Melissa Kennedy (LLB 1987), Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal & Public Policy Officer, Sun Life, has completed her two-year term as LAA President this past September.
A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Melissa is a founding member of Legal Leaders for Diversity and Inclusion, a group of Canadian General Counsel that promotes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the legal community. In 2012, Melissa received the General Counsel of the Year Award and in 2016, The Women's Executive Network recognized her as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women. In 2017, Melissa received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Toronto and in 2019, Chambers and Partners recognized her as one of Canada’s 15 Most Influential General Counsel. In 2020, she was honoured by The Directors’ Roundtable with World Recognition of Distinguished General Counsel.
For over a decade, Melissa has generously served the U of T Law community, not only in her capacity as President of the LAA, but in her critical role as Co-Chair of the Campaign for Excellence Without Barriers. The Campaign for Excellence without Barriers was the largest bursary-focused campaign at any Canadian law school, with a specific goal of raising $20 million for student financial aid and an additional $10 million for enhancing the student experience, including professional development and experiential learning with in-house legal clinics, as well as student mental health initiatives.
The Faculty is truly fortunate to have had the benefit of Melissa’s guidance as volunteer, advisor and generous philanthropic supporter. Melissa will continue to stay engaged with the U of T Law community and will serve on the 2023 Academic Planning Committee.
As Melissa’s term comes to an end, the LAA is delighted to welcome our new President, Mark Surchin (JD 1981), Partner, Business Law Group, Goodmans LLP.
Mark is a distinguished alum whose achievements and commitment to the legal profession are widely known. He has been recognized as a leading lawyer by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (banking and financial institutions), Best Lawyers in Canada (asset based lending, corporate law and banking and finance law), IFLR1000 (banking and capital markets: debt) and is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. In 2023, Mark was elected as bencher of the Law Society of Ontario.
For years, Mark has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the U of T Law community as a devoted volunteer. As previous Vice-President of the LAA, he has played a crucial role in fostering connections with our global alumni community, enhancing our legal program, and supporting the Faculty’s commitment to financial aid. This includes establishing the Mark Surchin Bursary in 2018 as part of the Faculty’s Campaign for Excellence without Barriers. Mark is also an Adjunct Faculty member of the Faculty’s GPLLM program.
Please join us in extending our sincerest thanks to Melissa for her contributions, and extending a warm welcome to Mark as he takes on his new role.
