Victoria Paris started her year with a new job as a co-founding principal of Kim Orr PC, a new firm launched by Won Kim, formerly of Roy Elliott Kim O’Connor (REKO). Paris and Kim departed REKO late last year in a much-gossiped about split (Amicable? “No comment.”), and together, along with former Affleck Greene Orr partner James Orr, have started a new practice focused on class action and commercial litigation.
“This is probably the pinnacle of my career so far,” says Paris, who is 33 years old. “Being a founding principal of this new firm is incredibly exciting.” In the midst of moving offices — Kim Orr and Roy Elliott O’Connor are still sharing the same set of offices, just shuffling them around — Paris sat down in the firm’s 23rd floor boardroom overlooking Front St. West (still clutching a REKO coffee mug, now a collector’s item) to talk about the new firm and her suddenly senior position in it.
Working on class action litigation isn’t for the faint of heart, she says. The complexity of the cases, which may involve hundreds or thousands of plaintiffs, is just the start.
“Some of these cases can take years to be resolved,” Paris says. “Some take years just to be certified.” In late December 2007, Kim and Paris received certification to proceed with a class action against Medtronic, a medical technology company that in 2005 had to recall 87,000 defibrillators with defective batteries. It took two years just to get to the certification stage, and since class action work is done on contingency, there’s the very real possibility of never getting paid.
“You don’t get paid until it’s over, and unless you’re successful,” Paris says. “It’s a huge upfront investment …. You have to be really careful about the cases that you choose to go forward with, and you have to have the ability to finance them.”
Still, Paris says she wouldn’t want to do any other kind of practice.
“It’s one of the most enjoyable areas of practice, because you are working with very sophisticated people,” she says, of both colleagues and opposing counsel. “And you have the ability to benefit a large number of people if you’re successful.”
“I always wanted to be a lawyer,” she says. “I knew since I was a little kid that that was what I wanted to do. I didn’t really know what being a lawyer was back then as an actual practice, but that’s what I wanted to do.” What sparked her interest? “This is going to sound really silly,” she says. “I was a huge Nancy Drew fan, and Nancy’s dad was a lawyer.”
Paris went to York University for her undergraduate degree in environmental studies, and then Osgoode Hall for law. Called to the bar in 2002, she articled for Kim and became his right hand through several incarnations of the firm that eventually became REKO.
Kim says he chose Paris to become a co-principal of the new firm because she’s got the technical chops to handle sophisticated class action files, but it’s more than that.
“What our clients are looking for is imagination, creativity, and judgment,” he says. “Victoria has sound judgment and she’s a very creative lawyer.”
Now, in addition to being a lawyer, she’s also an employer, and she sees it as an opportunity to build a different kind of practice. She thinks that common worries among lawyers about work-life balance could be solved by making the workplace a more enriching place to spend time.
“I think most of my friends would tell you my work-life balance is not that great, because I spend a lot of time at work. But to me, my work-life balance is okay because I love spending time here and I love the work that I’m doing.”
The Lowdown
Name: Victoria Paris
Firm: Kim Orr PC
Called to the bar: 2002
First Job: Tutor
Proudest moment: Starting my new firm as a founding principal
Worst subject: Property law
Greatest frustration: People who phone radio shows
Favourite law movie: The Rainmaker
Personal style: Classic / Elegant
Photography by Vanessa Heins