Page 9 - CCCA 278683 Magazine_Spring 2018
P. 9
{ PROFILE }
Building
Success
One Community at a Time
By Lynne Yryku
julia Shin Doi developed a strong sense of community from a young age. Her parents
immigrated to Canada from South Korea when she was only 2 years old. “We lived in
one of the poorer areas of Toronto,” she explains. “The Korean community nurtured me
and became my extended family. i felt a great sense of belonging.” She adds, “When i
was called to the bar, the whole Korean community was excited!”
his immigrant experience shaped actionable change for diversity. Diverse Work And reCognition
her outlook early on, helping her Champions for Diversity has held a ses- Julia became General Counsel and Secre-
tdefne her purpose: “to be a com- sion on board and public appointments, tary of the Board of Governors at Ryerson
munity builder, a real connector.” “As an and a diversity pitch event that matches University in Toronto in 2011. As an Execu-
immigrant, you lack social capital,” she leading corporate counsel with racial- tive Group member, she provides legal and
explains. “I have founded organizations ized and diverse private practice lawyers. governance advice to all the areas of the Ry-
to create and be a part of those commu- “It was a grassroots initiative to build and erson community, and has operational re-
nities. I always say, ‘If there isn’t one, let’s promote diversity.” sponsibility for access to information, pri-
build it!’” Women General Counsel Canada start- vacy and records management. Julia leads a
ed in a similar fashion. “When I started as team of lawyers, professionals and law stu-
From grAssroots to nAtionAl GC, I got a call from other women GCs to dents, and advises a board of 24 members.
Over the years, Julia has founded (and co- have lunch. When we got together, we said, She is a member of the Board of Di-
founded) numerous legal organizations, ‘There must be more of us.’” And it grew rectors of Ryerson Futures Inc. and a
such as the Diverse Champions for Diver- from there. Now there are more than 100 past member of the national Board of
sity, Women General Counsel Canada, the members across Canada who share the Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insur-
Korean Canadian Lawyers Association, goal of helping women in general counsel ance Exchange. She advises Ryerson’s Law
the Federation of Asian Canadian Law- and executive legal leadership roles succeed Practice Program and is an ambassador
yers, the Roundtable of Diversity Associa- as legal and business executives. for Ryerson’s Law School initiative.
tions and the Council of Ontario Univer- “I’m a social entrepreneur,” she explains. In addition, she is a noted author-
sities Legal Counsel Group. “I see starting organizations more like com- ity on contract drafting, teaching lawyers
“I like working with others to get munity building, pulling together people for more than 20 years. She co-authored
things done,” she says. She helped found with similar interests and similar challeng- Behind and Beyond Boilerplate: Drafting
Diverse Champions for Diversity in 2016, es. It helps you work through them. The Commercial Agreements, the fourth edi-
for example, to promote awareness and added beneft is the networking.” tion of which will soon be released.
CAnADiAn CORPORATe COUnSel ASSOCiATiOn | CCCA-ACCje.ORG 9
