MELFORT — Melfort lawyer Foluke Laosebikan has been recognized for her contributions to the legal profession and public service with the Queen's Counsel designation.
Laosebikan, who’s also the president of the Law Society of Saskatchewan, said was mixed between feeling excited, grateful and humbled.
“The award means a lot in regards to peer recognition,” she said. “It’s a mix of feelings, but all good feelings.”
To gain the designation from the Minister of Justice, a practicing lawyer must have demonstrated superior legal ability; and prove they are of good character and integrity.
Laosenbikan said her path to law started with her as a child with an enjoyment of arguments.
“I was small, sassy at that time. The only way to keep me out of trouble was for me to become a lawyer and I could put that argument to good use,” she said.
“It worked in the sense I can still put the gift or the skill of arguing or debating and putting forward points, and the ability to listen to other points of view.”
Laosebikan earned an LL.B honours law degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria in 1993, before receiving a master’s degree and doctorate from University of Kwazulu-Natal, in Durban, South Africa.
She was admitted to the Canadian Bar Association in 2011, and in December 2020, was named the head of the Law Society of Saskatchewan.
Currently, she runs FLK Law in Melfort where she offers services in family law, estate planning, real estate, business/corporate law, general legal advice and general legal consulting.
“My passion and my greatest area of interest is family law,” she said. “I do have training in mediation, facilitation as well as collaboration law. The essence of this is to attempt to find a resolution to these types of issues without necessarily going to trial.”
Laosebikan said that while family law is her passion, and she finds it to be fulfilling, business and corporate tend to be her favourite.
“It’s a lot of paperwork but once a person knows what to do, they’re easy to complete and they’re not as gut-wrenching as family law sometimes will be.”
In terms of getting the award, Laosebikan said that as a Christian, she believes that at the end of the day God causes people to shine.
“There are a lot of lawyers who are working very hard and not everybody gets recognized,” she said. “God ultimately causes a person’s shine to be recognized.”
