Elected Bencher 2019

 General Counsel & Secretary of the Board of Governors,  Ryerson University

Adjunct Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School

Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, LLM

Instructor, Ryerson Law Practice Program

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE

Executive, Women Lawyers Forum, Ontario Bar Association

Coach, Coach and Advisor Network, Law Society of Ontario

Chair, Lawyers for Possibility, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Former Chair, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association

Co-Founder, Korean Canadian Lawyers Association, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Women General Counsel Canada, General Counsel Chapter WLAO, Roundtable of Diversity Associations

Member, United Way Law Cabinet

Editorial Board, Practical Law - Commercial Law

AWARDS & HONOURS

FACL Lifetime Achievement Award (2019)

CCCA Award of Excellence (2017)

Top 25 Most Influential (2017)

Osgoode Alumni Gold Key (2017)

CCCA RVA Jones Award (2016)

OBA Linda Adlam Manning Award (2015)

WXN Top 100 (2014)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

In-House: Ryerson University, York University, Imax Corporation 

Private Practice: Gowling WLG, Borden & Elliot (BLG)

Called to the Bar, 1994

BIOGRAPHY

Julia is General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Governors of Ryerson University.  As an Executive Group member, she provides legal and governance advice and has operational responsibility for access to information, privacy, records management, and compliance. Julia leads a team of lawyers and professionals, and advises the board.  

Julia is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she has taught Legal Drafting since 2001, and at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, where she teaches Applied Contract Law in the LL.M. program.  She is also an instructor in Ryerson’s Law Practice Program. Her past roles include: director of the Osgoode Business Clinic, assistant director of the Osgoode LL.M. in Business Law, and instructor of Osgoode Professional Development's Commercial Legal Drafting Workshop. Julia teaches contract drafting to lawyers through the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, Spring Training Workshop. She is an Executive in Residence for the Certified In-House Counsel - Canada designation offered by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.  

Julia is the co-author of the leading Canadian text on drafting boilerplate contract clauses, Behind and Beyond Boilerplate: Drafting Commercial Agreements (Thomson Reuters). She has also published and presented in the areas of licensing, securing copyright, and privacy law, and served on the editorial board of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada's Canadian Intellectual Property Review. Julia is a past member of the editorial board of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association Magazine. She serves on the judging panel for Canadian Lawyer InHouse Magazine Innovatio Awards.

An active member of her community and the legal profession, Julia is past chair and current member of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association Ontario Chapter (Ontario Bar Association) which represents thousands of corporate counsel nationally.  She is a founder and past president of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers and a founding member of the Korean Canadian Lawyers Association.  She co-founded the Roundtable of Diversity Associations which brings together diverse professional associations and founded the Women’s General Counsel chapter of the Women’s Law Association of Ontario to support senior women in law.  She is also a founding member and executive of Women General Counsel Canada which unites senior women leaders nationally. In 2016, Julia founded the Council of Ontario Universities Legal Counsel Group to create a forum for university lawyers and served as the inaugural chair.  That same year, Julia spearheaded the Diverse Champions for Diversity, a grassroots team that promotes diverse lawyers and diversity in the legal profession. In 2018, Julia established the General Counsel Group of University Solicitors to share experiences and legal expertise across Canada.In her community, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Korean Canadian Arirang Age Friendly Community Centre as Vice-Chair. Julia is a founding member and chair of Lawyers for Possibility, a legal community initiative to support Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitiation Hospital. She also serves on the United Way Law Cabinet.  

Julia’s charitable initiatives include the establishment of the Office of the General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Governors Award in Law and Business for students at Ted Rogers School of Management, and the Shin Doi and Benda Legal Drafting Prize for students at Osgoode Hall Law School.Julia’s professional and community contributions have been widely recognized. 

She was recognized by The Law Society of Upper Canada’s Diversifying the Bar: Lawyers Make History project as an early and exceptional lawyer from a diverse community, and also by the Korean Canadian Lawyers Association and the Korean Canadian Leadership Development committee for her community leadership.  In 2014, Julia was named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN), in recognition of her vision and leadership, management role, contribution to corporate performance, and community service.  In 2015, Julia was awarded the Ontario Bar Association’s Linda Adlam Manning Award for Volunteerism in recognition of her outstanding volunteer commitment, advancement of the interests of the Ontario Bar Association’s membership, and promotion of the role of the legal profession in Ontario. In 2016, the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association awarded Julia their highest national honour, the R.V.A. Jones Award, as her career exemplifies the highest standards of service, conduct, and professionalism.  In 2017, Julia received the Award of Excellence from the Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, and Osgoode Hall Law School Dean’s Alumni Gold Key Award for achievement in the public sector. Julia was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential 2017 in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. In 2018 the Canadian Bar Association and Canadian Corporate Counsel Association profiled her in an article entitled, “Building Success One Community at a Time”.  In 2019, the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers honoured Julia with the Lifetime Achievement Award  for her significant and longstanding contributions to the legal community and for positive contributions made to social justice and the Asian community. 

Julia attained a BA with distinction (English major) from the University of Toronto (1989), JD (1992) and LLM (2007) from Osgoode Hall Law School, was admitted to the Bar in Ontario in 1994.Julia attained the Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D) and completed the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management Directors Education Program in 2016. She also completed the Queen’s University Faculty of Health Sciences Workplace Mental Health Leadership Certificate in 2016.  In 2018, Julia completed the Civil Litigation Skills Certificate offered by The Advocates’ Society.