2010-2011 – Mtre Michèle Moreau

Attorney since 1990, Mtre Moreau has been the Executive Director of Pro Bono Québec since January 2009. After earning a bachelor of laws degree from the Université de Montréal, she was in private practice before becoming Assistant Director of the labour relations service of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She spent a decade gaining solid experience in labour relations, which brought her to teach this subject at the Bar School.

Since beginning to practice, Michèle has been actively involved in various organizations of the law community, including the Young Bar Association of Montreal, the Bar of Québec, the Canadian Bar Association and, obviously, the Bar of Montréal, where she was secretary for one year and councillor for six.

Michèle has also been a member and chaired numerous committees, including the Mentoring Committee, the In-House Counsel committee and the Liaison with the Commission of Labour Relations Committee. Moreover, she served as the first Chair of the ecoCommittee, at the request of Mtre Gilles Ouimet.

She has continued, now for nearly 15 years, to help ensure that the Day of the Bar runs smoothly, as she previously did with the group swearing-in celebration.  Throughout these many years, Michèle has never hesitated to help out in performing those small tasks that enable the guests, and I must admit it, the Bâtonnier, to enjoy their day.  Those who find themselves on her list of potential volunteers are very familiar with her fierce effectiveness.  It is indeed difficult to refuse her anything.

Moreover, in spite of her important responsibilities as Executive Director of Pro Bono Québec, Michèle continues to contribute to Bar of Montreal projects. She is very active on the Legal Duty Counsel Committee and cooperated actively on establishing the pro bono Legal Information Service at the Montreal Municipal Court.

We must also mention her intensive involvement in creating the Centre de justice de proximité du grand Montréal, a project initiated by the Bar of Montreal. In other words, her generosity in offering her services has no limit when it comes to serving her Bar.

Michèle is a dedicated, efficient and reliable person who amply deserves this tribute.  She is one of those people that the Bar of Montreal is glad to have among its volunteers because when she accepts a task, we don’t need to give it any further thought: we know that it will be done.