Mark Lerner

Mark Lerner discusses his 2011 presidency of The Advocates’ Society, emphasizing his role as an ‘out-of-towner’ from London, Ontario who spent 30-40% of his time expanding the Society’s presence beyond Toronto. He led initiatives including national expansion efforts that established chapters like one in Alberta with 80-100 members, The Advocates’ Society Gives Back program initiated by Marie Henein that raised $80,000 for an aboriginal family, and his own project funding a triage lawyer at Children’s Hospital in London. Lerner worked with executive colleagues Peter Griffin, Rob Bell, Alan Mark, and Peter Lukasiewicz from major Toronto law firms on various reforms including intervention policy changes and the Catzman civility award.

Lerner’s legal career was deeply influenced by his family’s history in London, Ontario. His father Mayer Lerner started practicing law in 1929 during the stock market crash, faced significant challenges as a Jewish lawyer in London, and was eventually appointed as a judge in 1971. Mark attended York University to escape London’s restrictive social atmosphere, studied at Windsor and Osgoode law schools, articled at Thomson Rogers in Toronto, but ultimately returned to London to join the family firm Lerners. His early practice focused on personal injury litigation as Earl Cherniak’s junior, and he experienced firsthand the anti-Semitism and discrimination prevalent in 1960s London, Ontario. Throughout his career, he maintained extensive involvement in professional organizations and advocacy work, traveling 700-800 km per week during his Society presidency to maintain visibility outside the Greater Toronto Area.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.