Speaker Bio

John Lawford
Research Analyst, Barrister & Solicitor
Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC)

Topic: Production orders: reasonable or breach of privacy?

John Lawford is Counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), a national non-profit organization providing legal and research services on behalf of average consumer, and, in particular, vulnerable consumer interests, concerning the provision of important public services. He has been with PIAC since July 2003 and has recently researched and co-written two reports for PIAC: one on national security and consumer privacy and one a review of the consumer experience under PIPEDA. Prior to joining PIAC, Mr. Lawford was a research counsel at a major national law firm specializing in medical-legal research; he was also Research Director at a prominent Ottawa-based litigation firm. He was Special Projects Director and Webmaster for QUICKLAW Inc., a legal database company and now part of LexisNexis Canada, from 1992 to 1999. Mr. Lawford is active in the areas of e-commerce, privacy, financial services and health law from a consumer perspective. He has an undergraduate degree in English and a Law degree from Queen's University (1990).