Legal Line was invited to attend the Ontario Paralegal Association Bencher Debate April 3, and our very own Ian Levine had a chance to personally meet the following Paralegal Extraordinaries:
Sean O’Connor has represented clients as a paralegal for 17 years. He has represented clients in a wide-ranging field of matters, including Landlord and Tenant , Small Claims, WSIB appeals, Highway Traffic Act offences and minor criminal offences. His excellent track record and professionalism has been utilized by various Toronto Film Production companies.
Stephen Parker has been a paralegal for 33 years. In 2006 he was appointed by the Attorney General, Michael Bryant to the original Paralegal Standing Committee where the regulations and competencies were determined. Stephen was then subsequently licensed in 2008. He has been President of both the Institute of Agents at Court and the Professional Paralegal Association of Ontario, and has worked with the Law Society for almost ten years to make paralegal regulation a reality.
Robert Burd has been a licensed paralegal since 2008.
• He has been providing legal services since 1991
• Past president of the Licensed Paralegal Association
• Co-Founder of the Ontario Paralegal Association
• Bencher at the Law Society since 2010
In 2010 Robert became one of the first five paralegals to be elected to the Law Society. In 2018, he became Chair of the Paralegal Standing Committee. His current priorities include having a comprehensive study done on paralegal regulation and if re-elected as Bencher, continue to promote and develop resources for licensees to improve their delivery of legal services.
Holly Robertson is a paralegal practising in Hamilton, Ontario. She specializes in Employment-Employee Rights, Human Rights, and Sexual Harassment.
Cathy Corsetti is Co-Founder and President of Corsetti Paralegal, where she practices Landlord and Tenant Board issues. She is currently Vice Chair of the LSO Access to Justice Committee and the Family Law Working Group. She works to continue to develop Paralegal Education and expand the scope of paralegal practice in Ontario.
Michelle Lomazzo has been a paralegal for 30 years, focusing on WSIB issues. In 2019 she was nominated for the Law Society Distinguished Paralegal Award. She is Founder and President of Lomazzo Worker’s Compensation Appeals Professional Corporation and was appointed Bilingual Paralegal Adjudicator with the Law Society Tribunal for the past 6 years.
Paula Callaghan runs a private paralegal practice in Ottawa. She is currently the Chair of the Paralegal Committee and sits on the Membership Committee of the County of Carleton Law Association. Her platform for bencher includes supporting initiatives that expand the current scope of paralegal practice, and expedite the development of the new Family Law license.
Law Society of Ontario 2019 Bencher Election
More information about the 2019 Law Society Bencher election can be found here. All eligible voters will receive voting instructions and individual control numbers to log into and access the online and telephone voting systems. Voting closes on April 30, 2019 at 5 pm EDT.
Council Chambers in North York Civic Centre just moments before this room filled with guests for the debate.
Andreas, ready to get any job done well.
Andreas Levine started volunteering at age 13 by helping us mail flyers to our 8,000 community partners. Now, at age 17, he helps at all our community events, and we will miss him dearly when he moves to Australia in August to study law at Bond University.