Lisa Bildy is a lawyer and civil liberties advocate who practiced as a trial lawyer with a small litigation firm, before taking an unexpected hiatus to raise and homeschool her sons. As she was gearing up to return to full-time practice in 2017, she learned that the Law Society of Ontario was mandating lawyers to sign a Statement of Principles, undertaking to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in all aspects of their lives, as a condition of practicing law. Believing it was not for a regulator to dictate lawyers’ principles or force them to become activists for a particular worldview, Lisa led a successful campaign to elect a slate of 22 lawyers, who were committed to repealing this requirement, to the law society’s governing board. They won with top votes.

Lisa then worked for two years as a staff lawyer with the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, before resuming her private practice known as Libertas Law, where she focuses on defending civil liberties and individual freedoms. She is an occasional writer and speaker on these topics.