LAWYER COMMENDED FOR WORK ON POSTHUMOUS CALLThe minister of veterans affairs has awarded Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP lawyer Patrick Shea a commendation for his work in piecing together the stories of 59 law students who died in the First World War.
As a result of Shea’s work, which included writing a book of biographies of the students, the Law Society of Upper Canada will hold a posthumous call to the bar ceremony on Nov. 10.
“He has dedicated hundreds of hours of research, including multiple trips to the archives in Ottawa, to prepare biographies and photos of these 60 soldiers,” the announcement of Shea’s commendation said.
The law society ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 at Osgoode Hall in Toronto.
For more, see "
Posthumous call for students killed at war."
LEADERSHIP CHANGE AT NORTON ROSENorton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP has announced Charles Hurdon will become the firm’s new managing partner in the new year.
Hurdon, currently managing partner of the firm’s Ottawa office, will replace John Coleman. Coleman didn’t seek re-election after the end of his three-year term, according to the firm.
Hurdon said it’s an “exciting” time to lead the firm.
“It’s a very exciting time to be in this role. We have grown tremendously as Norton Rose Fulbright in Canada in the past several years as a legal practice and with our clients,” he said.
“This growth will continue as Canadian companies keep expanding their reach globally and even more international businesses invest here. We have a very bright future ahead of us and I look forward to building on our success.”
EQUALITY EFFECT HONOURED International law firm Clifford Chance has named the Equality Effect the winner of its annual Access to Justice award.
Equality Effect, an organization based in Canada, uses human rights law to advocate for girls’ and women’s rights around the world with a particular focus on education, health, and sexual violence.
The award comes with a donation from the Clifford Chance foundation and 500 hours of pro bono work. The charity says it will use the funds to implement a landmark court ruling by the High Court of Kenya that
ordered “prompt, effective, proper, and professional investigations” into child-rape cases.
Fiona Sampson, executive director of the Equality Effect and one of Canadian Lawyer’s top 25 most influential lawyers this year, says the law can serve as “a crowbar to pry open justice” for women and girls.
“Women and girls around the world suffer unthinkable oppression and disadvantage, including sexual violence, lack of education, and the inability to own property,” she said.
“We know that the law can be used as a crowbar to pry open justice for these women and girls, empowering them and achieving social justice. With this award, we will be able to expand our successful projects including ‘160 Girls,’ our legal knowledge, and our contacts.”
NEW BOOK PROBES DIFFICULT CRIME CASESSome of Canada’s most prominent criminal lawyers will tell the stories of some of their most difficult cases in a new book set to launch this month.
Tough Crimes: True Cases by Top Canadian Criminal Lawyers includes insights from several lawyers on some of the major cases they’ve worked on. The 19 lawyers featured include Edward Greenspan, Marie Henein, Bill Trudell, and John Rosen.
The book is about cases that had “weird or surprising turns, or that presented personal and ethical challenges,” according to the publisher. The launch takes place in Toronto on Nov. 27 at the Spoke Club from 5 to 10 p.m.
POLL RESULTSThe results of the latest
Law Times online poll are in.
According to the poll, 51 per cent of respondents believe Ontario should regulate short-term rentals through web sites such as airbnb.com.
There’s currently no law in Ontario around short-term rentals, but as indicated in a recent Law Times article, condominium corporations are battling with whether to include provisions that prohibit them. Several other jurisdictions, such as Quebec, have been taking action to regulate such situations, but lawyers have indicated they don’t expect Ontario to follow suit even as it looks to amend the province’s Condominium Act.
