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60-SECOND SNAPSHOT technical matters from a strategic, legal, and regulatory perspective. Bruni was appointed general counsel of the ERCB in his first year. "It was an opportunity for me to head up the legal area there as general counsel at a very young age," he says. "I basically ran a mini law firm internally." He later became executive manager of the orga- nization's law branch, and served in both positions until January 2004. He acted as counsel on major hearings and inquiries, appearing before the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, and National Energy Board. He also headed up a team of lawyers. "One of the things I really tried to do — and it was a challenge — was to try to get lawyers to look at things more prag- matically, to look at the bigger picture and to give advice to get to solutions. I'm not one for saying, 'we're here for billable hours.' The service is to try and get it done with diligence, and that was a challenge when I took over operations." Bruni also helped set up the new THE LAWYER: Michael Bruni THE COMPANY: Hockey Canada • Lectured at the University of Calgary and presented papers at Insight Education Services and Canadian Bar Association seminars • Published with the Canadian Petroleum Law Foundation • Received numerous volunteer awards and recognitions, including the Queen's Jubilee Medal • Received the Queen's counsel des- ignation in 2000 • Married to Janice Bruni; the couple has four children by the Alberta cabinet, and assumed the position of special adviser to the chair- man of the ERCB in 2010. During this time, Bruni kept up his volunteer work and stayed highly involved in the legal world. In the 1980s, he helped initiate the Association of General Counsel of Alberta, and was a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and the Canadian Petroleum Law Foundation. He's currently a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Calgary Bar Association, and the Law Society of Alberta. He's also managed to find time to lecture at the University of Calgary and participate in forums on energy regulation. "I've been able to learn a lot about governance, about organizational capacity, organizational structure, what kind of people you want on a team to get things done," he says. Bruni is no stranger to change man- Alberta Utilities Commission and led a realignment of the ERCB. In 2008, he was appointed an ERCB board member agement. "I like to see the evolution of change." At this level, he says, imparting change becomes more difficult. IH Employment and Labour Lawyers Experience Counts. Referrals respected and appreciated. Shields O'Donnell MacKillop LLP 416.304.6400 65 Queen Street W, Suite 1800, Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 2M5 Shields_IH_Apr_11.indd 1 INHOUSE FEBRUARY 2012 • 3/1/11 10:04:56 AM 37