GOWAN PAINTING RESTOREDAn iconic portrait of the first judge in Simcoe County at the Barrie, Ont., courthouse will return to its place in better shape thanks to a community that rallied to restore the old oil painting.
The painting of justice James Gowan had been showing its age with dust and grime accumulating on it, says Ted Chadderton, president of the Simcoe County Law Association.
A project began three years ago to have the portrait restored and refurbished. The Simcoe County Law Association used one of its annual general meeting dinners as a fundraiser for the project that raised $2,300 to start the campaign, says Chadderton.
Eventually the County of Simcoe, the City of Barrie, and a number of private donors came on board with funding. The restored painting was unveiled on March 5 at the Simcoe County Law Association annual general meeting that hosted Ontario Chief Justice George Strathy.
“The Simcoe County Law Association is proud to have been a contributor and sponsor for the restoration of the portrait of Sir James Gowan, bringing a piece of Simcoe County legal history to back to life,” says Chadderton.
“Justice Gowan wasn’t just the first Judge in Simcoe County; he helped shape the legal system here and across the province for decades to come.”
ARTICLING PROGRAM EXPANDS TO TORONTODentons Canada LLP says it’s bringing its articling program for internationally trained lawyers to its Toronto office.
The program, which allows foreign-trained lawyers to complete their articling term at the firm, will continue for the second year in Calgary in partnership with Imperial Oil Ltd.
“Fundamental to Dentons’ culture is our dedication to diversity and inclusion, and to professional development, making the launch of our ITL articling program in Toronto a perfect complement to our firm’s practice,” said Natasha Prasaud, acting assistant director of professional development.
“With an increasing number of new Canadians arriving in our city, we are delighted to offer the opportunity to enhance professional growth and access to resources to internationally trained lawyers who want to practise law in Canada,” Prasaud added.
Dentons’ Toronto and Calgary offices will each accept a candidate who has completed their national committee on accreditation process.
JAMS AND NEESONS PARTNER UPMediation provider JAMS says it has partnered up with court reporting service company Neesons Court Reporting Inc.
“This partnership enables us to work alongside one of the best court-reporting services in the country and allows us to add an additional value to our clients,” said Chris Poole, president and chief executive officer of JAMS.
JAMS will now serve as a second location for Neesons’ discoveries and arbitrations.
“This now establishes JAMS and Neeson as the preeminent centre for court reporting and ADR needs in Toronto,” said Kim Neeson, president of Neesons.
“While we’ll operate separately, we’ll also work together to make sure we continue to provide excellent client service.”
POLL RESULTSThe results of the latest Law Times
online poll are in.
Following the arrest of criminal lawyer Laura Liscio on drug charges after she delivered a change of clothing to a client in custody, 43 per cent of poll respondents say defence counsel should refrain from delivering clothes due to the risks.
A further 19 per cent of poll participants said counsel shouldn’t stop delivering court-appropriate clothing to clients in custody because there’s no other option. The remaining participants said they’re unsure because the full details of what happened in the Liscio case have yet to emerge.
