Q
A
33
CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
and reputations. Even though there is
a commercial context to it, there is also
someone's reputation at stake.
ANDREA LAING: I think in an odd way I
got into class actions because of being a
woman and my family situation. When I
started, there really weren't securities class
Q
BY JENNIFER BROWN
INHOUSE: How did you find your way
to being the kind of litigation
lawyer you are now?
MELISSA MACKEWN: I thought I was going
to be a human rights lawyer all through
law school. In fact, the reason I ended
up going to Faskens is because I had said
I was interested in a secondment to the
Human Rights Commission where I went
for three months. I did one human rights
case in Ontario and decided that it wasn't
what I thought it would be and decided to
do commercial work. On the securities
side, it happened by accident. I thought it
would be quite boring, I had never opened
the Securities Act — I thought securities
law sounded dead dull, but wanted to get on
my feet more and not be in a boardroom
looking at documents for 12 hours a day.
I decided to go to the OSC [Ontario
Securities Commission] and I found I loved
the securities work. It's the human element
— you are dealing with people's livelihoods
ANDREA LAING
Partner, Blake Cassels
& Graydon LLP
Commercial litigation
practice focused on
class actions and
securities disputes.
ROBIN
KUNISKI
LEADING
IN
LITIGATION
FIVE
WOMEN
LITIGATORS
TALK
ABOUT
THE
CHALLENGES
AND
REWARDS
OF
BEING
A
WOMAN
LITIGATOR.
LEFT TO RIGHT:
REENA L AL JI,
CATHERINE BEAGAN FLOOD,
LINDA PLUMPTON,
MELISSA MACKEWN,
ANDREA L AING.
I
n November we brought together a cross-section of leading women in litigation, from private
practice and in-house, to talk about how they came into the profession they love and the
challenges and changes they have observed as they have risen to the positions they hold today.
They discussed the importance of mentors and how they are trying to pay it forward. They also
spoke candidly about the myths around women in litigation that linger in 2018.
Maybe one of the more distinct pressures we face is that
we are outward facing — we go into court and we
represent and are a proxy for our client and so profile and
your style in how you approach the court is very important.
ANDREA LAING, Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP
