Dale Wispinski, '07 LLB, made herself laugh when, several years into her legal career, she caught herself telling more junior lawyers leaving the office for court to "have fun."
As a law student, the idea of appearing in court filled her with trepidation. She considered becoming a tax lawyer, assuming it would keep her far away from courtrooms.
Wispinksi, who is now the Chief Appeals Commissioner and CEO of the Appeals Commission for Alberta Workers' Compensation, began appearing in court while articling with Miller Thomson LLP, and then more frequently as in-house counsel for the Appeals Commission.
"I suspect that anyone who tells you court isn't scary - at least at first - is lying," said Wispinski, who will share such insights at the January 28 edition of the Women in Law Speaker Series.
"Eventually, it became less scary than I thought it was going to be," she said. "You don't know what you're going to like until you try it. Things that seem terrifying can eventually become a fun challenge."
Wispinski, 39, hadn't planned on a law career. But while working for a regulatory body after graduating with a communications degree from the University of Calgary, she saw lawyers in action. She realized law didn't have to be the adversarial enterprise portrayed on TV. It could be collegial, productive and helpful. That appealed to her.
Wispinkski joined the Appeals Commission as legal counsel in 2012. In November 2018, she was appointed Chief Appeals Commissioner and CEO, and is the first woman and the youngest person to hold the role.
The Commission is the final level of appeal for workers' compensation matters for workers and employers in the province, and hears hundreds of cases each year.
In 2019, Wispinski received a prestigious Women in Law Leadership Award and was named one of Avenue magazine's Top 40 Under 40. In 2017, she co-founded the C-Retreat (formerly the Confidence Retreat) an annual gathering for professional women from Alberta to reflect on the past year, learn from facilitators and their peers, and focus on their ambitions and goals for the year ahead.
For her 2020, Wispinski is looking forward to the release of the Appeals Commission's new vision, mission and values. She and her team are also working on a plain language initiative to make the Commission's decisions more accessible to the clients.
She encourages students attending the Speaker Series to chat with her afterwards if they'd like to continue the conversation. As Wispinski has found, developing and nurturing relationships and friendships throughout one's law career is of utmost importance.