Newly-created Office of University Counsel set to manage internal and external legal resources
On April 16, 2021, University of Toronto President Meric Gertler announced that a new University Counsel & Chief Legal Officer would soon be appointed and tasked with establishing a central office to provide University legal services. This central office has been rationalized as a response to the growing complexity and scale of University business, which depends on both internal and external legal resources.
On July 30, 2021, Kristin Taylor was selected as the new University Counsel and Chief Legal Officer. Taylor previously served as General Counsel and Vice-president, Chief Legal and Risk Officer at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Before working at CAMH, Taylor was a partner in the Health Law Group at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Since beginning her practice in 2001, Taylor has been named one of Lexpert’s Rising Stars under 40 in 2011 and was nominated as one of Canadian Lawyer’s Most Influential Lawyers in 2014.
On January 28, 2022, Taylor announced the creation of the Office of University Counsel (OUC), which will act as the central office to manage internal and external legal resources at the University. All practicing lawyers across the University are now to report to the OUC, while some will remain embedded within their own specialized division. In this announcement, Taylor stated that the OUC will be launching a website in the coming months that will provide further information about the new structure for legal services at the University and upcoming OUC initiatives.
