Who are the top-earning lawyers in Ontario’s public sector 2015?

Who were the biggest earners among public-sector lawyers last year?

New to the top of the list is Karen Hacker, who took home $789,880.64 in 2015.

Hacker was the senior vice president, human resources/volunteers, general counsel and corporate secretary for the Toronto Organizing Committee for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.  The former No. 1 on the list, Howard Wetston, chairman and chief executive officer of the Ontario Securities Commission, now must make do with the No. 2 spot. Wetston had a salary of $705,828.64 in 2015. Former No. 1 earner Christopher Ginther, of Ontario Power Generation, rounded out the top three, bringing home $550,400.04 in 2015. That’s still a healthy amount higher than 2013, when Ginther clinched the top spot with $449,319.04. 

In the courts, Ontario Court of Justice Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve made $316,890.18 in 2015. Most Ontario Court judges earned $284,276.90. Madeleine Meilleur, the attorney general, earned $165,851.04 in 2015.

On this chart, Law Times lists, in descending order by salary, top earners from the Ministry of the Attorney General as well as law professors and other legal professionals working as counsel, general counsel, solicitors, directors of legal services, and in other senior roles among various municipal and provincial bodies and regulators. The list also covers the broader public sector, including hospitals. It does not include judges of the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal, as they are federally appointed.

The rest of the Ministry of Finance’s salary disclosure list is available online.

Click here to compare this year's salaries with last year's Law Times list.