MacKay OK at Baker & McKenzie Peter MacKay, the former federal attorney general and minister of Defence, will be joining global law firm Baker & McKenzie LLP’s Toronto office, ending media speculation around potential leadership by MacKay of the Conservative party.
Peter MacKay will be a partner at the firm, working in litigation, government enforcement, and compliance.
There had been media speculation about MacKay returning to politics in light of the leadership race for the Conservative party, but MacKay says he wants to focus on practicing law.
“What I can tell you is that I have made a very clear decision to resume the practice of law, and so that’s where my focus is,” says MacKay.
“I made that decision some time ago, when I exited politics to spend more time with my family, to be more available to them, but also just to return to the private sector was always my intention, as a career, to practice law.”
MacKay says it will be the first time he’s made his home in Toronto, where he will be settling with his family, including two young children.
He says he is hopeful about having a healthy work-life balance.
“That was part of the calculus. I think it’s a good fit here. It’s a very family-friendly environment, among other qualities attributable to Baker & McKenzie,” says MacKay. Baker & McKenzie has about 80 lawyers in Toronto and about 4,400 worldwide.
“All law firms react to what’s happening with their clients and what their clients’ needs are,” says Kevin Coon, managing partner of the Toronto office.
George Adams receives honourary LLDThe Law Society of Upper Canada has awarded a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa to the Honourable George W. Adams.
Considered a Canadian pioneer of alternative dispute resolution, the former law professor, award-winning author, and former judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has acted as a mediator and facilitator in almost every type of conflict and conducted many public policy facilitations.
Anand becomes first research chair for investor rightsThe University of Toronto announced Jan. 27 that professor Anita Anand, a corporate law and governance expert, is the new J. R. Kimber Chair in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance at the university’s Faculty of Law. She becomes the first research chair for investor rights in North America thanks to a generous gift from well-known philanthropist the Hon. Hal Jackman, a law school alumnus, former U of T chancellor, and former lieutenant governor of Ontario.
The chair is named after J.R. Kimber, author of the foundational “Report of the Attorney General’s Committee on Securities Legislation in Ontario” (March 1965), which laid the foundation for Canada’s modern securities regulatory regime.
Law Times poll resultsLast week, we
asked our readers if they agree with the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to give governments an additional four months to figure out how physician-assisted death will occur. The bulk of our readers say time is not necessarily of the essence, but getting it right is.
Slightly less than 65 per cent of the respondents said yes, they agree with the decision to grant the extension, as it will allow governments to determine their approach and benefit Canadians. That left slightly more than 35 per cent of the respondents who said they do not agree with the extension because it is such a time-sensitive issue.
