Gavin MacKenzie elected Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada

7 March 2006

Lawyer Gavin MacKenzie has been elected to lead the Law Society of Upper Canada as its Treasurer, the top elected official for the regulatory body that oversees Ontario's 36,500 lawyers.

"I am honoured to serve as Treasurer at this time when so many important issues that affect both the profession and consumers of legal services are before us. This is an exciting time to lead the profession as the landscape in which the Law Society must regulate in the public interest continues to evolve and present new challenges and opportunities," says Treasurer MacKenzie.

The Treasurer is the president and head of the Law Society's governing body, called Convocation. Under the Law Society Act the Treasurer is elected each year by Convocation which is composed of 40 lawyers elected by members of Ontario's legal profession, eight non-lawyers called "lay benchers" who have been appointed by the Ontario government, as well as a number of ex-officio and life benchers.

As Treasurer, Mr. MacKenzie chairs the meetings of Convocation and recommends priorities for its approval, liaises with government officials and other legal and community organizations and appoints chairs, vice-chairs and members of committees and task forces, subject to board approval.

A partner in the Toronto office of Heenan Blaikie LLP, Treasurer MacKenzie graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 1975. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1977 and has appeared as counsel before courts at all levels including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has been honoured by induction as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation since 1989. Mr. MacKenzie is the author of Lawyers and Ethics, a leading text on professional responsibility.

Treasurer MacKenzie is the Chair of LibraryCo Inc., the library system of Ontario Law Associations and has served as a director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. He is a former director of The Advocates' Society and of LINK - The Lawyers' Assistance Program.

He was first elected a bencher of the Law Society in 1995. Since then, he has held a number of high-profile positions. He is currently Chair of the Tribunals Composition Task Force, Vice-Chair of the Professional Development, Competence and Admissions Committee and a member of the Proceedings Authorization Committee. He is a former chair of the Professional Regulation Committee (which is responsible for professional conduct and discipline), the Task Force on the Review of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the Strategic Planning Committee.

The Law Society of Upper Canada is the self-regulating body for Ontario's lawyers. Its mandate is to govern the legal profession in the public interest. It does this by making sure Ontarians are served by lawyers who meet high standards of learning, competence, and professional conduct and by upholding the independence, integrity and honour of the legal profession for the purpose of advancing the cause of justice and the rule of law.

For further biographical information for Treasurer MacKenzie, visit the Law Society's website at: www.lsuc.on.ca or the website for Heenan Blaikie LLP at: www.heenanblaikie.com.

For further information: Media inquiries please contact Lisa Hall, (416) 947-7625, lhall@lsuc.on.ca or Heather MacDonnell, (416) 947-7605, hmacdonn@lsuc.on.ca.; Archived images on this organization are searchable through CNW Photo Archive website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media.

Source: newswire

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