Board Biography

Verlyn Francis

Verlyn Francis received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1995 and articled at Weir & Foulds. She is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the Women’s Law Association of Ontario and the Black Business and Professional Association. She has studied Advanced Family Mediation with the Law Society and is a member of the ADR Institute of Ontario.

Upon her call to the Ontario Bar in 1997, Ms. Francis opened her General Practice on Bay Street in Toronto. In 2001, she was an instructor in the School of Legal and Public Administration at Seneca College. She continues her legal practice in Civil Litigation, Corporate/Commercial, Estates, Family, and Commercial and Residential Real Estate.

As a consultant, Ms. Francis advises not-for-profit corporations on developing and implementing strategic plans, structure, governance, and maintaining mutually beneficial partnerships.

In 2004, she was appointed by the Government of Ontario to the College Relations Commission and the Education Relations Commission.

Ms. Francis balances her professional life with giving back to the community. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Board of Trade from 2000 to 2004, the Toronto Community Foundation 1998 to 2004, and the Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni Association from 1997 to 2004. She is the founding Chair of the Gold Key Awards Committee of Osgoode Hall Alumni Association and the past Chair of the Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund.

Verlyn won First Prize in the National Essay Competition for Research and Education from the National Association of Women and the Law. At graduation from Osgoode Hall Law School, she won the Torken Manes Prize for the student who best combined academic excellence with service to the community, along with the Student Honour Award for outstanding contribution to the students at Osgoode.

Ms. Francis is the recipient of the Black Business and Professional Association’s Volunteer Award in 2001, the Antigua and Barbuda 25th Anniversary of Independence Award in 2006, and is listed in Who’s Who in Black Canada.