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Deanna Steblyk, KC

Alberta Securities Commission, Calgary

Call: 1999

Statement

Deanna Steblyk, K.C., was called to the Alberta Bar in 1999 and worked as a civil litigator in private practice until February 2008. She then spent nine years as litigation counsel at the Alberta Securities Commission, prosecuting breaches of the Securities Act before the Commission tribunal and the Alberta Provincial Court (Criminal). In February 2017, she moved into the position of Senior Special Counsel to the Vice-Chairs of the Commission, where she assists with policy work and adjudication.

Deanna has always had a strong commitment to public service and governance, and has worked in a wide variety of volunteer capacities through the majority of her legal career. She considers it important to give back to the profession and the local community through volunteerism, and values the opportunity to make a contribution.

Deanna has been a Bencher since September 2018. Currently, she is President-Elect, Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee, and Chair of the Nominating Committee. Previously, she served as Chair or Vice-Chair of a number of other Law Society committees, including the Lawyer Competence Committee, the Policy and Regulatory Reform Committee, the Audit and Finance Committee, and the Conduct Committee. She is an avid mentor of law students and junior lawyers, participating in both the Mentor Express and Mentor Connect programs as well as the Canadian Bar Association’s law student mentor program.

Prior to becoming a Bencher, Deanna served on various Law Society committees continuously since 2004, including Credentials and Education, Assurance Fund Adjudications (Finance), Conduct, Audit and Finance, and the 100th Anniversary Celebration Steering Committee. From this experience and her recent experience as a Bencher, she developed an excellent understanding of how the Law Society works, its priorities, and its strategic objectives. She is committed to the independence of the bar, access to justice, and encouraging diversity in the profession and its institutions.

Deanna is an experienced board member and leader and has served in the following capacities in recent years:

  • Legal Aid Alberta, Board of Directors
    • Chair (2017-2020), Vice-Chair (2015-2017), Member (2015-2021)
  • Legal Aid Alberta, Appeal Committee (2015-present)
  • Canadian Bar Association, Civil Litigation (south) subsection, Executive Committee
    • Past Chair (2017-2018), Chair (2014-2017), Vice-Chair (2013-2014), Treasurer (2012-2013), Member (2009-2012)
  • Association of Women Lawyers (Calgary), Board of Directors
    • Immediate Past President (2016-2017), President (2014-2016), Vice-President (2010-2014), Secretary (2009-2010), Member (2008-2009)
    • Panel discussion moderator:  National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (November 2019); Bias on the Bench:  Lessons from the Justice Camp Inquiry (April 2017)
  • University of Calgary, Faculty of Law
    • Guest Instructor, Law 611 (each January, 2013-2023)
  • Calgary Humane Society
    • Board of Directors:  Immediate Past Chair (2017-2020), Chair (2009-2017), Member (2008-2009)
    • Member and Chair of various board and fundraising committees

In 2020, Deanna received her King’s Counsel designation.

In 2013, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her community service, and was a Women in Law Leadership Awards finalist in the category of Leadership in the Community in 2012 and 2013, and in the category of Leadership in the Profession (Broader Roles) in 2019.