LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
APRIL/MAY 2017 59
| IN-HOUSE ADVISOR: SIGNATURE PRO BONO |
SIGNATURE BMO
Similarly,
BMO's Legal and Compliance
Group are engaged in a signature pro bono
project that aligns with the organization's
corporate values, says Sophia Ruffolo, Head
of BMO Private Bank Global Compliance.
Known as the "Advance Care Directive
and Power of Attorney Project," BMO Le-
gal and Compliance Group employees have
delivered these services to patients of Prin-
cess Margaret Cancer Centre, and will be
delivering future services to patients at Mt.
Sinai Hospital, both in Toronto.
e program was launched in December
2016 through a clinic at Pro Bono On-
tario's downtown office, situated near Prin-
cess Margaret. Ruffolo remembers a client
who had a serious chronic illness. Her doc-
tor suggested she create a power of attorney.
"Until we set up the partnership with Pro
Bono Ontario and Princess Margaret Can-
cer Centre, she understood the need, but
didn't know what to do about it. What was
so compelling for us was that, aer she met
for 45 minutes with one of our pair of vol-
unteers during the clinic, she was thankful.
[She was also] grateful when the paperwork
was done, but mainly, she was relieved."
John Uhren, Senior Counsel and Vice
President, BMO Capital Markets and co-
lead of the project, says one of the objectives
of holding a clinic was "to try to meet the
most clients in the shortest amount of time
to have the largest impact." at day, 29
employees from BMO head office assisted
approximately 19 clients. "We were over-
subscribed in terms of the number of vol-
unteers that did the training and wanted to
participate," he says.
BMO's signature project is inspired, in
part, by a BMO Harris Bank project that's
been running in Chicago since 2015, part-
nering with the Center for Disability and
Elder Law. "One of the Center's programs
is an initiative whereby both attorneys and
non-attorneys are trained to go out to se-
nior centres to prepare powers of attorney
and living wills on-site for senior citizens
in need," says eresa Duckett, Associate
General Counsel, Canadian P&C, who
volunteers for the project.
One of Duckett's co-volunteers was Ruf-
folo, who moved to BMO's Toronto offices
in 2015. Finding there was no comparable
program through which she could volun-
teer, she brought the idea north. At BMO,
what she found was overwhelming sup-
port from both senior executives and new
colleagues." We looked at the community
SALVATORE FRISINA
PRESIDENT'S CHOICE FINANCIAL
We wanted to create
a project that's true to the
Loblaw corporate social
responsibility motto of giving
back to the communities
where we live and work.
We also wanted to focus on
children, as this approach is
consistent with the President's
Choice Children's Charity.
