Will Knows the Way – Re-elect Will McDowell for Bencher

Will knows the way to a better future for the legal profession.

Will has over 30 years of experience in the legal industry and has been a Law Society of Ontario (LSO) Bencher for eight years. He has practiced with one of the largest firms in the country, served in Ottawa as Associate Deputy Minister of Justice for Canada, and is now practising at Lenczner Slaght, Canada’s leading litigation firm. The LSO needs experienced leaders, like Will, to successfully deal with difficult, and often, controversial questions.

Will has been involved in facing some of the most difficult issues LSO has confronted in its recent history, including:

• responding to the articling crisis through the creation of the innovative Law Practice Program;
• leading the Law Society’s relations with the federal and provincial governments as Chair of the Government Relations Committee and working with them to ensure new investment in Legal Aid and access to justice;
• serving on the Challenges Faced by Racialized Licensees Committee to reduce barriers and ensure a level playing field for all Ontario lawyers; and
• chairing the Professional Regulation Committee as they synchronized the Code of Professional Conduct with the new National Code of the Federation of Law Societies.

“Will has a record of success as a senior Bencher and I know he is committed to advocate for the public interest and the profession as relentlessly as he does for his clients,” says Tom Curry, Managing Partner of Lenczner Slaght. “His knowledge, experience, and judgment make him the strong decision maker that we need to solve the challenges we face. Will knows the way.”

Vote Will for Bencher!

Visit www.litigate.com/WillForBencher to find out where Will stands on other important issues including Racialized Licencees, Governance Reform and Service en Français.

About William C. McDowell
William C. McDowell is a partner at Lenczner Slaght. With his broad experience and judgement, Will has artfully represented clients in many noteworthy public law, commercial litigation and defamation and media cases. From 2005 to 2008, Will was Canada's Associate Deputy Minister of Justice, with responsibility for civil litigation, national security and issues involving federal central agencies.

Upon his return to private practice in 2008, Will was appointed by the Chief Justice of Ontario to mediate issues arising from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Inquiry into Aboriginal residential schools. In August 2017, he was named Lead Commission Counsel to the Long-Term Care Homes Inquiry.

Will was a joint recipient of the Department of Justice National Award for his work in resolving the high-profile Maher Arar v Canada case. He has also been honoured with the University of Toronto Arbor Award for many years of volunteer efforts on behalf of his alma mater. Will is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.