Filipino Lawyer Dexter Lacanilao Admitted by the Law Society of Manitoba to Practice Law

Filipino Lawyer Dexter Lacanilao Admitted by the Law Society of Manitoba to Practice Law

The 69 law graduates who hurdled the 2011 – 2012 Manitoba Bar Admission Program officially became lawyers last June 21, 2012 after taking their oath before justices of the Manitoba Court of Appeal and Court of Queen’s Bench in this year’s mass Call to the Bar. They are now qualified to practice law as barristers and solicitors. The ceremony, which is a special sitting of the Court of Queen’s Bench, was held at the Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall.

Among those called to the bar is our kababayan, Attorney Dexter Lacanilao – a Filipino Lawyer who used to practice law in the Philippines. He and his family moved to Canada in 2008. His wife, Mary Claire, who is likewise a lawyer in the Philippines, is currently a Deputy Registrar of the Court of Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg.

Dexter earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in the Philippines, has passed the Philippine Bar Examinations almost a decade ago, and is a member of the Philippine Bar. He has also finished studying the required law courses at the University of Manitoba. He has obtained the licences to practice law in Manitoba and the Philippines.

Dexter is a former Court Attorney of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (the highest court in the Philippines) and of the Philippine Court of Appeals. He likewise held other positions in the Philippine government as Legal Division Chief of a provincial office of the Department of Agrarian Reform and as Public Attorney in a district office of the Department of Justice’s Public Attorney’s Office. He likewise practiced law at a law firm in Greenhills, San Juan and in Nueva Ecija, Philippines.

Aside from practicing law, Dexter has also taught courses in civil law and commercial law in the Philippines to paralegal students at the Arellano University in Manila and at the Institute of Continuing Legal Studies and Education in Greenhills, San Juan.

While studying law at the University of Manitoba, Dexter volunteered with the University of Manitoba Law Centre – Legal Aid Clinic and appeared for clients before the Provincial Courts of Manitoba. After studying law at the University of Manitoba, he worked as an Articling Student-at-Law in Winnipeg with the Agassiz Community Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba.

Starting this July, Dexter will join the law firm of Booth Dennehy LLP in Winnipeg. He is ready to serve the Filipino community in Manitoba.


Photos by Reyne Cruz | Filipino Journal