35 Years, 35 Voices: Meet Michelle Jorge
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 Michelle Jorge, member since 2003.
Member Profile
Name: Michelle Jorge
Firm: Jewell Radimisis Jorge LL.P
Year called to the bar: 2004
Joined OTLA: 2003
We asked Michelle 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 started out at a firm that was very much involved with OTLA and happened to attend a conference as an articling student. I was blown away.
If you’ve been a member for more than five years, what has inspired you to renew your membership?
OTLA has been an integral part of my journey as lawyer. I have learned so much and benefited in countless ways from what has been provided by, and my involvement in OTLA.
Do you have a memorable OTLA moment or story you’d like to share?
I have more than one but will share one that stood out to me as a young lawyer. I was attending a settlement meeting at a defence firm on a file that involved someone who had an issue with her license. Defence counsel was trying to use this against her to avoid paying on the file. They referenced a particular case that seemed very damning for my position. While on a break I contacted the OTLA lawyer on that case, whom I did not know. I mentioned that I was an OTLA member and explained the situation. He and another fellow OTLA member immediately stepped into action to help me distinguish the case and I was able to settle my file.
What is something you learned at an OTLA event that you still use in your practice today?
I spoke at a New Lawyers Division (NLD) Conference back in 2008 and Barb Legate was presenting a topic dealing with prep time and managing your practice. That presentation completely changed how I practised, how I managed my time and how I started planning for the preparation of each case that I have worked on since.
Have you made any meaningful professional connections through OTLA? If so, who or in what way?
Absolutely. Jewell Radimisis Jorge (JRJ) was born through OTLA. My partner Tina and I met at the 2008 Spring Conference when I became the NLD Chair, and she became the Women Trial Lawyers Caucus Chair. A few years later, JRJ came to life. I have also connected with so many amazing lawyers, some of whom we continue to work with today.
How has OTLA influenced your practice or contributed to your career growth?
Genuinely speaking, in too many ways to name. I learned so much from attending conferences, networking with other lawyers, being on the OTLA Board for 10 years, being mentored by incredible former presidents like Steve Rastin, Greg Monforton, Judith Hull and the list goes on and on.
What advice would you give to new OTLA members or lawyers just starting out?
Get involved. Get involved in everything and attend events in person. Sign up for committees, invite lawyers to coffee and pick their brains, write for The Litigator, ask to watch trials, discoveries and mediations by senior counsel.
What does being part of the OTLA community mean to you?
It is a collective power that provides us personal injury lawyers with such an advantage that would not have otherwise existed. It is an advantage that I am grateful for and continue to benefit from to this day.