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water.' It's very empowering," she says. In another village, World Vision had just come on-site to do an initial assess- ment. The community was spread out, and it had no access to clean water. "It was heartbreaking, but there was a real sense of hope because they knew of work we had done in other communities," says Devoe. On a personal level, she felt like she was contributing to something much larger, though she jokes the legal work was the less glamorous part of the involvement. "I feel fortunate to be part of an organ- ization that I believe in and assist in a very small way in the great work that World Vision does in Canada as well as on an international scale," she says. "That to me is such a benefit. I have friends and colleagues that are not able to say that, and certainly there was a time in my professional career that I didn't feel I was contributing to some greater good." As a not-for-profit organization com- mitted to being a good steward of donor funds, she works with a lean legal depart- ment: herself, a part-time lawyer, a law clerk and an administration assistant. "We have 560 employees and yet we have a legal department of three. That's our biggest challenge," says Devoe. "We have a small department supporting the needs of the organization, which I'm not used to. When you come from the oil industry, it's a different matter. . . . If I had a wish list I'd have four or five more lawyers, but that is an unrealistic expectation in non- for-profit world." Devoe's day-to-day activities include everything from assistance with human resources and employment contracts, to collaboration on internal and external audits, to ensuring the organization com- plies with federal and provincial legisla- tion, as well as selecting external legal counsel and supervising any litigation. When it comes to emergency response, she helps support the organization's relief efforts, mainly from a corporate commer- cial perspective — whether it's working with local field operations (in countries like Haiti, Japan, and Pakistan) or provid- ing backend logistics. She also co-ordinates those efforts with legal counsel in World Vision's offices around the world to make 60-SECOND SNAPSHOT THE LAWYER: Dawn Devoe, general counsel THE COMPANY: World Vision Canada • Devoe studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario bar in 2002 • She started her career in private practice, then moved into a high- profile role at Suncor • She found her calling as general counsel at World Vision Canada • Devoe sponsors a child in Ethiopia, whom she met on a trip to Africa last year • Her efforts have led to a nomina- tion at the 2011 Canadian General Counsel Awards there — but we continue to persevere." Perseverance is something that comes natural to Devoe. She comes from a blue- collar family, but from an early age she knew she wanted to be a lawyer — even though she didn't really know what it was all about. She started off with an under- grad in philosophy. "It was a great start- ing point to getting into law," she says. "It allows you to think and engage and dissect ideas. Unfortunately there's not much you can do with a philosophy degree, but law seemed like a natural progression." She enrolled in Osgoode Hall Law sure their programming is aligned. "We're sometimes co-ordinating with offices that may have completely different regulatory regimes than we have in Canada or the U.S.," says Devoe. "And from a cultural context, it can be a very different environ- ment." Sometimes she's collaborating with other NGOs — one of the many challenges of her job. World Vision is large enough to support its own legal department, but many smaller NGOs don't have any law- yers on staff, so World Vision takes a lead on drafting contracts and providing legal assistance. World Vision has the means and resources — including political connec- tions — to negotiate in many regions that smaller NGOs can't, so they approach World Vision about working with them as a partner, whether that's rebuilding schools or rolling out clean drinking water programs. "I'm working on a document right now that is going to assist in the rebuilding of a local hospital, collaborating with partners in the region [in Haiti] in their efforts," says Devoe. "Progress is tremendously slow. It's frustrating for us as an organization — we have to work with the infrastructure that's School, with the idea of going into labour law. After articling at Aird & Berlis LLP in Toronto, she went on to do commercial real estate law in private practice. After her first daugh- ter was born, she got a job at Suncor Energy Inc., and for several years han- dled corporate commercial matters for the oil company with a heavy focus on real estate. When Suncor merged with Petro-Canada, however, a portion of the legal department was eliminated. And that's when Devoe's career path led her to World Vision. "I never antici- pated I'd be working for a non-profit," she says. "It never entered my mind at any point." But clearly she's found her niche. Devoe was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Canadian General Counsel Awards under the category of "tomorrow's leader." Although she didn't win, being named a finalist out of a long list of candidates is still quite an accomplishment. This cat- egory highlights those who have demon- strated leadership through their actions and attitude when facing significant trans- actions or litigation (and were called to a Canadian bar less than 10 years ago). Devoe was nominated by colleagues from external firms she works with — without her knowledge. "I'm very touched by those efforts, especially from people I hold in such high regard," she says. But Devoe sees it as rec- ognition of the work that World Vision does. "I really do feel I share the nomina- tion with supporters of World Vision . . . without their support, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I feel so passionate about." IH INHOUSE AUGUST 2011 • 37