, but Manning is clear that in-house lawyers cannot outsource judgment: "You are expected to be knee deep in the deal and be able to answer questions to your business teams all the time," she says. Her board roles reinforce that expectation, where she sits on "as an investor, not as a lawyer." Technology is another pressure point where she is pushing both herself and her advisers to adapt. Internally, she says, "we are actively encouraged to be thinking about, for example, how AI can create efficiencies within our own roles and continue to add value. Maintaining, of course, all of the legal and ethical challenges that it brings." On the investment side, she is watching the growth of data centres and the strain that artificial intelligence is putting on infrastructure systems. JENNIFER MANNING Company: BCI Title: Director & senior counsel Tackling the legal frontier of infrastructure and energy at a BC pension fund Innovation in infrastructure and energy is no longer optional for institutional investors; it sits at the centre of how they protect beneficiaries' futures, Jennifer Manning says. That pressure to evolve is reshaping the legal questions she tackles and the way she approaches her role. Manning now works at the junction of capital, infrastructure, and technology as director and senior counsel at British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) in Vancouver. Her path runs through big-firm project finance, public-sector procurement, and a cleantech Navigating demographic shifts, new laws, and major deals in the senior living sector A seismic shift is underway in the senior living sector. According to Andrea Fellows, the first-ever general counsel at Amica Senior Lifestyles, legal and business strategies are evolving fast to meet the demands of a new generation of residents and a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. "We're delivering high-quality experiences and housing and taking care of seniors and letting them live their best possible lives," she says. After nine years at Oxford, Fellows was approached to become Amica's general counsel, building a legal function from scratch at a large organization that had never had an in-house lawyer. Fellows saw a chance to overhaul a reactive legal culture and push the organization to think ahead. Joint ventures and development deals demand close collaboration with many stakeholders. "I've also gotten the opportunity to work with partners and lenders and construction managers and developers to sew it all together and bring something… that starts with assembling a few houses into what is ultimately developed into a new newly built, fully operational Amica," she says. Demographic shifts are forcing Amica to rethink its entire approach. The boomer generation is entering senior living with different expectations than previous genera- tions. "They have different expectations and wants, in terms of service and in terms of how they want to live and spend their time in one of our residences," she says. The company must evolve to meet these demands while also navigating regulatory changes, tariffs, and supply chain issues. Diversity, equity, and inclusion shape how Fellows leads. At Amica, she attacks the issue on two fronts: building a workforce where everyone is seen and heard and tackling the tougher job of educating residents who have never experienced modern ED&I initiatives. "There's a different level of education that we're offering to our residents, which is also something that I find fascinating," she says. ANDREA FELLOWS Company: Amica Senior Lifestyles Title: Senior vice president, general counsel