Monday, June 5, 2017

LSUC AWARDS PRESENTED
Ontario legal professionals were recently recognized for their exceptional achievements by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The 2017 Law Society Awards were presented May 24 during a ceremony at Osgoode Hall in Toronto.

Among the winners, Breese Davies, of Toronto, received the Laura Legge Award.

“I am so delighted to have been selected the recipient of the 2017 Laura Legge Award. It is a real honour to be recognized by my colleagues for my small contribution to promoting and protecting the place of women in our profession and in the criminal defence bar,” Davies told Law Times in an email.  

“Although significant progress has been made over the last 20 years, there is still lots of work to be done to ensure true equity in the profession and to address the unique challenges faced by women lawyers.”  

Award winners also included: Thora H. Espinet, of Toronto, who received the Lincoln Alexander Award; Dena D. Castro, of Hamilton, who picked up the William J. Simpson Distinguished Paralegal Award; and Grace Alcaide Janicas, of Sault Ste. Marie, who received the J. Shirley Denison Award.

Law Society Medal recipients were: Patrick Case, of Guelph; Larry Chartrand, of Ottawa; Sarah E. Colquhoun, of Thunder Bay; Michael Eizenga, of Toronto; Marie Henein, of Toronto; Joanna Radbord, of Toronto; and Gary Yee, of Toronto.

RONDINELLI WINS OBA CRIMINAL JUSTICE AWARD
Enzo Rondinelli, a lawyer with Lafontaine & Associates in Toronto, has been named the winner of the Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Criminal Justice.

He will be honoured June 7 at a reception in Toronto.

“Receiving this award from such a distinguished organization is a truly humbling experience,” Rondinelli told Law Times in an email. “The OBA has been a big part of my professional career since day one, so this award is particularly special to me.”

GOLDBLATT ANNOUNCES NEW HIRES
Goldblatt Partners LLP welcomes three leading pension lawyers to the firm.

Susan Philpott, Simon Archer and Clio Godkewitsch will join Doug Lefaive in the Toronto office and, together with Fiona Campbell in Ottawa, will significantly expand the pension practice, said the firm in a press release.

Darrell Brown will round out the team as tax and corporate law counsel.

“This is an outstanding opportunity to contribute to the growth of a vibrant, trade union-focused pension and benefits practice,” Philpott told Law Times in an email.

LAW TIMES POLL
A recent Law Times column examined whether the Law Society of Upper Canada should change its name to the Law Society of Ontario, in light of different social changes, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

We asked readers if the LSUC should change its name.

Fifty per cent said yes, it’s time for the LSUC to catch up with the times and update its name, while 50 per cent said no, the name of the LSUC is appropriate and changing it would not accomplish much.