team
Your Family matters
lillian t. n. mackenzie
Lawyer & Partner
A sense of injustice turned Lillian away from becoming a scientist and towards becoming a lawyer. Lillian sees her role as a problem-solver and uses her analytical skills to determine what strategies will give her clients the best solutions available. Lillian is a skilled and innovative negotiator and believes that the best solutions are found outside of court. That said, where court is the only option, Lillian is a staunch advocate and does not shy away from advancing an unpopular position, if it is the right position.
Lillian appreciates the tremendous impact lawyers, through their advice and advocacy, have upon the lives of their clients. She values the trust each and every client has placed in her to help them move from the worst time in their life through to a hopeful future; it is helping clients in this journey that Lillian finds most rewarding.
Matters that Lillian finds truly rewarding are those where she can help right a true injustice. Occasionally that can occur from some clear and to-the-point communications, occasionally it requires advocacy in the court.One divorce file that Lillian found particularly rewarding, was where the parents were so entrenched in their anger with one another that they had lost sight of how their child was suffering. Keeping the best interests of the child in mind throughout the litigation, earned Lillian the trust of both parties which in turn allowed her to persuade them to come to a resolution, over the opposing counsel’s objections. Lillian also finds estate litigation rewarding and has recently protected the inheritance of a beneficiary from the effects of a will that was signed under questionable circumstances that would have left the beneficiary essentially disinherited.
Lillian didn’t always dream of being a lawyer.In her early twenties, disillusioned with the Faculty of Science, Lillian had two choices, go into Law School or follow her love of singing and enter the School of Music. A 20-minute chance encounter at a dog park with the husband of an opera singer, who was in town for one night, gave Lillian a brief insight into what her life might be like.The deal was sealed, and she applied to write the LSAT the next day.
Visionary Inspiration
Winston Churchill is the visionary that has had the most impact on Lillian.Churchill’s ideas weren’t always popular, but they were usually right. He did not take the easy path; he took the path he knew had to be followed for the greater good at a great personal cost. He used his intelligence and wit to put the issues of the day in plain language, and in doing so persuaded a nation to stand it’s ground.
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile – hoping it will eat him last.” – Winston Churchill.
Education
- J.D., University of Manitoba
- B.Sc. (hons.), University of Manitoba