44 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
JUNE 2017
Sheila MacPherson
and Tamela Coates
LAWSON LUNDELL LLP
YELLOWKNIFE, CALGARY
Sheila MacPherson and Tamela Coates
are partners in the Lawson Lundell's
Yellowknife and Calgary offices, respec-
tively, who have led, implemented and
fostered the advancement of women in
law. eir work includes: facilitating the
use of practice-management coaches in
the areas of leadership for women, ef-
ficiency, organization and timekeeping;
supporting the adoption of flexible work
arrangements and parental leaves for
both male and female lawyers; participat-
ing in the Justicia Project to promote the
retention and advancement of women
in private practice; and a teamwork ap-
proach to files, particularly as initiated by
Sheila in Yellowknife, allowing lawyers
to enjoy more time off. With Sheila's and
Tamela's leadership, the firm anticipates
female partnership will reach 50 per cent
by the end of 2017, and they have been
recognized by nearly two dozen national,
provincial and local awards.
2016, Jaimie represented the Chiefs of On-
tario at the Supreme Court of Canada on a
landmark Aboriginal law case dealing with
the obligations of administrative boards in
consulting with Aboriginal groups. She also
represented a female Aboriginal client on
the issue of Indigenous cultures with single-
naming traditions. As a result of Jaimie's ad-
vocacy, the Vital Statistics Act was amended,
allowing for the birth registration of a child
with a single name.
Brenda MacDonald
ONTARIO POWER GENERATION TORONTO
Brenda MacDonald has 22 years of dem-
onstrated leadership as strategic legal and
business counsel. Brenda is recognized
for building and leading high-performing
legal teams, with proven leadership ex-
perience in a broad scope of matters. She
ensures her team has the necessary tools to
advance their careers, including facilitating
mentor-mentee relationships, leadership
courses and executive coaching. She's a
conscientious mentor to her team, assisting
them in reaching senior positions. Brenda
is an executive member of OPG's women's
caucus and has continuously challenged
the status quo at OPG, positively influenc-
ing policies on the advancement of women.
She is board secretary of the Association of
Corporate Counsel (Ontario chapter), pro-
moting diversity, women's programming
and networking opportunities. Brenda is
a recipient of the Bell Canada President's
Award for 2001, 2006 and 2007.
D.J. MILLER
THORNTON GROUT FINNIGAN LLP
TORONTO
D.J. Miller was the first female equity part-
ner at ornton Grout Finnigan, where
now half of the firm and half of the equity
partners are female. She was elected 2016
President of the Turnaround Management
Association (TMA), Toronto Chapter. As
President, she encouraged women to step
forward for executive positions, result-
ing in all four executive positions being
held by women, a first for TMA Global.
She served on the executive committee of
TMA Global and introduced a Network
of Women (NOW) initiative from TMA
Global to the Toronto TMA in 2015. She
has helped TMA raise over $330,000 for
local charities providing opportunities for
women and girls. Miller was chosen Ca-
nadian "Insolvency Lawyer of the Year" in
2015 for her work in securing hundreds of
millions of dollars in incremental recover-
ies for Nortel pensioners.
Barbara Munroe
WESTJET AIRLINES LTD. CALGARY
Barbara Munroe was recently promoted to
WestJet's executive team as Executive Vice
President, Corporate Services and General
Counsel. Since joining WestJet in 2011,
Barbara has been essential to its tremen-
dous expansion, including: introduction
of regional carrier WestJet Encore; the
purchase of 65 new Boeing 737 MAX air-
| ZENITH AWARDS |
