Law Times

Law Times • augusT 24/31, 2009 NEWS PAGE 5 Better a lawyer than an actuary Jackson heeded her father's advice to stay out of the insurance game BY ROBERT TODD Law Times Medal this year, but if not for some tough advice from her father, the legal profession may not have been blessed with her presence. Jackson describes her dad — T Syd Jackson, who was trained as an actuary and became president and CEO of Manu- facturers Life Insurance Co. — as the person who most influ- enced her decision to become a lawyer. But it wasn't because of a push toward the legal profes- sion, but away from his own, that had the biggest impact. Jackson says she had an aptitude for mathematics as a child and near her high school graduation asked her dad about the prospect of becom- ing an actuary. "He wasn't particularly en- couraging — and on the whole he was an extremely encourag- ing father," she says. Jackson says her dad was concerned that the punish- ing work hours of an actu- ary would be at odds with her family ambitions. But he was forced to reconsider that advice when she chose to be- come a lawyer. "He said: 'You know, at the time I assumed you'd get a de- gree and get a job and it would be an interesting job, but I also thought you would probably get married and have children (both of which I've done) and that whatever job you had would require you to work 9 to 5, or even lesser hours once you had children. I knew that you couldn't do that and be an actuary,'" says Jackson. She says he jokingly added, "If I'd known you were going to be a lawyer!" Following her father's coun- sel, Jackson began her university studies in chemistry at Queen's University, before switching to math and political science after discovering her aversion to life in a laboratory. After graduating, she trans- lated her political science acu- men into a gig at Queen's Park as a researcher for a special commission into the legislature struck by Bill Davis' Progres- sive Conservative government. When that stint ended, she recalls being "slightly interest- ed" in a career in law. The idea first hit her as she wrapped up her undergraduate studies. She recalls being referred to the woman law student at Queen's law faculty for advice, but put it off to spend some time in the workforce. "At the end of this two- year period [at Queen's Park], I thought, let's try out this law school thing," says Jackson. She went on to attend the University of Toronto's Faculty orys LLP partner Pa- tricia Jackson will re- ceive the Law Society of Law, and was called to the bar in 1988. Jackson says, in hindsight, her father's advice against be- coming an actuary was for- tuitous. She now knows she was meant to be a lawyer. "It is one of those profes- sions that allows you to spe- cialize in different kinds of things, to think broadly in policy and advocacy terms about a whole range of sub- jects," she says. "All of those things were always of interest to me." Yet Jackson never envi- sioned herself practising for as long as she has. Not to mention spending her entire career at the same firm. "When I graduated I as- sumed I would qualify as a lawyer, and that I would ar- ticle and maybe practise for a little while," she says. Yet she's created a diverse and successful litigation prac- tice, putting her stamp on some of Canada's most impor- tant legal battles. Jackson has appeared be- fore every level of court in the province, as well as the Federal Court and Supreme Court of Canada. She has also been counsel at various adminis- trative tribunals, and worked on government commissions, such as the inquiry into the Kingston Prison for Women, led by then-Ontario Court of Appeal justice Louise Arbour, who released her report on the matter in 1996. Jackson has amassed an im- pressive list of contributions to legal organizations and in- stitutions. She has lectured at the Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar As- sociation, American Bar As- sociation, and at law schools. She has long been a part of the Canadian Civil Liberties Asso- ciation, currently serving as its vice president. She's a former director of The Advocates' So- ciety and the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund Foundation, as well as a past member of the Ontario Judi- cial Council. Jackson suggests the profes- sion's ability to offer a varied work environment — both at the office and away from it — has kept her interested. "Particularly as a litigation lawyer, the cases vary enor- mously, and the kinds of legal issues that come forward, the kinds of factual issues that come forward, vary between cases, they vary over time," she says. "It's wonderfully interest- ing and exciting, and if any- thing, is just as interesting and exciting to me today as it was when I started. Which is not what I expected." Jackson says she is most proud of her work on freedom of expression issues. She has been a staunch advocate in the area of defamation, and has Untitled-1 1www.lawtimesnews.com Product Code: 72650026 Philips Digital Voice Tracer with Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 *Stereo lapel microphone and earphones included Since 1998 C Talk Transfer Transcribe Let your voice work with mobile dictation and speech recognition Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 automatically transcribes your dictations Create documents three times faster than most people type, with up to 99% accuracy Up to 140 hours recording time Extra large front speaker for crystal-clear voice playback was about defamation. That forced her to read all of the Canadian case law and much of the U.K. case law on the subject. The case — a $42-million action against the Financial Post — was, at the time, the largest of its kind in Canadi- an history. She was the junior lawyer acting on behalf of the Post. That exposure brought her Patricia Jackson is most proud of her work on freedom of expression issues. also worked on major constitu- tional cases. She admits that freedom of expression was not really on her radar when she entered the profession. But the first case she worked on after her call a slew of work from Canadi- an media organizations. "If you do that for any length of time, you are driv- en to consider the impor- tance of a free press and free expression," she says, adding the experience fostered a genu- ine interest in the issue. She has also been instru- mental in advocating on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liber- ties Association at the Supreme Court of Canada. She was counsel, for example, on the Little Sisters and R. v. Sharpe cases on freedom of speech. "So those kinds of cases I've continued to do and they en- gage me intellectually and pro- fessionally," she says. She remains humble, how- ever. Despite the countless contributions she has made to society and the profession, Jackson's reaction to receiving the Law Society Medal is that she has "never been so sur- prised by anything in my life. And I still am." She says, "I've looked now at who's received this medal in the past — it's quite an august group to be joining." LT This is the sixth in our series focusing on re- cipients of the LSUC awards honouring the best of the profession. Please visit us online at www.lawtimesnews.com to watch video highlights of our interview with Patricia Jackson. For more information contact Murray Cheng at 1-888-393-3874 ext. 7287 or murray_cheng@dyedurham.ca www.dyedurhambasics.ca 8/13/09 2:07:48 PM W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n Photo: Robert Todd

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• LSUC Honours
• One Day In 1977
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