Spring is always a time of transition, of longer days, brighter weather and renewed energy. This period of change is felt especially strongly at LESA this year, with the announcement that our Executive Director, Paul Wood QC, is stepping aside from his role effective June 30, 2013.
He has made the announcement more than a year in advance to ensure a seamless transition in leadership and to positively manage the changes new leadership will bring. It is this kind of personal commitment to excellence that Paul has always brought to his roles with LESA, and it is because of this commitment that Paul and his team have achieved great things during his tenure.
Paul first joined the LESA team in 1990 as the Director of Publication and Program Development, after a successful stint “in the field” in a general law practice. This position eventually morphed into the Director of Continuing Legal Education, a role that deepened his dedication to enhancing the professional development of lawyers across the province.
Paul stepped into the Executive Director role in 2008. During this time LESA has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments. Most notably, he is proud of the international award-winning Rules of Court programming that brought together key hallmarks of learner engagement, use of multimedia, collaboration with key stakeholders and the blending of online and face-to-face learning opportunities to facilitate a seamless transition to this significant change. LESA has also made noteworthy advances in restoring the principal/student mentoring relationship in the CPLED program, and the organization is positioned at the forefront of excellence in continuing legal education world-wide.
Paul has also had a significant year personally, having been recently appointed as “Queen’s Counsel” and having celebrated a landmark birthday. It has therefore been a time of great reflection for him, and it is upon this reflection that he has chosen to mark these accomplishments with this announcement. He notes that “LESA is in a strong place, I am in a good place, now is a good time.”
But all of these external accomplishments aside, Paul is most proud of nurturing a strong team of professionals within the LESA staff. “The thing I enjoy most,” he says, “is watching Team LESA bring excellence, commitment and joy to their daily work serving the Alberta legal community.”
It is this team he will miss as he moves forward with his own plans for the future, and the team will also miss his daily presence and encouragement as he lives the core values of the organization – professional, collaborative, innovative, financially responsible. We’re glad Paul will still be an active presence in our organization during this transitional period.
LESA’s Executive committee, assisted by Paul and Managing Director, Jennifer LC Flynn, will be developing a process over the next period of time for succession to ensure the transition is seamless and successful.
