The CHBA is very proud to endorse its member, Orlando Da Silva, for Bencher in the Toronto Region! (Voting opens mid-April 2019 and ends on April 30, 2019).
Orlando has been a Toronto trial lawyer for 24 years, starting his practice at one of Canada’s largest law firms, and, after 11 years ( five as a partner) he moved to the public sector to lead the Corporate-Commercial Litigation Team at the Ministry of the Attorney General. In that role, he had the privilege of representing Ontario in the most critical and high risk civil litigation involving the province.
More recently, he moved to criminal prosecutions, as an inaugural member of the Serious Fraud Office, where he serves as a Senior Crown Counsel prosecuting the most serious financial crimes in Ontario.
He is also a past president of the Ontario Bar Association, which represents 16,000 lawyers in the province. During his term in 2014-2015, he helped lead the profession across Canada in a mental health anti-stigma campaign by speaking publicly about his own experience with depression how, despite these struggles, he has, and continues to lead, a very successful and rewarding life. His message of hope, resilience, and strength has reached over 6 million people.
For these efforts, Canadian Lawyer Magazine named him one of The Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in 2015. In 2016, the Law Society of Ontario honoured him with the Law Society Medal. That same year, CBC Metro Morning nominated him as Torontonian of the Year and CAMH presented him with its bi-annual Transforming Lives Award. In 2017, the Ontario Bar Association presented him with its highest honour, the Distinguished Service Award. And in 2018, the OBA Public Law Section recognized his career with the Tom Marshall Award of Excellence for Public Sector Lawyers.
For more information about Orlando's campaign, please visit: https://www.orlandodasilva.net
For more information about the Law Society of Ontario's 2019 Bencher Election, please visit: https://lso.ca/about-lso/governance/bencher-election-2019