The Canadian Hispanic Bar Association's objectives are:
• To give back to the Hispanic community and to the profession;
• To increase the number of Hispanic lawyers;
• To advance the standing of Hispanic lawyers in the community;
• To promote the cooperation and development of Hispanic lawyers; and
• To be involved in significant issues affecting the Hispanic community.
We are happy to confirm that once more the CHBA Scholarship for the Law Youth Summer Program (YSP) at the University of Toronto (U of T) was awarded to an inspiring Latino student. This scholarship supports Hispanic and Latino high school students (grades 10–12) interested in exploring the legal profession. Thank you Rita Villanueva for coordinating this Scholarship!
We would also like to congratulate Alejandro Mena, Diana Angel Zarate, Khaled Torres and Giselle Resendiz, recipients of the 2026 CHBA Legal Education & Access Scholarship, announced during our July AGM.
Their applications demonstrated outstanding dedication, promise, and commitment to advancing the legal profession. The CHBA is proud to recognize their accomplishments and support their continued legal education.
We also want to thank everyone who applied for this year’s scholarship. We were truly inspired by the talent, dedication, and achievements reflected in your applications and your personal and professional journeys.
We encourage you to continue pursuing your studies, professional goals, and community involvement with the same passion and determination. Your hard work and commitment are commendable, and we wish you every success in your academic and professional journey.
Congratulations to Jorge Resendiz Cisneros, recipient of this year’s CHBA uOttawa Hispanic Law Student Scholarship! The scholarship was presented at the Hispanic Heritage Day event hosted at Dentons Ottawa on October 6.
We are delighted to celebrate this achievement with our community and thank everyone who helped make the scholarship and event possible. We would like to congratulate the CHBA uOttawa chapter for working together to bring back the CHBA uOttawa Hispanic Law Student Scholarship for 2026.
This scholarship was made possible thanks to the law firms and individual sponsors that support this great initiative. Thank you to the Primary Sponsor, Emond Harnden, and other sponsors such as Rogers Partners LLP, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), Merovitz Potechin LLP and Brazeau Seller Law.
A special thank you to the Dentons team for once again sponsoring this scholarship and hosting the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.
CHBA has conferred the honorary title of Board
Member Emeritus on Victoria Romero in recognition of her
outstanding leadership and years of active service on the Board. We extend Victoria our heartfelt thanks for the time, care, and commitment she has devoted to CHBA.
Victoria is a lawyer, mediator, notary public, and adjudicator with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations, businesses, and families navigate legal challenges, resolve disputes, and plan for the future.
Called to the Ontario Bar in 2003, Victoria began her career as a Civil Litigator, focusing on disability law, insurance law, personal injury, and complex litigation involving significant medical and mental health issues.
In 2014, she expanded her practice by becoming a Mediator and Adjudicator. Since then, she has helped clients resolve workplace, family, condominium, governance, and organizational disputes through mediation, facilitation, conflict coaching, and restorative processes. Her law firm, VR LAW Barristers & Solicitors, founded in 2016, provides legal services in Real Estate, Wills and Powers of Attorney and Family Law.
Victoria has the distinct honour of being the First President of the Canadian Hispanic Bar Association (formerly known as HOLA then) in 2005, consistently supporting the organization throughout the years and returning as President again in 2025 to celebrate the CHBA’s 20th Anniversary.
Thanks to her volunteer service for more than three decades which includes many organizations such as Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, Casta Latina, the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society, the Roundtable of Legal Diversity Organizations (RODA), among others, she was nominated to the 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadian in 2025. We cannot wait to continue collaborating!
CHBA is proud to announce that Paolo Solano, whom we nominated for this honour, has been awarded the John E. Read Medal by the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL).
This medal, CCIL’s highest recognition, celebrates his outstanding contribution to the development and application of international law. A Mexican lawyer and Director of Legal Affairs at the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Paolo’s achievements are a source of pride for our community.
Joining the celebration were Minister Cristina Oropeza; Counsellor Juan Gabriel Morales Morales; Alfonso Vera Sánchez, Legal Affairs and Press; and lawyers Roberto Aburto, Graciela Jasa, Sara Arias, Victoria Romero, and Lilia Kvorka.
We are delighted to celebrate this well-deserved recognition. Congratulations, Paolo!
