OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2016. Ottawa attorney Hilary McCormack, Chairperson of the Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada, was formally inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America at the LCA’s 2016 Spring Conference & Celebration of Fellows. Ms. McCormack was appointed the Chairperson of the MPCC in 2015 after a distinguished career in Criminal Law.

She graduated from the University of Western Ontario’s law school and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1980. After three years of private practice, she joined the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General as Assistant Crown Attorney in 1983 where she prosecuted complex homicides and developed expertise in a number of criminal justice issues: child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence; best practices in case management and trial processes and mental health. Ms. McCormack prosecuted the first case in Canada to successfully use DNA evidence.

She was seconded to the federal Department of Justice in 1992. Her work as General Counsel, Criminal Law and Policy, resulted in amendments to the Criminal Code of Canada which enhanced the general protection of women and children from sexual and physical violence. She received the Department of Justice Deputy Minister’s Merit Award in 1994.

In 2000 she was appointed the Crown Attorney for Ottawa, the first woman to hold that position. In 2009 Ms. McCormack was appointed Director of Crown Operations (East Region). She received the Ministry of the Attorney General Excelsior Deputy’s Award in 2010.

Among her many accomplishments, Hilary McCormack was a member of the Department of National Defence’s Military Police Advisory Committee from 2000 to 2005, which provided advice to senior military leadership about significant changes to the military police and their investigative capacity. She has taught criminal law and is a frequent speaker at judicial, legal and police conferences. She helped develop instructional material for the National Judicial Institute, and has written and published extensively on various legal issues. She has served as a volunteer on the boards of directors and committees of not-for-profit organizations.

The Litigation Counsel of America is a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Fellowship in the Litigation Counsel of America is highly selective and by invitation only. Fellows are selected based upon evaluations of excellence, effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, and superior ethical reputation. The LCA seeks a high level of diversity in its composition and includes Women’s and Diversity Initiatives. Established as a trial and appellate lawyer honorary society reflecting the American bar in the twenty-first century, the LCA represents the best in law among its membership.