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Lawyers and Staff
Michael Janigan – Special Counsel, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Michael Janigan is Special Counsel, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), working in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Janigan represents PIAC and its clients before the Ontario Energy Board and in transportation and competition act matters, as well as general consumer protection. Michael was Executive Director and General Counsel until taking on his new role in September 2012.
Prior to working for PIAC, Janigan was a city and regional councillor representing a downtown ward in the City of Ottawa. He was elected to that position in the community where he carried on a busy litigation legal practice.
Mr. Janigan was born in Ottawa and attended the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario where he obtained both his undergraduate degree in science and his LLB degree. He was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1980. He is also a member of the State Bar of California. He has received an LLM in competition law from the University of London. In addition to his position with PIAC, Mr. Janigan was counsel to the law firm of Scott Hempling and Associates, based in Washington, D.C.from 2001-2006. The Hempling firm provided legal advice to many state regulatory commissions across the United States on issues associated with energy and telecommunications competition and regulation.
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John Lawford – Executive Director/General Counsel
John Lawford is Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in Ottawa. John has been with PIAC since July 2003 and Executive Director and General Counsel since September 2012. Prior to coming to PIAC, John was a lawyer at a large national law firm doing medical-legal research. John has also been Research Director at a major Ottawa law firm. John was Special Projects Director and Webmaster for QUICKLAW Inc. from 1992 to 1999. He has an undergraduate degree in English and a Law degree from Queen’s University (1990).
John is active in the areas of telecommunications, privacy and financial services from a consumer perspective.
Janet Lo joined the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in Ottawa as Legal Counsel in 2009. She has an undergraduate degree in Education from the University of Alberta and a Law degree from the University of Ottawa. Janet is active in the areas of broadcasting, telecommunications, privacy, electronic commerce from a consumer perspective. Janet has researched and written several reports for PIAC on important consumer issues, such as premium text messaging, online returns and consumer privacy.
Jonathan Bishop – Research & Parliamentary Affairs Analyst
Jonathan Bishop is a Research Analyst at the Ottawa office of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. Prior to joining PIAC in August 2012, Jonathan was a Parliamentary Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Officer at the Competition Bureau. As well, he spent 8 years working in the Senate and the House of Commons as a Policy Advisor and Legislative Assistant. Jonathan holds a graduate degree in Political Science from Acadia University and an undergraduate degree from the University of New Brunswick.
Donna Brady joined PIAC in the spring of 1992 as full-time office administrator. Her background is in Business Administration. Previous to joining PIAC, she worked as the Administrative Assistant for a City and Regional Councillor.