MCCARTHYS TO SUPPORT NEW INTERNSHIP PROGRAMMcCarthy Tétrault LLP is creating a new business law internship program at Osgoode Hall Law School for students looking for practical experience.
McCarthys is throwing in $150,000 to create the program that will place up to five students annually at for-profit or non-profit organizations in the summer. Each participating student will receive $10,000.
“To create experiential learning opportunities, the law school needs partners who understand and share our belief that hands-on learning provides a more well-rounded education,” said Osgoode dean Lorne Sossin.
“Internships do not only that but they also give students financial resources to fund their legal education. We are truly grateful to McCarthy Tétrault LLP for the support and commitment the firm has shown to Osgoode and the ongoing development of our students.”
So far, placements at FirstService Corp., the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Ontario Securities Commission are in the works.
Marc-André Blanchard, chairman and chief executive officer of McCarthys, said he spoke to Sossin and “knew this was exactly the kind of innovative programming our firm would want to support.”
NEW JUDGES, JPS APPOINTEDThe Ontario government has announced the appointment of two new associate chief justices at the Ontario Court of Justice.
Regional senior judges Lise Maisonneuve and Faith Finnestad will begin their new roles later this year.
Maisonneuve became a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in 2003 and has acted as a local administrative judge in Ottawa since 2008. She became regional senior judge for the east region in 2011. She assumes the new role in July as she replaces Associate Chief Justice Peter Griffiths, whose six-year term is ending.
Finnestad, meanwhile, joined the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto in 1995 and became regional senior judge for the Toronto region in 2011. In September, she becomes associate chief justice as well as co-ordinator of justices of the peace. She replaces current Associate Chief Justice John Andrew Payne in September.
Besides the new associate chief justices, the province appointed Crown attorney James Chaffe as a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ont. At the same time, northern Ontario criminal defence lawyer David Gibson becomes a judge in Kenora, Ont. Both appointments are effective this week.
In addition, the province has appointed seven justices of the peace. Angelo Enrico Amenta, Samantha Burton, Anna Gibbon, Catherine Helen Henderson, Danalyn Jean MacKinnon, Kelly Visser, and Susan Whelan will join the Ontario Court of Justice effective Feb. 6.
CCCA CONFERENCE DETAILS ANNOUNCEDThe Canadian Corporate Counsel Association has announced details for its national conference in the spring.
The theme of the conference will be in-house counsel excellence in the last 25 years.
Keynote speakers for the three-day conference in April will include Paula Boggs, past leader of the global law department at Starbucks Coffee Co., and the judge advocate general of the Canadian Forces, Maj.-Gen. Blaise Cathcart.
The conference will also feature workshops on responding to executive misconduct and managing and protecting privacy and data. Attendees will also receive tips on risk management and business writing.
The conference will see the Robert V.A. Jones Award recipient honoured at a gala dinner at the Hilton hotel. The conference takes place April 14-16 in Toronto.
LAWYER BECOMES SCIENCE CENTRE CHAIRMANReal estate lawyer Brian Chu is the new chairman of the board of trustees of the Ontario Science Centre, the Ontario government announced.
Chu is a foundingpartner of Bogart Robertson & Chu. His practice focuses on commercial real estate law.
“As a member of the board of trustees since 2008, Mr. Chu has contributed dynamically to the development and implementation of the centre’s new strategic plan,” said Tourism, Culture, and Sport Minister Michael Chan.
“Mr. Chu has been an outstanding member of the board, sharing his energy, depth of knowledge, and sound judgment. I am confident that he will pursue a visionary path as chair.”
NEW PARTNERS AT HEENAN BLAIKIEHeenan Blaikie LLP has announced 11 new partners across the country.
The majority of the new partners will work in business and litigation law. In Toronto, the new partners are Michael Henriques and Alejandro Manevich.
In Ottawa, the new litigation partner is Mark Power. The remaining partners are at the firm’s Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Quebec City offices.
POLL RESULTSThe majority of respondents to a recent
Law Times poll aren’t optimistic about hiring and business prospects in the legal field in 2013.
The poll asking whether readers are optimistic about the legal business this year followed a Law Times story about a law school graduate’s desperate search for a job that prompted her to place an ad in Ontario Reports. According to the results, 64 per cent of respondents said they weren’t optimistic about business conditions.
