Cochrane Sinclair is proud to announce that Lindsay LeBlanc has been called to the Bar in Manitoba.
Lindsay is Red River Métis and a citizen of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Raised in Winnipeg, she credits the city’s strong urban Indigenous community with shaping both her identity and the path that eventually led her to law.
Before attending law school, Lindsay spent eight years working as a legal assistant and paralegal at Legal Aid Manitoba in child protection, family law, and criminal law, as well as in civil litigation and insurance law in the private sector. That experience gave her a practical foundation in the legal system before she went on to complete both a Juris Doctor and a Juris Indigenarum Doctor at the University of Victoria.
Through the JID program, Lindsay studied various Indigenous legal orders across Turtle Island to understand how those legal systems interact with Canadian law. One lesson that has stayed with her was a teaching by Professor Jeffery Hewitt wherein he used water colour painting as a methodology to teach principles of “community lawyering”. Professor Hewitt instilled in the cohort is that law must be shaped by the communities it serves.
“When we’re creating laws for a community, the people are the water,” Lindsay shared. “We have to work with the water as an integral part of each community and incorporate them into the laws, and it’s the water that will shape what the law will look like.”
That understanding continues to guide Lindsay’s developing practice, particularly in the area of drafting Indigenous laws and supporting First Nations as they build their own legal frameworks.
During her articling term at Cochrane Sinclair, Lindsay contributed to a range of complex files, including First Nations election matters and the ongoing Eishia Hudson inquest. She describes her role as being “a legal detective who searches for truth and evidence,” working as part of a team to gather facts, corroborate evidence, and support meaningful legal work.
Shameem Koshy (Counsel) and Lindsay LeBlanc celebrating her call to the Bar.
Lindsay’s interest in child protection and systemic issues began in high school, when a law class assignment led her to follow the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry. Years later, those same areas remain closely connected to the work she is now doing at Cochrane Sinclair.
As she begins this next chapter as a lawyer, Lindsay brings a strong foundation in Indigenous legal orders, years of hands-on legal experience, and a clear commitment to community-informed legal work.
Please join us in congratulating Lindsay LeBlanc on her call to the Bar.