30 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
JUNE 2017
ZENITH
CELEBRATING
THE ADVANCEMENT
OF WOMEN IN THE
LEGAL PROFESSION
AWARDS
COVER STORY
Audrey Boctor
IRVING MITCHELL KALICHMAN MONTRÉAL
Audrey Boctor is a leader who inspires oth-
ers. At the Supreme Court of Canada, Au-
drey represented the son of the late photo-
journalist Zahra Kazemi, a woman who was
tortured and killed in an Iranian prison. It
was one of her five Supreme Court of Can-
ada appearances. At the Québec Court of
Appeal, she represented interveners in the
trial of a militia commander prosecuted for
involvement in the Rwandan genocide. She
is currently lead counsel in Roy v. AG of Can-
ada, a class action involving public servants
and members of the military who lost their
jobs because of their sexual orientation. She is
a board member and legal clinic volunteer at
the Tyndale Community Centre and taught
Common Law Civil Procedure at the Uni-
versity of Montréal from 2013 to 2015.
Joëlle Boisvert
GOWLING WLG MONTRÉAL
Joëlle Boisvert has built extensive experi-
ence in class actions and commercial, cor-
porate and real estate litigation. Joëlle is
Gowling's Montréal managing partner and
a member of the firm's national executive
team, particularly committed to promot-
ing women's leadership. She spearheaded
leadership workshops in which an idea
incubator was set up to design a working
career model for women's access to lead-
ership roles. In addition, she maintains a
very active legal practice, counselling large
national and international companies with
Monica Biringer
OSLER, HOSKIN & HARCOURT LLP
TORONTO
Monica Biringer is co-chair of the na-
tional tax group at Osler, responsible for
over 60 professionals in six offices. Mon-
ica is a trailblazer, growing her unique
practice in tax planning and litigation,
while she has increasingly become in-
volved in mentoring Osler's associates
and junior partners. She is a champion for
women lawyers at Osler, while bringing a
steady hand to complex litigation matters
and impressing clients and other lawyers
with her creativity and strategic thinking.
Monica speaks at tax conferences, is a past
Governor of the Canadian Tax Founda-
tion, has taught a Bar admission course
and is on the Canadian Institute editorial
board for M&A tax. She has been among
the most frequently recommended in the
Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2014-
2016, also for corporate tax.
Mia Bacic
MCCULLOUGH O'CONNOR IRWIN LLP
VANCOUVER
Mia Bacic has demonstrated relentless per-
sistence in the face of adversity. In 1992,
amid the chaos of civil war, Mia graduated
from the University of Sarajevo law school.
Mia and her husband fled to Croatia in
1993. She worked in Zagreb's Bosnian
consulate and as a field officer for an NGO
helping Bosnian refugees resettle in Ger-
many, while caring for her 10-year-old sister
and arranging her parents' emigration. In
1994, they all came to Vancouver, where
Mia supported the family as a legal secre-
tary until she entered UBC law. In 2003
she joined McCullough O'Connor Irwin,
getting recognized in three editions of e
Best Lawyers in Canada for corporate law.
She has lectured for the Law Society of BC
Professional Legal Training Course and for
the Continuing Legal Education Society of
BC on corporate and securities law.
