Behind the scenes with Tamara Birkenheier

Bio basics: Senior legal counsel for Sunnybrook Research Institute (SRI) and Sunnybrook. Worked at Mount Sinai Hospital prior to joining Sunnybrook in 2011. Completed her law degree at the University of Toronto and undergraduate study at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. Born and raised in Scarborough, Ont. Lives in Toronto’s Beaches area with her husband and three daughters.

What drew you to Sunnybrook?

After taking some time off with my kids, I wanted to go back into the academic and hospital setting. I did enjoy my time at Mount Sinai. This opportunity arose by word of mouth, and Catherine Rosebrugh, our general counsel, had just started here. Prior to 2011, Sunnybrook didn’t have an in-house legal department. Catherine was looking for additional people to join the team, so I came on board. It was perfect timing and it all worked out.

What is different about working in a hospital legal office?

You’re much more involved in the business side of it. You’re part of a team, not just providing legal services for a client. You’re there to help make sure things can move forward smoothly. It’s an interesting environment to work in. There are a variety of issues that come up.

How large is the legal team?

There are four lawyers, a paralegal, a law clerk and an articling student for Sunnybrook as a whole.

What are some of your responsibilities?

I do a lot of work for SRI. There are a lot of contract negotiations. Any contracts that are related to research flow through the legal department. There are three of us in the department that oversee negotiations such as clinical trial agreements, funding agreements, intellectual property and technology licensing. In addition, we work closely with research finance; the human research protections program, which includes research ethics; and clinical trial services.

We also work very closely with the privacy office for research-related and corporate privacy issues that arise. People may have a question but aren’t sure where to go so they call legal. There are a host of questions that come up, maybe a business decision or an ethical matter. Every contract that’s signed at the institution goes through legal. We have over a thousand contracts that go through on an annual basis. It’s a very busy place. It’s a very large institution and we’re growing.

It’s interesting over the five years that I’ve been here, you see the change simply because people get to know there is a legal services department. It was new starting in 2011, so it took a while for people to realize that those services are available and things do need to go through legal services. As people become more aware of it and the legal services that are being offered, the work expands.

What do you like most about your job?

The variety of things that come up. Every day is a little different. You have your game plan of what you want to do for the day, then a question is thrown at you that needs to be answered and your day changes.

If you were not a lawyer, then which profession would you choose?

I was always interested in medicine, so that’s what drew me toward health law.

What are your interests outside of work?

My kids take up most of my time. They are very active, running around to activities.

I try to bike to work when I can, so cycling, running, horseback riding. My daughter rides so that’s gotten me back into it, which is nice. I try to read when I can. Spending time with family and friends.

What book are you reading now?

I’m supposed to be reading one for my book club called Medicine Walk. I’m not nearly through it yet.

Where have you travelled?

I used to travel a lot. I travelled for about a year; that’s when I met my husband. He’s from New Zealand, so we try to go every couple of years to visit his family. That’s probably the extent of our travelling. It’s a 24-hour trip all together. Camping is the one big thing we do as a family.