Profile
“Employment law is constantly changing. Staying on top of the changes helps us provide the best solutions to workplace conflict”
Lai-King Hum,
The Hum Law Firm
A recognized leader in all aspects of workplace law, 5-Star employment lawyer Lai-King Hum is also sought out for her knowledge and expertise in workplace investigations. With a career spanning more than two decades, she has established herself as a trusted advisor who cares about her many clients and provides them with the most practical solutions for their workplace issues.
Having started law school at McGill University with the idea to “do good,” Hum feels that her career journey has taken her to a place where she is doing what she has set out to do.
After being called to the bar in Quebec, she began working at a reputable national law firm in Montreal. At a time when diversity and equity in the workplace were not part of the conversation, she was one of very few from the Chinese-Canadian community to be brought into a major firm in Canada. It was here that she started to hone the foundational skills that shaped her into the legal professional she is today.
First Canadian Place, 100 King St. West, Suite 5700, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1C7
1 416 214 2329
info@thehumlawfirm.ca
ca.linkedin.com/in/laikinghumhumlawfirm
thehumlawfirm.ca
Lai-King Hum
Principal and Senior Lawyer
The Hum Law Firm
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Bio
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Bio
Milestones
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Bio
Milestones
“How a lawyer applies the law in specific scenarios is the most important aspect of employment law. This type of application of the law comes with experience and helps us build trust so we can take into consideration client needs”
Lai-King Hum,
The Hum Law Firm
2014
2013–2017
2020–2021
2022
Present
Launched Hum Law Firm
2014
2013–2017: President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers
2015–2017: Worked in EDI as Chair of the Roundtable of Diversity Associations
2016: Nominated for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Laura Legge Award, which recognizes women lawyers from Ontario who have exemplified leadership within the profession
2017: Appointed Deputy Judge of the Superior Court of Justice, Toronto Small Claims Court and as one of the Counsel in the Discrimination and Harassment Counsel Program, operating independently but funded by the Law Society of Ontario
2013–
2017
2018: Recognized as one of Canadian Lawyer’s 25 Outstanding Lawyers of Influence, Human Rights category
2019: Nominated for RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards
2020: Received FACL Lawyer of Distinction Award
2020–2021: President of the Ontario Deputy Judges Association
2020–
2021
Appointed as Independent Complaint Review Commissioner for the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants
2022
Member of Legal Leaders for Diversity (diversitychampions.ca)
Present
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
Aug 2022
Milestones
Sept 2021
Feb 2022
Apr 2022
Jul 2022
Aug
2022
Suncorp Bank introduces Solar Home Bonus offer for customers who are choosing renewable energy for their homes
Sept 2021
Month-on-month market share growth commences
Feb 2022
Suncorp Bank wins the Canstar award for most outstanding value in investment loans
Apr 2022
Suncorp Bank wins Money Magazine’s Bank of the Year and Business Bank of the Year awards for the fifth year in a row
Jul 2022
Suncorp Bank’s turnaround times are the lowest they have ever been. The lender becomes Australia’s first certified carbon neutral bank for both its operation and transaction services
Aug 2022
Milestones
After moving to Toronto, Hum has worked at reputable firms with a focus on both employment law and litigation, as well at the Law Society of Ontario doing work in professional regulation. Ultimately, in 2014, she decided to establish her own practice, Hum Law Firm, to better serve her clients, and to give herself the opportunity to pursue other aspects of the profession that were important to her.
Since founding her own law firm, Hum has taken on appointments outside of her daily practice that she finds both meaningful and enhances the work she does in her practice. Her equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) work, a topic that she speaks on often, shines a light on the perspectives that she brings to the practice of law. As a past chair of the Roundtable of Diversity Associations and past president of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, Hum was and continues to be an advocate for EDI and the fight against racism, discrimination, and harassment. Based on her work in EDI, she was also appointed in 2017 as one of the counsel in the Discrimination and Harassment Counsel Program, operating independently but funded by the Law Society of Ontario. Additionally, she has served as a deputy judge in the Superior Court of Justice, Toronto Small Claims Court, since 2017 and became the president of the Ontario Deputy Judges Association in 2021.
Her work in EDI and her own lived experiences give her the unique ability to deal with the many sensitive issues that can arise with increasingly diverse workplaces, particularly for her workplace investigation.
Over the last decade or so, changing workplaces have seen employees empowered to speak up about inequities and challenges in the workplace, leading to the need for a more skilled approach to investigations and employment litigation. Hum takes this challenge in stride, and leans on her adeptness, flexibility, and ability to prioritize and find solutions for clients.
“Employment law is constantly changing. Staying on top of the changes helps us provide the best solutions to workplace conflict,” Hum says.
Ever since establishing her firm, Hum has been able to practice law in a way that feels authentic to her and enables her to achieve a crucial balance between her personal and professional lives. Her focus and care in resolving conflicts through seeking the best outcomes make a significant difference to clients, and the same caring attitude has highlighted her other contributions to the legal community.
“Any lawyer can learn the law,” she says. “How a lawyer applies the law in specific scenarios is the most important aspect of employment law. This type of application of the law comes with experience and helps us build trust so we can take into consideration client needs.”