Updated: May 17, 2021, 12:20 A.M
Toronto, Ontario
Alicia Natividad heads Filipino-Canadian Lawyers Network (FCLN)
Teodoro ‘Ted’ Acuitas
Editor, Philippine Canadian News.Com (PCN.Com)
The first Filipina to be admitted to the Ontario Bar, Alicia Natividad, is heading the newly-formed Filipino lawyers in Canada – Filipino Canadian Lawyers Network – Réseau d’avocats philippinos canadiens (FCLN).
FCLN will be officially launched (virtually) on June 1, 2021 to usher in Filipino Heritage Month in Canada with Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Marco Mendicino as keynote speaker.
The not -for-profit organization aims to support and connect and advocates for Filipino Canadian lawyers and the Filipino Canadian communities across Canada.
Other speakers during the launch which is free by Zoom, include Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy, Law Society of Ontario Treasurer Teresa Donnelly, Brad Regehr, President of the Canadian Bar Association, Charlene Theodore, president of the Ontario Bar Association and Gerald Chan, president of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.
FCLN’s executive includes Alicia Natividad- President, Rachel Sachs- vice-president, Treasurer – Barbara De Dios, Secretary – Richel Castaneda, and Membership & Outreach-Lou Janssen Dangzalan.
According to Sachs, the organization had conducted some events over the course of the pandemic mostly directed at lawyers, in addition to a public program on immigration and employment law basics.
While initially composed of Ontario lawyers, Sachs told Philippine Canadian News.com(PCN.Com) that other lawyers in Montreal and B.C.have expressed interest in joining the new network. They are continuing to reach out to other lawyers in Canada in order to expand the organization.
About the executive:
Alicia S. Natividad
President
Alicia S. Natividad, who was called to the Ontario Bar in 1983 (the first Filipino woman lawyer) has been in private practice in Ottawa under her firm – ASN Law Professional Corporation for over 16 years. Her areas of practice include Business Law, Real Estate, Estates, Trusts and Wills.
She lectures at continuing legal education courses for The Law Society of Upper Canada, Bar Admission Course (Ottawa), Ontario Bar Association; tutors lawyers taking The Law Society of Upper Canada Licensing Process; tutors individuals taking the Certificate in Estate and Trust Administration examinations with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners; gives presentations and seminars to business and not-for-profit organizations on numerous legal topics; and writes legal articles for newspapers, magazines, and newsletters.
The Philippine-born lawyer obtained her Bachelor of Arts (B.A. )in Law and Political Science from Carlton University in 1978 and her Doctor of Law (JD) , University of Ottawa in 1981.
She is an active volunteer in community and civic organizations including the Canada Philippines Business Council, Municipal Law Section (Ottawa) and Employment Assistance Society of North America among others.
She currently chairs the National Women’s Liberal Commission to encourage and support women candidates in the Liberal Party of Canada.
Rachel Sachs
Vice-President
“I always wanted to be a lawyer since I was five,” she told PCN.Com in an interview . The Canadian-born and raised Sachs pursued that dream – first obtaining her B.A.(Law) at Carleton University in 2007, interrupting her studies to take up law in an exchange program In Sheffield Hallam University in England. She went on to the University of Calgary to study Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law in 2011. She also completed a summer program in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria in 2009. In 2010, she completed her MSc. In Carbon Management at the University of Edinburgh, U.K.
Coming back to Canada, she completed Ryerson University’s Law Practice Program, an an innovative eight month intensive program consisting of a four month practical training portion and a four month work placement under licensed practitioner.
Born of a German father and Filipina mother, the 37-year-old now practises law under her own firm – Sachs Law Professional Corporation at North York, Ontario, where she specializes in seniors and aging clients.
She chairs the OBA Women Lawyers Forum (WLF) Section, and Ontario Branch Chair Rep at the CBA WLF as well as a member-at-large on the Solo, Small Firm and General Practice executive of the CBA. A volunteer with Pro Bono Ontario, the Canadian Free Wills Network, and the Toronto chapter of Women In Leadership,she also mentor with EmpowHer-Peel, the Women Lawyers Association of Ontario and occasionally with Global Lawyers of Canada.
Barbara De Dios
Treasurer
Corporate Counsel at Canadian Dental Services Corporation, Toronto
Educated at the University Birmingham in England, where she finished her Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) degree in 2013, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Political Science and History at the University of Toronto in 2009.
De Dios is a corporate/commercial lawyer based in Toronto, Ontario and was called to the Ontario bar in September 2016.
She practices in the areas of corporate/commercial law, corporate governance, and mergers & acquisitions, with a focus on in-house issues. Currently, she is Corporate Counsel at Canadian Dental Services Corporation, managing the entirety of its legal initiatives across Canada.
“My professional activities are rooted in a genuine interest in, (i) supporting the organization I advise (in my capacity as in-house counsel), (ii) providing resources and championing corporate counsel across Canada, and (iii) supporting and pushing forward the development of the legal industry,” according to her LinkedIn profile.
She is currently involved in the following organizations in a leadership capacity – Section Executive to the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association – Ontario Chapter, Section Executive to the Ontario Bar Association’s Women Lawyers Forum, Mentorship Lead to the Global Lawyers of Canada – Ontario Chapter and part of the Mentorship Committee to the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers.
Richel Castaneda
Secretary
Castaneda was recently featured in the Women Leadership Foundation (WIL) Toronto Chapter:
Castaneda is a lawyer with Zubas Flett Law in Toronto and previously worked with the Toronto District School Board as a Labour Relations Assistant. She finished her Doctor of Law (JD) at the Osgoode Hall Law School and Doctor of Law (JD), English Common Law at the University of Ottawa in 2019 and Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto in 2014. She was called to the Ontario Bar in June 2020.
Lou Janssen Dangzalan
Membership & Outreach
An immigration lawyer at his own firm LJD Law PC,Dangzalan studied at the University of Santo Tomas for his B.A and Ateneo de Manila for a Master of Arts in Political Science. He obtained a scholarship to complete a Master of Social Science at the National University in Singapore in 2010.
He obtained his Licentiate in Law (LL), Civil law from the University of Ottawa in 2016 followed by a Juris Doctor (LD), in Common Law at the same university the following year.
Dangzalan recently appeared as a witness in the House of Commons St anding Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, recommending that the IRCC collect and publish disaggregated race-based or gender-based data.Parliamentary Committee on
Disaggregating Processing and Application Data Recommendation 10 (page 36)
That Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada collect and publish expanded anonymized processing and application data for all immigration streams, disaggregated by applicant race, religion, gender, age, source-country, and parental status inclusive of data not currently collected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
According to Sachs, both Castaneda and Dangzalan were instrumental in pulling together the Filipino Canadian lawyer meetups in 2020.
Another lawyer, Carina Del Frate,Head of Legal at Demant, a medical devices company, was instrumental in drafting FCLN’s governance documents including incorporation.While she has decided not to become a first director, her assistance has been important to the successful formation, says Sachs. Del Frate is a graduate of Western University and the University of Ottawa.
Other Lawyers organizations in Canada:
Other lawyers of colour have long had their own professional organizations including the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL), Association of Chinese Canadian Lawyers of Ontario and B.C. and the South Asian Bar Association of Toronto and B.C.
Best congratulations to all of you! The FCLN bodes well for Filipino Canadian lawyers and the Filipino Canadian communities they serve.
Dear Ted,
Last year you published an article stating that the late Cornelia Soberano was the first Filipino/a lawyer in Ontario. I practised law in the same province three year after Cornelia was called to the bar. Myself, I haven’t heard about Ms. Natividad being the first Filipino woman lawyer in Ontario.
Thanks Joe.Same here. I also did not know about Alicia Natividad until I researched her after my wife received notification from her in her capacity as Chair of the Women’s Commission of the Liberal Party. It was in her bio and so got to thinking about Cornelia Soberano.Wrote Ricky Caluen who wrote the story but still haven’t received any response. If I recall, it was Ruben Cusipag who mentioned about Cornelia in his book about Filipinos in Ontario. There is a Registration No. from the Ontario Law Society (?) for Cornelia that popped up in a Google search. Perhaps I should reach out to Alicia and make the necessary corrections. Thank you for your comments.
Congratulations to FCLN ! Congratulations Alicia . I hope your organization will take a stand on the blatant human rights violations and Philippine sovereignty issues in our Philippines !
Typo. Instead of [year], I left out the “s” in [years].