Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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need me around as much anymore and I don't watch much TV," she explains. "As well, we still have our nanny who does everything, from housework to provision- ing, I am thoroughly spoiled." Writing comes easily to Giardini, par- tially thanks to her mother, the late author Carol Shields, who taught her the "busi- ness of writing," i.e. actually doing it and treating writing as a job. As well, both her parents were academics and instilled in her at an early age an interest in discovery. At the ripe age of 17 she was at the University of Ottawa and didn't know what courses to sign up for. "I was taking economics but someone suggested poli- sci," she says, "and I thought that meant 'many sciences.' Instead of walking into a lab, the entire course focused on a book called Anatomy of a Coup, which was about how to overthrow a government. It was about power and that was all I wanted to know." So how does she make the leap from writing legal opinions to writing novels? "It's like another language and I'm com- partmentalized," she explains, adding that the two genres complement each other. "The legal profession makes you less vague and more precise, you can't make sloppy errors. And it helps to understand the dynamics of humans; it helps to be observant." As for novel writing, Giardini says she takes a lot from personal experiences, but it is still fiction, unlike her day job. At Weyerhaeuser, she says, "You can't just be a dream weaver, you still have to get the work done." In terms of scholarly writings, Giardini has presented numerous papers and semi- nars on various legal topics to groups for many years. She is one of the co-authors of a chapter on aboriginal rights and industry that will be published in June 2009. She is exploring working on a project to build affordable quality housing for Aboriginal Peoples, potentially through the formation of public-private partner- ships involving both levels of government and private enterprise. Amazingly, Giardini has always man- aged to find time for volunteer work, although she emphasizes that none of it is really "work," she helps fundraise and "plan nifty events." This year she is the chairwoman of the YWCA's Women of Distinction Awards; is the incoming chair- woman of the Vancouver International Writers Festival; and sits on the board of The Writers' Trust of Canada, and she has been on her church board for seven years. Deanna Stad frequently plays devil's advocate with Giardini, asking her boss if she can realistically join another commit- tee or take on another speaking engage- ment. "Often Anne will volunteer before she figures out how to get it done, so I will go point out other things on her agenda that will compete with her ability to do that." As for her long-term agenda, Giardini says she will continue to work and get involved in issues that interest her. After all, she's not that busy, over the course of an entire hour, her BlackBerry didn't ring once. IH Starting from $62.50 per month More value for your money! Find cases that you can't locate anywhere else in BestCase, a new web-based research service from Canada Law Book, containing: • Comprehensive collection of reported and unreported decisions dating back to 1898 and including: • Canadian Criminal Cases – since 1898 • Dominion Law Reports – since 1912 • Labour Arbitration Cases – since 1948 • Canadian Labour Arbitration Summaries – since 1977... plus others! • Renowned case summaries • Case citator • Disburse your costs — BestCase will soon have the capability to disburse your research to your clients Contact your Account Manager at 1.800.263.2037 to compare BestCase to your current research services! Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. INHOUSE APRIL 2009 • 33