Who is Donna Seale?
My history as a human rights lawyer
I’m a lawyer who has been practicing law in Manitoba since 1995. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a really varied and interesting legal career. While I started out as a civil litigator in private practice, I eventually moved on to Manitoba Justice, where I became litigation counsel to a wide range of public sector clients, including the Vulnerable Persons’ Commissioner and the Manitoba Human Rights Commission. I later moved on to become the Commission’s Manager of Investigation and Mediation.
During the course of my time working with the Manitoba Commission, I developed extensive knowledge and experience in the area of human rights law and the investigation and mediation of human rights complaints. Moreover, my role as Manager provided me with unique insight into applying human rights law in a different context — the management of my own staff.
But, while I enjoyed the legal side of the work I did for the Commission, what I valued most were the opportunities I had to teach — whether it be in relation to the courses I developed for and delivered to Commission staff, other organizations or members of the public.
My experience working with the Commission taught me a lot of things, but probably the most critical to the rest of my story is the discovery that the vast majority of human rights complaints in Canada stem from the workplace. And, in a high proportion of those cases, employers and their employees often do not really understand how human rights law applies to their particular situation. In many instances, there are employers who are completely unaware of their human rights law obligations as it relates to their workplaces.
The birth of my company
And so, after taking some time away from the work-for-pay world to give birth to and focus on raising my twin daughters (definitely a job in itself!!), I had an epiphany. OK, maybe it was delusions from sleepless nights, but it was during this ‘down time’ that I decided the time was right to start my own business. And so I did, in January of 2006.
Through my company, I teach businesses how to comply with their human rights law obligations and avoid costly liabilities.
I do this by providing engaging and quality training courses and related services to help employers understand what human rights law requires of them and how to nip potential human rights issues in the bud before they become unavoidable messes.
With the proper knowledge and tools, I firmly believe that ensuring adherence to human rights law isn’t really very complicated or certainly does not have to be as overwhelming and complicated as it is often made out to be. It is the lack of affordable, easy access to guidance and information that results in frustration — that’s where I come in.
My difference
I work closely with all of my clients to provide services that fit the needs of their specific business. My goal is to create a long-term partnership with all of my clients by providing service excellence at every turn. You always deal with me directly, the services I provide are reasonably priced, and satisfaction with my services is guaranteed.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking to develop the kind of relationship I describe and need help in the area of workplace human rights, then we should talk. Please send me a confidential e-mail and I will respond within 2 business days.
If you’re just here to find out more about me and learn about how Canadian human rights law issues impact today’s workplace, then please consider subscribing to my regular posts via RSS or e-mail. The choice is yours.
And, if you ever think of a topic you would like to see me tackle on this blog please do not hesitate to contact me . I always enjoy hearing from my readers!