Called to the Bar

Page 13

On March 3 in Tsuu T'ina in southern Alberta lawyer Jodie-Lynn Waddilove, a First Nations woman from the Munsee-Delaware Nation, was called to the Alberta Bar. The ceremony took place in the Tsuu T'ina Junior/Senior High School and was attended by some of the school's student population.

Already a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, Waddilove becomes a member of the Law Society of Alberta and is now entitled to practice law in this province.

Judge Tony Mandamin (Ojibway) of the Provincial Court of Alberta presided over the ceremony that included traditional Aboriginal elements. A drum group performed an honor song.

Waddilove was presented to the court by Ron S. Maurice, a Cree-Metis lawyer and senior partner of Maurice Law Barristers and Solicitors of Calgary, a small firm specializing in Aboriginal and treaty litigation and one of only a few firms in Western Canada that specializes in Aboriginal law on behalf of First Nations. Waddilove has recently accepted an associate's position with the firm. She intends to pursue a career in Aboriginal law.

Waddilove graduated high school as an Ontario scholar from Regina Mundi College in 1995. The following fall she began her bachelor of arts degree at the University of Western Ontario. In 1999, Waddilove received her degree with a double area of concentration in political science and philosophy.

Waddilove then went on to study at the University of Sheffield in England where she received a masters of arts degree in International Criminology and Law in an intensive one-year program. She graduated in 2000.

Upon receiving her masters, Waddilove went to the University of Ottawa law school, graduating three years later. She went on to complete her bar exams and articling.

In September 2004, Waddilove was called to the Ontario Bar and sworn in as a lawyer.

Until December 2005, she worked as a junior lawyer on the Ipperwash Inquiry in Ontario. She was one of five lawyers serving as Commission Counsel.

In 2000, Maclean's magazine named Jodie-Lynn as one of the top 100 Canadians under 30 years old to watch in the new millennium.