35 Years, 35 Voices: Meet Laurie Tucker
35 Years, 35 Voices highlights the members who have contributed to the Ontario Trial Lawyers Associations (OTLA) growth, strengthened access to justice and supported a collaborative plaintiff-side community across Ontario over the past 35 years.
Meet Laurie Tucker, OTLA Past President and member since 2002.
Member Profile
Name: Laurie Tucker
Firm: Burn Tucker Lachaîne
Year called to the bar: 2002
Joined OTLA: 2002
We asked Laurie to reflect on her time with OTLA, the role the association has played in her career and what being part of the OTLA community means to her.
What motivated you to join?
I was doing a fair bit of personal injury work early in my career and I heard about OTLA. I decided to join in order to attend a conference.
If you’ve been a member for more than five years, what has inspired you to renew your membership?
When I attended my first OTLA conference, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. I went alone and knew no one. I was in awe of the presentations and the collegiality I could see amongst more senior members. As time went on, I started bringing other lawyers and clerks from my firm and OTLA soon became a very big part of what we do. As a young and mid-career lawyer, I would bring my file list to every conference and make notes throughout the conference of things to do and ideas to consider. It sounds nerdy to say but I would leave conferences so inspired that I would sometimes stop at the office on my way back from a conference to implement some of those ideas right away.
Do you have a memorable OTLA moment or story you’d like to share?
There are too many OTLA memories to reduce it to one memorable moment or story but I would say the long-range planning meetings when I was on the Board are probably the most memorable for me. Having the opportunity to gather as a Board once a year to discuss the big OTLA issues, exchange ideas, make plans and connect with my fellow Board members was always an incredible experience.
What is something you learned at an OTLA event that you still use in your practice today?
There are so many little things but the most significant ideas that have stuck with me are about being prepared for trial and always keeping your client at the centre of everything you do.
Have you made any meaningful professional connections through OTLA? If so, who or in what way?
Yes, in addition to making many connections with sponsors and exhibitors, my most meaningful connections have been with OTLA staff and fellow Board members. It is very helpful to know that I have colleagues across the province I can call on. Some of my closest lawyer friends are friends I have made through my work with OTLA.
How has OTLA influenced your practice or contributed to your career growth?
I started on the OTLA Board as the New Lawyer Division (NLD) Chair in 2004, when I was in my fourth year of practice. I was on the Board for most of my career until 2025, first as NLD Chair, then as a regular Board member, Executive Committee member and eventually as President of OTLA. It is impossible for me to imagine what my career would have looked like without OTLA. OTLA was woven into the fabric of everything I did.
What advice would you give to new OTLA members or lawyers just starting out?
Go to conferences, offer to speak at conferences, offer to sit on committees, run for Board or section chair positions. No matter how much time you give to OTLA, what you get back will be immeasurable in comparison.
What does being part of the OTLA community mean to you?
It means everything. OTLA started as an organization of plaintiff lawyers who wanted to share ideas and strategies and support one another in the important work they were doing on behalf of plaintiffs. That is at the heart of everything OTLA has done over the last 35 years.
I practice with an amazing team, but it is great to get an outside perspective sometimes. I have called OTLA members when I have been in trial, when I have been preparing for trial, when I had difficult business or professional decisions to make and when I just needed to chat. Congratulations to OTLA on 35 years as a vital legal organization for plaintiff lawyers. I look forward to celebrating with you this year!