After 20 years of dedicated service, Jonathan Herman has advised the Federation of Law Societies of Canada of his decision to retire as Chief Executive Officer. He will remain in his role until the end of the year, in order to support an orderly leadership transition.
Jonathan became the Federation’s first Chief Executive Officer in 2006 following a career as a corporate lawyer in Montreal and then serving as Chief of Staff to Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General. While at the Federation, he led its transformation into one of Canada’s leading justice system stakeholders, recognized as such nationally and around the world. Over the past two decades, he has guided the Federation through a period of significant change, strengthened collaboration among Canada’s law societies and advanced initiatives that have served the public interest in its role as the national association of Canada’s regulators of the legal profession.
Under Jonathan’s stewardship, the Federation established its place in Ottawa as the strong and trusted voice of Canada’s law societies, led an effective strategy in their fight against the risks of money laundering in the legal profession, and oversaw the rise of CanLII as Canada’s best-in-class online legal research tool for the legal profession and the public. It also set national standards for Canadian law school programs and professionalized the system for assessing the credentials of internationally-trained lawyers to practice law in Canada. In addition, the Federation spearheaded the groundbreaking national study on the mental health of legal professionals in Canada and led national efforts to address Calls to Action set out in the Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that were directed to law societies.
“On behalf of the Federation Council, I want to thank Jonathan for his exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to the Federation’s success over the past two decades,” said Louis-Martin Beaumont, President of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. “His vision, integrity and dedication have helped shape the Federation into the organization it is today, and we are deeply grateful for his many contributions.”
“I look back on my time at the Federation with immense pride and gratitude,” said Jonathan Herman. “It has been an honour to lead the Federation alongside an extraordinary group of staff colleagues, Council members, Presidents and law society leaders who saw the Federation’s potential and supported its national purpose. All of the Federation’s achievements were made possible because of a culture of genuine respect and consensus among people from every corner of the country who were always motivated to do their best and for the right reasons. I could not have asked for a more rewarding assignment. In this era of uncertainty, Canada’s legal institutions are needed more than ever, and the Federation has an important role to play in improving public confidence in them, the legal profession and the Rule of Law. I am excited to see what its future leaders will do next.”
Supported by the executive search firm Odgers, a selection committee is overseeing a national, competitive search for the Federation’s next CEO, who will build on the strong foundation that Jonathan has established and lead the Federation into the next chapter of its 100-year history.
The Federation extends its sincere appreciation to Jonathan for his outstanding service and wishes him every success and happiness in his retirement.
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About the Federation of Law Societies of Canada
The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is the national association of the 14 law societies mandated by the provinces and territories to regulate Canada’s legal profession in the public interest. It is the body through which Canada’s law societies collaborate at the national level, share information on trends and issues affecting the legal profession, and engage in collective action and decision making.
The Federation is also the law societies’ national and international voice on important issues related to the regulation and core values of the legal profession. For more information about the Federation, please visit our website at www.flsc.bcdn.ca.
For more information about this release, please contact:
Kylee Sauve
Senior Communications Advisor
Federation of Law Societies of Canada
communications@flsc.ca