HEARSAY THE SCHULICH SCHOOL OF LAW ALUMNI MAGAZINE
VO L U M E 39
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A league of his own Dean Emeritus Bill Charles
Voicing support for mental health From law to medical cannabis production SCHULICH SCHOOL OF LAW
Contents
SCHOOL NEWS
COVER STORY
ALUMNI RECOGNIZED
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18 Dean Emeritus Bill Charles shares snippets from more than 60 years at our law school
34 The Bertha Wilson Honour Society’s newest inductees
Schulich Law ranks among world's best, new Aboriginal Law course fosters experiential learning, IP Law moot team takes home top prize, and more
FEATURES STUDENT NOTES 12 Emma MacIntosh applied the skills she was learning at law school during her summer internship in Ireland 16 As Dal celebrates its 200th anniversary, Schulich Law's IB&M Initiative graduates its 200th member
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22 Wellness A societal shift is helping legal professionals with mental health conditions return to wellness
36 Trinda Ernst is recognized with the Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service
DONOR REPORT 37 Alumni and friends support the school and its programs
27 Profile Aarij Wasti recounts his work on the 2022 FIFA World Cup bid
THE WELDON PROFESSORS
30 Profile Myrna Gillis launches a new career in medical cannabis production
48 Schulich Law faculty members are working hard, as always
GRAPEVINE 51 Find out what your classmates are up to
HEARSAY DEAN
IN MEMORIAM 56 Alumni and friends the law school said goodbye to this year
CAMILLE CAMERON MANAGING EDITOR JANE DOUCET DESIGNER CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS
2017 REUNION 58 See the 2017 Law Alumni Reunion Dinner in pictures
CONTRIBUTORS ANDREW CHURCH, TAMMI HAYNE, ALLISON LAWLOR, TOM MASON, PROF. MICHELLE WILLIAMS COVER PHOTO
THE LAW SCHOOL WAS THERE 60 Dean Cameron and her colleagues criss-crossed the country visiting alumni
JIVE PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTIONS
VOLUME 39 • 2018 THE EDITORS OF HEARSAY AND THE MANAGERS OF THE LAW SCHOOL’S WEBSITE WELCOME EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND IDEAS FROM ALUMNI. PLEASE DIRECT YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO: HEARSAY EDITOR SCHULICH SCHOOL OF LAW DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY 6061 UNIVERSITY AVENUE PO BOX 15000 HALIFAX, NS CANADA B3H 4R2 EMAIL: LAWALUM@DAL.CA TEL: 902-494-5100 FAX: 902-494-4222 MAILED UNDER CANADA POST PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT #41890527
Visit Hearsay online: hearsaymagazine.com
lawalum@dal.ca
2018 H E A R S AY
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ANDREW CHURCH
Weldon Law Building Atrium May 28, 2018, at 11 a.m. Smiles of joy (and relief!) on Convocation day
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NICK PEARCE
CAMILLE CAMERON, DEAN AND WELDON PROFESSOR OF LAW
MUCH TO CELEBRATE I
t is always a pleasure to read the latest edition of Hearsay. It is a great snapshot of the remarkable qualities, achievements and abilities of our graduates. It was good to meet so many of you this year in your offices and at alumni receptions. We hosted law school receptions in Sydney, St. John’s, Charlottetown and Toronto. We combined the St. John’s reception with a continuing legal education seminar; Professor Richard Devlin gave an informative presentation on recent developments regarding the duty of loyalty and conflicts of interest. We also attended as many as possible of the crosscountry alumni receptions celebrating Dal’s 200th anniversary—in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. And of course our annual Law Alumni Reunion Weekend in September was fun, as usual. Stay tuned for information on upcoming cross-Canada law school alumni receptions. Hope to see many of you there! Convocation is always one of the
highlights of the year, as we see the students we welcomed three years ago (but it seems like only three months!) walk triumphantly across the stage, some with their children by their side or in their arms, while proud parents, family and friends cheer them on. One of the special Convocation highlights this year was that in this, Dalhousie’s 200th anniversary year, the 200th graduate of our Indigenous Blacks and Mi’kmaq Initiative walked across the stage. Professor Michelle Williams, our IB&M Director, speaks about the significant impacts of our IB&M Initiative on page 16. Our Schulich School of Law internship program is also featured in these pages. This program is a law school priority. It gives our students paid summer work with organizations around the country and around the world, great work experience and networking opportunities. Many of them say that their internship gave them insights about possible career paths or helped them confirm their career plans; some point to articling and employment
opportunities that the internship created, and others say that their internship changed their life. We would not be able to offer such a great program without the generosity of our donors; almost all of our internship opportunities are donor-supported. Thank you. It is a pleasure to see Professor Bill Charles on the cover. We had the privilege of hosting him and his family at the law school to celebrate his 90th birthday in August of 2017. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunities I have to meet him for lunch or just to have a conversation in passing at the law school. He is still writing and committed to law reform. Yes, he really is in a league of his own. We are now finally finishing our building renovations. The bad news is that the sounds of drills and hammers have returned, but the good news is that come September we will have two new classroom spaces. One of these, on the fourth floor, will be especially continued on next page 2018 H E A R S AY
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2018–2019 DALHOUSIE LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
designed and equipped for group and project work. Those of you who are here for the big September gala will have the opportunity to take a tour led by one of our students. And depending on when you last visited, you will certainly notice some significant changes. Our students are as energetic and impressive as ever. They study, volunteer, party, ask questions and support one another. This year our Environmental Law Students’ Society led a successful effort to get rid of plastic bottles in the law school, our Intellectual Property Moot team won the national Harold G. Fox Moot competition, our IDEALaw students organized a great conference on immigration and our Law Hour student organizers gave us another impressive list of speakers. Speaking of Law Hour, in November we hosted the inaugural Chuck Meagher Law Hour. Chuck, a graduate of the Class of ’83, passed away in 2015, and his fellow classmates, friends and family have established a fund in his honour. Elizabeth May, a classmate and close friend of Chuck’s, was the inaugural Chuck Meagher Law Hour speaker. Our Law Hour student committee will have the benefit of these funds to continue the Law Hour tradition of bringing interesting and engaging speakers to the law school. In June of 2017 we threw a retirement party for Professor Bruce Archibald. We also welcomed two new colleagues, Olabisi Akinkugbe and Colin Jackson, who are introduced on page 11. Our faculty continue to be as engaged as ever—teaching (and winning awards), writing books, organizing and speaking at conferences, and influencing policy and legislation. We were delighted to welcome our own Professor Jocelyn Downie as our inaugural James Palmer Chair in Law and Public Policy and Professor Kim Brooks as the Purdy Crawford Chair in Business Law. I close with thanks to you, our alumni, for your support in so many ways and for all that you do to bring credit to our law school. With warm wishes, Camille Cameron Dean, Schulich School of Law Dalhousie University camillecameron@dal.ca (902) 494-2114
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EXECUTIVE
BRANCH PRESIDENTS
NATIONAL PRESIDENT Mary Hamblin ’99 maryhamblin@gmail.com
NUNAVUT Kyle DeYoung ’13 kdjerome@gmail.com
VICE-PRESIDENT Douglas Ruck ’77 ruckdg@gov.ns.ca
BRITISH COLUMBIA Joanna Schoepp ’16 joannaschoepp@gmail.com
PAST PRESIDENT Donna Franey ’86 donna.franey@dal.ca
ALBERTA Brian Beck ’93 brianbeck@shaw.ca
EX-OFFICIO Dean Camille Cameron lawdean@dal.ca
SASKATCHEWAN Christina Meredith-Flister ’14 christina.meredith@gov.sk.ca
HONORARY PRESIDENT Brian Flemming ’62 bflem8861@aol.com
SOUTHERN ONTARIO Chris Hale ’87 (BP) cchale@hotmail.com Shannon Paine ’13 (VP) srepaine@gmail.com
SECRETARY-TREASURER Michael Deturbide ’89 michael.deturbide@dal.ca LAW STUDENTS’ SOCIETY PRESIDENT Ellen Williams Candidate ’20 president@dallss.com
SOUTHEASTERN ONTARIO Chantal Richard ’97 (BP) mchantalrichard@yahoo.ca Jennifer Bond ’09 (VP) jennifersbond@gmail.com QUEBEC Nathalie Goyette ’89 nathalie.goyette@ca.pwc.com
MEMBERS AT LARGE Tony Amoud ’09 tonyamoud@hotmail.com Tyana Caplan ’02 tcaplan@stewartmckelvey.com Heather McNeill ’94 heather.mcneill@dal.ca The Hon. Judge Michael Sherar ’77 sherarmb@courts.ns.ca Ansley Simpson ’09 asimpson@boyneclarke.ca Dillon Trider ’10 dtrider@wickwireholm.com
NEW BRUNSWICK Peter Zed, QC ’80 ptz@coxandpalmer.com CAPE BRETON Harvey McPhee, QC ’84 hmcphee@sampsonmcdougall.com PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Valerie Moore ’83 vamoore@gov.pe.ca NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Robert Hickey ’91 robert.hickey@mcinnescooper.com ASIA Stephanie Monteith ’93 monteith.stephanie@gmail.com UNITED KINGDOM David Gossen ’03 dlgossen@gmail.com MIDDLE EAST Maya Nix ’03 maya.nix@gmail.com
PROFESSOR DONNA FRANEY (’86) PAST PRESIDENT, DALHOUSIE LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
RACHAEL KELLY
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t is my pleasure to welcome you to the most recent edition of Hearsay! The roots of the Schulich School of Law are firmly embedded in its core values of intellectual inquiry, integrity, courage, advocacy, environmental responsibility, respectful relationships, diversity, collegiality, reconciliation and service to humanity. These are the values we see in action every day through the wonderful work of our alumni— in professional private or public practice, non-profit agencies and government service, and as entrepreneurs, CEOs and many other roles—and in their many acts of unselfish public service in their communities. It isn’t surprising that the values that continue to guide the law school in achieving its mission are mirrored in the work, lives and passions of our alumni. In an everchanging world, the dedication to these values remains true and strong. Our alumni are always ready to engage and give back; to “tag” this as an “embarrassment of riches” would be an understatement. We are proud and inspired by your robust commitment to the law school and our profession. The Dalhousie Law Alumni Association (DLAA) has a rich history of engagement
with its over 7,000 members and 17 branches (at least one in every province and territory), as well as three international chapters, in the United Kingdom, Asia and the Middle East. The DLAA works hard to engage graduates and ensure strong connections among law students, alumni and their alma mater. New DLAA members join us each year as they finish their law degree, and they are eager and ready to lend their support. The recipe for a strong law school rests with the engagement of our alumni and the preservation of that relationship. This is enhanced through our alumni’s donation of their time, funds, sharing of information,
mentorship of students, service on committees or just providing a kind note or gesture—it all goes toward making a stronger alumni community and a stronger law school. We have much to be proud of at the Schulich School of Law, and our alumni top the list. We thank you for all your contributions—past, present and future—and encourage you to reach out, stay connected and get involved. With warmest regards, Donna D. Franey donna.franey@dal.ca
The Dalhousie Law Alumni Association serves more than 7,000 alumni worldwide by supporting and sponsoring programming and events that provide a vital link between the law school and our increasingly diverse alumni body. For more information about the school or ways you can get involved, please contact your local branch president.
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School News 01 Schulich School of Law ranks among world’s best 02 Jocelyn Downie named to Order of Canada Our law school isn’t just a national leader in legal education, it’s also an international one. Times Higher Education (THE), one of the most prominent global university rankings, released four subject-specific rankings in October: business and economics, education, law and social sciences. These rankings evaluate research-intensive universities across their core missions: teaching, research, citations, knowledge transfer and international outlook. The 2018 rankings mark the first time law has been included as a subject ranking, and Schulich Law shot straight into the top 100—74th in the world, to be exact. It’s also the first time that Dalhousie has ranked in the top 100 in a THE subject-specific ranking.
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05 Professors receive N.S. Human Rights Award
Professors Sheila Wildeman and Archie Kaiser, and Professor Emerita Dianne Pothier (posthumously), received a 2017 Nova Scotia Human Rights Award in the Group/Organization category, alongside other disability rights advocates who together formed the Bill 59 Community Alliance for the rights of persons with disabilities in Nova Scotia. The Alliance came together to advocate for fundamental human rights respecting changes to a bill initially proposed as Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act and succeeded in galvanizing the community and convincing government to make important reforms. “Bill 59 is a significant achievement in the road toward participation and inclusion, although there is still a great deal to be done before the promises of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are fulfilled,” says Kaiser.
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06 Aboriginal course fosters experiential learning
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Prof. Jocelyn Downie was among 125 new Order of Canada appointees named in the Governor General’s year-end list. Celebrated for her contributions to Canadian health law and policy, Downie’s primary focus has been on end-of-life law, policy and care. She has worked extensively on the protection of human participants in research, particularly in the context of increasing commercialization of public universities and hospitals, and on the protection and promotion of women’s health in the areas of abortion and assisted human reproduction. In 2015, Downie, who is cross-appointed in the Faculty of Medicine, was the first Dalhousie faculty member—and the first in Nova Scotia—to receive a prestigious Trudeau Fellowship from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.
In September, the Schulich School of Law introduced a new first-year course called Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in Context (AILC). The course is aligned with Dalhousie’s efforts to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls-to-action for a new relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples. “We have a responsibility to develop meaningful and effective ways of promoting reconciliation,” says Dean Camille Cameron. “We see equality and inclusiveness as fundamental to education—especially to a legal education, which is concerned with the power of law to shape the kind of world we want to live in. As a faculty and as a university, we are deeply committed to this work.”
03 Elaine Craig authors groundbreaking book
04 IP Law moot team takes home top prize
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In February of this year, Prof. Elaine Craig launched her new book, Putting Trials on Trial: Sexual Assault and the Failure of the Legal Profession, which documents what actually occurs in sexual assault trials in Canada today. Craig used interviews with senior lawyers and trial transcripts to provide solid empirical evidence to rebut the claim that women are no longer brutalized on the stand during sexual assault trials. She also gave specific recommendations for how lawyers and judges could improve the trial process for complainants without compromising the rights of the accused. “There are things we as a profession can do to improve this experience that will treat sexual-assault survivors more humanely,” says Craig.
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07 Angela Simmonds wins Human Rights Award
In December, Angela Simmonds (JD ’16) was the recipient of a Nova Scotia Human Rights Award recognizing her commitment to human rights by helping African Nova Scotian communities obtain titles to their land. In the summer of 2014, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society hired Simmonds to carry out a community-based research project on North and East Preston residents’ concerns that their land was being expropriated by the City of Halifax. Simmonds wrote a report titled This Land Is Our Land: African Nova Scotian Voices form the Preston Area Speak Up, which garnered international attention. Simmonds was also the 2017 recipient of Dalhousie Legal Aid Service’s Sarah MacWalker MacKenzie Clinical Law Award and co-recipient of the Judge Corrine Sparks Award.
Talk about hitting a home run the first time up to bat! That was the experience of the Schulich Law students who participated for the first time in the Harold G. Fox Intellectual Property Law Moot—and took home the win. The team consisted of Gabby Lemoine, Juliette Ryan, Laura Nyman, and Mackenzie Jamieson, who competed at the Federal Court of Canada in Toronto in February. “The entire team performed incredibly well and all received very positive comments from panelists,” says Prof. Jonathon Penney, the team’s coach. Appellants Lemoine and Ryan took home the top prize, the Harold G. Fox Memorial Cup for Best Mooting Team. Lemoine also took home the Donald F. Sim Award for Best Oral Advocate.
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08 Richard Devlin co-authors judiciary book
Prof. Richard Devlin (pictured left) co-authored and co-edited Regulating Judges: Beyond Independence and Accountability with Adam Dodek of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law. “Our book moves beyond the traditional polarized debate,” says Devlin. “It provides a framework that identifies multiple variables for the assessment of an effective and legitimate judiciary. The best way to do that is to consider different ways in which different jurisdictions establish, support and regulate their judiciaries.” The readership is intended to be anyone with an interest in the judiciary, from judges, lawyers and law students to political scientists. The book launch was held in June of 2017 at the Realizing Rights Human Rights and Constitutionalism conference at the University of Ottawa.
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School News 2018 Annual Spring Reception
On March 22, the annual Spring Reception was held to celebrate the outstanding contributions of faculty and students. Congratulations to Professor Naiomi Metallic for winning Schulich Law’s DLAA and LSS Award for Excellence in Teaching Law and to Professor Michael Hadskis for winning The Hanna and Harold Barnett Award for Teaching First-year Law. An award also went to part-time faculty member Mark Scott for his contributions to teaching at the law school. The Bertha Wilson Honour Society Award recognizes extraordinary alumni and their reach in society. Congratulations to Dahlia Bateman, the late Peter Darby, Pamela Large Moran, Gail MacAulay, and Kenneth Pike. Our students shone, too! This year’s winners of the Society of the Year Award went to two student groups: Wellness at Weldon and Dalhousie Law Hour. Kudos to these societies for bringing people together.
Clockwise from top left: Professor Michael Hadskis, Professor Naiomi Metallic, Dean Camille Cameron with part-time faculty member Mark Scott, Wellness at Weldon students and Dalhousie Law Hour students 10
H E A R S AY 2018
New Faculty Members Welcomed
OLABISI D. AKINKUGBE joined our law school as a Visiting Assistant Professor
for the 2017–18 academic year. Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, he earned his law degree from the University of Lagos in 2003, then completed a year-long professional legal training program at the Nigerian law school, where he received a Licentiate Degree in Law in 2004. After law school, Akinkugbe joined a firm in Lagos. From 2004 to 2006 he practiced corporate and commercial law, and he was also an associate of the firm’s litigation and arbitration practice group. Akinkugbe comes to us from UNB’s law school, where he taught first-year contract law and two upper-year seminars, international trade law and law and economic development from January of 2015 to June of 2017. Between the completion of his LLM and commencement of PhD, he worked as legal counsel on a Public-Private Partnership roads project in Lagos. He completed his PhD at the University of Ottawa in 2017, after earning an LLM from the University of Toronto in 2008. At Schulich Law, Akinkugbe is teaching first-year contract law and judicial decision-making and second-year civil procedure. His current research covers business law, transnational law, law and economic development, African regional economic integration, and regional and transnational dispute resolution. “I’m delighted to continue at the faculty because the Schulich School of Law has such a good national and international reputation thanks to its breadth of programs, institutes, significant international scholarship and excellent research profile,” says Akinkugbe. “I believe that I will have the platform to do the kind of research I want to do, and there is great potential for collaborative research. And of course I’m very pleased about the opportunity to carry on teaching, which I find the most fulfilling.”
COLIN JACKSON has been teaching Taxation I and Sale of Goods at the Schulich
School of Law since 2014–2015, when he was a Schulich Fellow. He is a graduate of the BCL/LLB program at McGill University and a member of both the Law Society of Ontario and the Barreau du Québec. Jackson clerked at the Tax Court of Canada before beginning his graduate studies at the Schulich School of Law in 2012. His current research looks at access to justice in Canada’s tax law, with a focus on the tax system’s complexity. “I’m thrilled to join the law school on a permanent, full-time basis,” says Jackson, pointing to the supportive faculty and the engagement and enthusiasm of the law students, especially in tax law, both of which he has found inspiring. “Nothing inspires me more than teaching, but I’m also very excited about my current research. It looks at the tax system through the lens of ‘access to justice,’ and so I’m working on identifying the barriers that prevent people from engaging effectively with the tax system, discovering how those barriers modulate or frustrate tax policy and finding ways to improve how taxpayers interact with the tax administration.” 2018 H E A R S AY
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STUDENT NOTES
ALL PART OF THE PROCESS During last year’s summer internship at the University of Limerick, Emma MacIntosh learned about European hate crime policy and legislation—and how to apply the skills she was honing at law school in the workplace by Andrew Church
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n May and June of 2017, Schulich School of Law student Emma MacIntosh participated in an eightweek internship at the University of Limerick’s Hate and Hostility Research Group (HHRG), the only research group in Ireland committed to the study of hate crime. This spring, Emma took time out of her busy second-year exam schedule to speak to Hearsay about her experience. After becoming interested in HHRG from speaking with a friend about it, MacIntosh wanted to learn more about the group and how she could get involved. Having heard of the Schulich School of Law Internship Program, she saw an opportunity to further her law school experience by pursuing a subject of interest in a new and different environment. “I contacted the organization and they were interested in me coming,” says MacIntosh. “I went through the internship-funding process, applied and ended up getting the position. When it was over, I didn’t want to leave because it was such a great experience.”
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The HHRG was established by academics at the University of Limerick to initiate scholarship in the area of hate and hostility studies in Ireland. Amanda Haynes in the Department of Sociology and Jennifer Schweppe in the School of Law lead the interdisciplinary group. They recognize the importance of working with community, civic and government partners and try to foster mutually beneficial communication between all stakeholders. MacIntosh, 24, is from Dartmouth, and she felt at home immediately in the small city of roughly 100,000 people in the Mid-West Region of the Republic of Ireland. She experienced a natural rapport and positive working relationship with Haynes and Schweppe, her supervisors. She was pleasantly surprised by how her practical skills of writing, research and giving presentations benefitted her various projects. “A lot of the things I had done in my undergrad and in first-year law school, like presentations and research, were really applicable to the work we were
ANDREW CHURCH
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STUDENT NOTES
doing in an advocacy and academic environment,” says MacIntosh. “That was huge for me to realize that I had the skills to do the everyday tasks I was responsible for.”
APPLIED RESEARCH
MacIntosh found the most challenging part of her internship was learning to have confidence that she could accomplish the goals set for her
Work experience The Schulich School of Law Internship program offers summer internships funded by the generosity of donors, including the Schulich Academic Excellence Fund for Internships. The program is an opportunity for students to gain work experience in an area they’re passionate about and want to explore further.
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Being at HHRG immersed MacIntosh in hate crime policy and legislation both in Ireland and throughout the European Union. She contributed research to an EU comparative analysis report, Life Cycle of a Hate Crime, on how hate crime is addressed in five European states. She contributed to Monitoring Hate Crime: Towards a Uniform Reporting Mechanism, a report by Schweppe and Haynes to be used in policy and potential legislation centering on reporting systems of hate crimes. In addition, MacIntosh co-authored a presentation on the support function of third-party monitoring systems for her supervisors to present at the Victim Support Europe Conference, which took place on May 17 and 18 in Dublin. That turned out to be her favourite moment of the internship. “A few days before the conference, my supervisors asked me if I’d like to come with them,” says MacIntosh. “I was really excited. I got to go to Dublin and sit in on the conference, take notes and meet people from around Europe. And I had the privilege of speaking to the Canadian Ombudsman of Victims of Crime. I even got to watch the presentation that I coauthored, which had my name on it.”
ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS
MacIntosh found the most challenging part of her internship was learning to have confidence that she could accomplish the goals set for her. She credits her supervisors in giving her valuable support when she needed it. “If I became frustrated or felt like I wasn’t getting tasks done in the right amount of time, they were super supportive,” she says. “It took me realizing that I had the skills to do the work, and my supervisors helped me realize that it was all a part of the process and I would get it all done.” “We cannot overstate how impressed
we were with Emma’s work during this period,” wrote Schweppe in an email to Dean Camille Cameron. “In our opinion, the standard of Emma’s work was equivalent to the work produced by postdoctoral researchers that we have employed. We have decided that she will be a co-author on a journal article shortly to be submitted to an international peerreviewed journal.” This year, from May 29 to 31, MacIntosh participated with Schweppe and Hayes at the International Network for Hate Studies Biennial Conference at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. There, MacIntosh presented to people from across the globe and met some of the most experienced scholars in hate crime research. In the future, MacIntosh and her supervisors plan to present further findings and research exploring how community advocacy groups monitor hate crimes. “HHRG was an invaluable experience to get out of my comfort zone and experience interdisciplinary research in a new environment,” says MacIntosh. “It has given me confidence, skills and experience that will benefit me in my new endeavours. I wouldn’t have been able to pursue this internship without the support of Dalhousie and its donors, and I wouldn’t have been able to attend the conference without the support of the law school.” This summer Emma will work at Halifax law firm Wickwire Holm, where she’ll also article, then she’ll have a busy third year volunteering on numerous committees, including as co-president of the Refugee Advocacy Association, communications director of the John E. Read International Law Society and chair of the CBA-NS’s student section. With graduation still more than a year away, MacIntosh has no set plans for life after law school, but she’ll always have a passion for advocacy work, no matter where her career may take her. “One day I may want to do a master’s, but for now I’m looking forward to diversifying my course load as much as I can next year,” she says. “After that, the sky’s the limit!” n
Life-changing experiences Thanks to a variety of internships, students gain skills relevant to a career in law by Andrew Church Thanks to the Schulich School of Law Summer Internship Program, students can spend part of their summer working in various Canadian and international locations. Their duties may range from helping set up temporary health clinics in underdeveloped areas to researching human rights and environmental law issues, working on legal education and access to justice projects and helping clients in legal aid clinics. The program offers internships from individual donor agreements and the Schulich Academic Excellence Fund. This summer, 28 students have paid internships, up from 21 in 2017. “In the past few years, we have dedicated significant resources to expanding the services offered by our Career Development Office,” says Schulich School of Law Dean Camille Cameron. “This included growing our internship program. One of the main reasons for this strategic decision is that we know that the ways in which legal services are being asked for and delivered is changing, and this is having a disruptive effect on traditional models of lawyering. The more diverse work opportunities we can offer to our students, the better.” With a variety of internships available in a number of different legal areas of interest, there are many opportunities for students to gain skills and experience relevant to a career in law. All of the internships are paid, so students earn a wage for their work. “This year, we had a phenomenal response for internship applications,” says Shawn Swallow, the law school’s director of Career Services and Employer Relations. “The need to increase summer internships was identified in the law school’s strategic plan, and we are dedicating resources to achieve that.” Most donor-agreement internships have specific areas of interest, such as the McCarthy Tétrault LLP Business Law Internship and The Roman Elster Internship in Intellectural Property and Innovation. For
some Schulich internships and donor agreements, students are required to seek out organizations doing work that corresponds with their interests. Once they have found an organization, they propose a project they would like to work on throughout the summer. At the end of the internship, the students produce a detailed report of their work and experience. “The program causes the students to be proactive, network, pitch their project proposal and engage in a conversation of what their needs are,” says Swallow. “They have deliverables as with any other employer, and they get great work experience in areas they may want to pursue in the future.”
A big part of
the program
is a mandate
SETTING A GOAL TO GROW
A big part of the program is a mandate that students give back to the community in the Weldon Tradition of unselfish public service. For students to participate not only in academics but also in other aspects of the community and beyond is at the heart of the Weldon Tradition, and this extends to their internships. “Reading the internship reports prepared by our students confirms and strengthens our commitment to growing this program,” says Cameron. “Some describe their internship as life-changing, some say it confirmed their career aspirations for a particular kind of work and some say their experience opened up career options that they had not previously considered.” Without the valuable support of both donors and alumni, the internship program wouldn’t be in the strong position it is today—but it could be even stronger. “We have set a goal of doubling the number of paid internships for our students in three to five years,” says Cameron. “We are already well on the way to achieving that goal, thanks in large measure to our generous alumni and donors whose support makes these paid internships possible.” n
that students
give back to the community
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NICK PEARCE
STUDENT NOTES
2018 IB&M graduates (from left): Brittni Deveau, Payton Tench, Keisha Wright, Chantelle Flowers, Nico Jones, Amy Prosper. Missing: Tanisha Blackmore, Malian Levi
Catalysts for change As Dal celebrates its 200th anniversary, the IB&M Initiative stands on the shoulders of the freedom fighters who made it possible for Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian people to attend law school
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wo hundred years ago, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy First Nations had concluded a series of Peace and Friendship Treaties with the British Crown. Despite these nation-tonation legally binding agreements, Mi’kmaw people were subjected to an oppressive campaign of colonization—the effects of which continue today. Two hundred years ago, African Nova Scotians were living as both enslaved and free people in segregated communities throughout the province and subject to persistent anti-Black racism—the effects of which continue today.
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by Professor Michelle Williams The law played a central role in creating and maintaining these structural inequities. As Dalhousie University celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2018, the Indigenous Blacks & Mi’kmaq (IB&M) Initiative stands on the shoulders of the freedom fighters who made it possible for Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian people to attend law school, and in turn join the work to effect justice for our communities and all Canadians. This year, the 200th law graduate admitted to the Schulich School of Law through the IB&M Initiative celebrated with the Class of 2018.
During its 29-year history, the IB&M Initiative has grown to become a model for access to legal education in North America As we celebrate, we remember Donald Marshall Jr., a young Mi’kmaw man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. We also remember Sandy Seale, the young African Nova Scotian man who was the victim of that murder, which was actually an anti-Black hate crime committed by Roy Ebsary. We remember one of our notable law graduates, the late Dr. Burnley “Rocky” Jones (’92), who joined with members of the Mi’kmaq First Nation and African Nova Scotian communities and the law school faculty to launch the IB&M Initiative in 1989, echoing the Dalhousie University Task Force on Access for Black and Native People, which released its report that same year. During its 29-year history, the IB&M Initiative has grown to become a model for access to legal education in North America thanks to the tireless efforts of community supporters, students, alumni, faculty and staff, and institutional support from Dalhousie University, the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice. It received the Canadian Bar Association Touchstone Award in 2010, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation Award of Excellence in Education in 2014 and the Lexpert Zenith Award for diversity and inclusion in 2016. Our students make an extraordinary contribution through a range of organizations such as the Dalhousie Indigenous Law Students’ Society (DILSA) and the Dalhousie Black Law Students’ Society (DBLSA). Over the years, the Initiative has produced numerous valedictorians, David Jones Memorial Award recipients for inspirational character and recipients of the Donald Marshall Jr. Award and the Judge Corrine Sparks Award. Every day, students and alumni give life to the IB&M Initiative mandate, which is to reduce structural and systemic racism and discrimination in the legal profession by increasing the representation of African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw, as well as other Black and Indigenous students. Our students and alumni are leaders and catalysts for change beyond the legal profession, ensuring that the next 200 years—the next seven generations—are marked by reconciliation and reparations. n Professor Michelle Williams is the director of the IB&M Initiative at the Schulich School of Law.
Where are they now? Here is a small sample of notable IB&M Initiative graduates who have gone on to make a difference in their communities: Angelina Amaral (’14) helped develop the Gladue Reports in Nova Scotia. She has contributed to numerous reports, including Mi’kmaw Inclusion in the Process of Accountability for Hunting and Fishing Offences, the Mi’kmaw Sentencing Circle Protocol and The Ankwe’aq: Mi’kmaw Custom Adoption Protocol. John Bodurtha (’95) is second vice-president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society for the remainder of the 2017–2018 council year and co-chair of the Society’s Racial Equity Committee. He is currently practicing tax litigation for the Department of Justice Canada. David Curry (’09) is a Crown attorney in Digby County, N.S. He received the 2008 Judge Corrine Sparks Award at Dalhousie for using legal education as a tool for change in the community. Rosalie Francis (’15) has her own practice called RFrancis Law and specializes in Aboriginal law, administrative law, environmental law, employment law, human rights and family law. Floyd Kane (’96) was in-house counsel for Salter Street Films from 1999 to 2003. He launched Freddie Films in 2010 and has written and produced feature films and written for television shows. Jalana Lewis (’13) has worked for legal advocacy groups in Toronto and Halifax. She is currently producing a feature-length documentary about self-represented litigants navigating the family court system and was the chief researcher for the Lord Dalhousie panel investigating links between Dalhousie and the slave trade. Jade Pictou (’15) practices Aboriginal and criminal law, among many other areas of law, at Boudrot Rodgers Law Inc. in Halifax. She is also a per diem Crown attorney with the municipal and provincial government. Chief Paul Prosper (’94) is responsible for the energy and justice portfolios for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs and was a legal advisor for the Treaty and Aboriginal Rights Research Centre of Nova Scotia. — Compiled by Andrew Church
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COVER STORY
A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN Dean Emeritus Bill Charles has been associated with our law school for more than six decades, with stints as a student, professor, Associate Dean and Dean, and he still contributes in myriad ways, long after retiring from teaching part-time in 1997. Hearsay spoke with him about why he chose a career in law over teaching, and then teaching over practice, what he’s most proud of and how hockey helped him unwind
by Jane Doucet
W
illiam Henry “Bill” Charles was born in Montreal in 1927, but because his father worked for the Canadian National Railway, his family later lived in Toronto and Winnipeg. After earning a BA at Sir George Williams University (Concordia), he spent from 1950 to 1954 in the U.S. air force (his father was an American citizen, so he had dual citizenship), where he earned GI education credits. “When I came home to Montreal in 1954, I was uncertain whether I wanted to teach or go to law school,” says Charles. “A friend said the parent/teacher meetings would drive me crazy. He was right, so that was out.” There were no lawyers in his family, but the courtroom scenes in the television show Perry Mason intrigued him, and he liked to argue. “I had done some reading in jurisprudence before I started law school, and I liked the theory or the idea of law. At that time, I had no great thoughts about becoming a lawyer to save the world or save people.” Charles enrolled at Dalhousie Law School in 1955, when he was 27, because a friend of his father’s said that Dal was a top school and because the American veterans’ association recognized Dal as an accredited foreign institution. “My GI credits put me through Dal,” he says. While at law school, he lived on Jubilee Road with classmate Harry Noble from Ponoka, Alta.; the pair split the $10 monthly room and board. 18
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After earning his LLB at Dal in 1958, Charles, who was newly married, and classmate Peter Darby went out West to look for paid articling positions because Halifax firms weren’t paying articling students. In June of that year, Charles began a 12-month articling stint at Fenerty & Fenerty in Calgary, earning $200 a month, and soon realized that he wanted to teach law, not practice it. Did you enjoy articling? I acted like a junior member of the firm, so I was doing practical work like small claims disputes, wills, collections for Eaton’s, a lot of tort work. I didn’t have a specialty. I was scared stiff of having clients to come in to ask me questions I couldn’t answer. I most enjoyed explaining the law to clients—I enjoyed that more than going to court and winning or losing a battle. That’s when I really realized that I wanted to teach. Dean Horace Read offered you a teaching position at Dal in March of 1959. You turned it down. Why? I wanted to get my LLM first, so in January of 1959 I applied for a $4,000 Ford Foundation Teaching Fellowship at Harvard Law School and was fortunate to get it. I told Dean Read that I’d be happy to come to Dal after I had finished at Harvard. I
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COVER STORY
Bill Charles celebrated his 90th birthday with family, friends and former colleagues at Weldon on Aug. 30, 2017
did so and, luckily, Andy MacKay, who had been teaching at Dal Law School at the time, went to Harvard to do his LLM and I was offered a one-year contract to fill in for him. Happily for me, a full-time teaching position opened up in 1960 and I was appointed. That was the start of my long-term relationship with the law school. What was your teaching style? The Socratic method was popular at Dal and Harvard in the early ’60s. A lot of students found it intimidating; it’s designed for the professor to determine what students have learned by asking them questions and putting them on the spot. My style was “gentle” Socratic. I tried to teach without destroying the students’ confidence. After a decade of teaching, a student asked me to promise not to ask her any question she didn’t know the answer to. She was serious. I promised I wouldn’t if she promised not to ask me any questions I couldn’t answer. That prompted me to move further away from Socratic to a more discussion-based style. Were you a strict teacher? The goal is for students to learn, so I tried to be strict in keeping them on track and to be nimble and flexible when I got an unexpected question. All teachers have to engage their audience and be entertainers in some sense; you can make it an enjoyable experience, at least some of the time. I love puns, so whenever there was a chance to make one I would, without restraint. 20
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What are you most proud of? I’m proud that the law school was acknowledged as a preeminent institution in the field of legal education in Canada at its Centennial celebration in 1983, when it was recognized as a historic establishment and honoured with a special stamp. I was amused and filled with pride when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, accepting his honorary degree at a special Centennial Convocation, confessed that being a Dal Law grad would make his life easier when dealing with provincial premiers, many of whom were Dal Law grads. A year later, that pride was added to when a team from Dalhousie, coached by Professor Hugh Kindred, won the Jessup International Moot competition in Washington, D.C., defeating teams from 20 countries, including the U.S. More personally, I was pleased with the way our alumni responded to my efforts to develop the Alumni Association and for their generosity in helping the law school financially. What are some of the most significant achievements in your body of work? Early on I became interested in the field of mental health and ended up serving on both the criminal and civil law review boards in Nova Scotia. I also became involved in law reform, serving as a member of the first Nova Scotia Law Reform Commission in the late 1970s and president of the second Independent Law Reform Commission in the early 1990s. I remain active with the Commission as special counsel. I was
also involved in the restructuring of the Nova Scotia court system. I recently submitted an article to the Dalhousie Law Journal telling the “Story of Law Reform in Nova Scotia.” In the early 1970s, I was asked to draft the first Environmental Protection Act for Nova Scotia, and I chaired the provincial Environmental Assessment in the 1990s. We held an important hearing involving a proposal to build an incinerator in Burnside to burn regular garbage. Our panel rejected the proposal and recommended an alternative solution that involved reusing, recycling and composting. The government acted on our recommendations, and Nova Scotia developed a program that became a model for other jurisdictions to adopt. What are your passions? Number one is my wife, Dorine, and our family, then the law school, flying and hockey, not necessarily in that order. I played in a gentleman’s hockey league for many years and I found it a great way to relax; when I was 75, it was thought that I had better stop so I wouldn’t injure myself or someone else. I still build model airplanes, which I’ve done since I was a boy. What changes have you witnessed at the law school over the decades? When I was a student, the law school was a small enterprise of eight faculty and 120 students housed in cramped, inadequate facilities with a limited library collection. When I joined as faculty, the law school had a set curriculum, there were few faculty committees and the Dean ran the show. By the time I served as Dean, the law school had moved into a modern new building, greatly grown its faculty and student body—with more faculty committees and student representatives to match—and expanded its curriculum and exchange opportunities. When you reflect on your career at the law school, what comes to mind? I’ve developed a certain fondness for the institution and the people associated with it. The law school is part of my DNA and has played a significant role in our entire family’s life. Dorine supported me in so many ways I’m not sure I can count them all. She bore the brunt of bringing up our four children in the early years. She gave me moral support when I got discouraged and wondered if I was doing a good job. As the Dean’s wife, she had to handle the social side—sit at head tables, talk to important people, keep them amused, entertain faculty. She was very approachable and good at that. She has kept me in good health with diet and exercise. I could not have managed without her. The law school has given me a venue to do what I enjoy doing and what I’m reasonably good at, and to contribute to Nova Scotia society and beyond in ways that I hope were beneficial. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such great colleagues on interesting and important problems. Who could ask for more? n
Bill Charles shares three memorable stories from his days as a professor and Dean The Big Heist took place in the early 1970s, when the Dean’s office was on the first floor. There was a big walk-in vault but no one knew the combination so it was never locked, although the outer door to the suite of offices was locked. Professors put their exams in the vault at least a week before they were written. One day a student approached a faculty member to say someone had been selling advance copies of the exams for $20. Faculty decided to mount a stakeout. Over a number of nights, Murray Fraser and Art Foote hid in the Dean’s office. One night they heard a key in the lock of the outer door, then footsteps. They saw a flashlight heading for the vault and shouted, “Stop!” The person ran out the door and down University Avenue into the fog. Murray and Art chased and lost him, but they knew who he was. They called the police, who charged the student with theft under $50. Exams were no longer put in the vault, and there was talk that faculty would be required to take a physical after that!
Going to Pot took place in 1980. I was sitting in my office, thinking deep thoughts as Deans do, when Professor Paul Thomas ran in and said, “We’ve got to do something!” I asked what he meant, and I thought he said, “We’re going to pot.” He actually said, “We’re growing pot.” He was referring to the planters outside my window. Thomas had been told that the Chief Justice was coming to Law Hour, and we had to get the pot out of the planters before he arrived. We went to look. I had often wondered why the plants had never flowered! It turned out the students were growing it. As Dean, I was supposed to know everything, but I hadn’t known what was in the planters. The upshot was that I had to undergo a short course on how to recognize a pot plant. Finally, in 1985 there was The Big Fire. I had stepped down as Dean in July, and in August I was speaking on a panel in Winnipeg. Just before I went on, one of my sons called me from Halifax to ask if I had seen the news on TV because the law school was burning down. “Quit joking,” I said, but it was true. Connie Glube was at the symposium, and she’d come in to give me updates. Finally, she said it was just the fifth floor. The fire wasn’t funny, but the funny part is that when the firefighters responded to the alarm at 7 a.m. and they turned on the hose, not much water came out. It turns out that at that time of the morning, Haligonians were showering or flushing toilets. The pressure eventually returned and they put out the fire. After that, some people called the law school the “Well Done Building.” n
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WELLNESS
The dark side of success
Law students and legal professionals are at higher risk of depression, addiction and suicide than medical students
and physicians. A societal shift is helping more of them feel
safe enough to share their mental health challenges and reveal how they’re finding their way back to wellness
by Jane Doucet
W
hen lawyer Megan Seto published an article in the Western Journal of Legal Studies six years ago about depression in the legal profession, she didn’t mince words with the title: “Killing Ourselves: Depression as an Institutional, Workplace and Professional Problem.” Seto, who had earned a BA in history at Dalhousie in 2010, was pursuing a law degree at the University of Ottawa when her article was published. The introduction reads, “Mental illness within the profession is not a new problem. Indeed, lawyers are consistent and frequent ‘winners’ of undesirable honorifics such 22
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as the ‘most depressed workers’ or ‘most prone to succeeding in committing suicide.’ However, the undercurrent of unhappiness and anxiety should not be ignored or hidden away by ‘the many rueful jokes often told by lawyers about lawyers.’ ” Seto called for collective intervention and action in order to help reduce or prevent depression in the legal profession. While many lawyers, judges and other legal professionals struggle with depression, as well as anxiety, stress and work-life balance, help is at hand—and the more people talk about reaching out for it, the less stigma will surround it.
ALUMNI NEWS - wellness
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WELLNESS
The first line of defense
“If you don’t have a life outside Weldon, the stressors of law school can become bigger than they really are” — Kaitlin Pierce (‘18)
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Seto’s article states that students are vulnerable to developing depression during law school, even when there is no evidence to suggest a pre-existing risk. The demands can be all-consuming; students often study late, don’t make time to eat properly and don’t manage stress well, which can lead to burnout, anxiety, depression and substance abuse. At the Schulich School of Law, the student-run Wellness at Weldon committee hosts various events to encourage physical and mental well-being, such as spin classes, yoga and mealplanning sessions. In February, the committee co-hosted a mental health panel. The Honourable Tim Daley (’91), who sits in the Pictou Family/Provincial Court and who taught Family Law part-time at the law school, spoke about his experience with depression as a practicing lawyer. Stewart McKelvey research lawyer Jennifer Taylor discussed the impact of alcohol in the legal profession. And Dexter Nyuurnibe, a youth mental health advocate who lives with depression, explained the importance of continuing mental-health conversations. “It’s important for us to hear from people in the legal profession who manage stress well,” says recent graduate Kaitlin Pierce (‘18), who co-chaired Wellness at Weldon with Julianne Stevenson (‘18). “When we look at the rates of mental health disorders in the legal profession, we recognize that we need to put supports in place so when students need to talk to someone, they know where to go.” Those include the drop-in Peer Support Program, which hosts themed sessions for Bell Let’s Talk Day and exam prep. While there’s good overall participation, Pierce says it’s challenging to get men to take part. “Women tend to talk more about their feelings, which explains their higher participation rates, but it’s important for men to be part of our programs too.” Pierce unwinds by making an effort to socialize outside the law school. “If you don’t have a life outside Weldon, the stressors of law school can become bigger than they really are,” she says. Her advice to fellow students? Find time to do things off-campus that recharge you, and don’t feel guilty about taking that time for yourself. Dana-Lyn Mackenzie, who joined the law school as director of Student Services and Engagement last September, understands firsthand the stressors of juggling life and law school. She earned her law degree from UBC in 2011 as a mature student; during her first two years of law school, the married mother of two young daughters was being treated for cancer. The most common issues Mackenzie sees in students are anxiety and depression. Along with Associate Dean Michael Deturbide, she’s a resource for those who are stressed or in distress. “My role is to listen with empathy and without judgement,” she says. She has accompanied students to appointments with a doctor, nurse, social worker or counsellor at Dal’s Health and Wellness Centre. When necessary, she refers them to community supports such as the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre and the Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team. Mackenzie also provides Wellness Weeks for the students with an emphasis on self-care, nutrition and mindfulness. For the 2017/18 academic year, Mackenzie piloted a program called Dal Law Dogs, where faculty and staff brought their dogs to Weldon on certain days. “Dogs are great social levelers, and studies
show that petting an animal lowers stress,” she says. “This program is a fabulous way to informally build community by bringing together people who might not otherwise connect.”
The power of sharing your story
“To be a good lawyer, one has to be a healthy lawyer.” That comes from American University Washington College of Law’s 2017 paper “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change.” It states that lawyer well-being contributes to organizational success and insists that wellbeing is part of a lawyer’s ethical duty of competence. The paper cites research that shows that the most effective way to reduce the stigma of a mental health disorder is through direct contact with someone who has personally experienced a relevant disorder; ideally, this person should be a practicing lawyer or law student. Last year Hearsay published a story about Greg Johannson (‘17), who shared his addiction-recovery journey. John Osler (’88), QC, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault in Calgary and the firm’s chief community officer and mental health champion, is happy to share his story of finding his way to wellness. Osler loved law school and didn’t find it stressful, even though it was a competitive environment, until it came time to find a job. “People manage stress in different ways,” says Osler. “At law school, I went out with my friends and partied. I wouldn’t recommend that as the only way to blow off steam, either in law school or in practice, and it’s not how I unwind now. I’ve learned that exercising and having interests outside law school and practice are healthier ways to manage stress.” Many law students and junior lawyers don’t seek help because they’re afraid that doing so will negatively impact their careers. When Osler began practicing, he felt pressured to have a high number of billable hours. “The pursuit of billable hours creates its own stressors,” he says. Every morning, he would hear senior lawyers ask each other how late they had worked the night before. What’s more, he thought that successful lawyers didn’t take vacations, because he watched senior lawyers schedule theirs, then cancel them at the last minute. Osler’s wake-up call came in 2007, when he was diagnosed with leukemia at age 44. He was told to take time off work during his treatment, but he didn’t. “I had a family to look after, and I figured I could manage,” he said. “Up until then, I had exercised sporadically. My life was focused on my career at the expense of my health and my family. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I put a priority on my physical and mental health. It had taken me 20 years of working and a health crisis to do that.” Now 55, Osler goes to the gym, road cycles, skis, golfs, walks and spends more time with his family. He took advantage of the support services available at his firm and still accesses them when he needs to. “No matter why we have mental and emotional challenges, it’s OK—and frankly, essential—to talk to your colleagues about them, but it’s still difficult for people because of the stigma attached to it,” he says. “It’s important to recognize that these are significant illnesses, not personal failings, and that we all have work to do to get rid of the stigma.”
“I’ve learned that exercising and having interests outside law school and practice are healthier ways to manage stress” — John Osler (’88)
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WELLNESS
Organizational change is happening
Research reflects that about one-quarter of lawyers are workaholics, according to “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being.” Numerous health and relationship problems, including depression, anger, anxiety and burnout, can develop from work addiction. Cheryl Canning knows what burnout feels like. Two years ago, when she was 44, the partner at Burchells LLP in Halifax and chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Wellness Section wrote a blog titled “From Zen to Chaos and the Long Road Back.” In it, she talked about being involved in a high-pressure case moving at a lightning pace, carrying her phone constantly, reading emails the second they arrived and sending documents at 10 p.m. When her husband told her to take a day off to relax, she said she didn’t have time. Canning lay awake at night worrying about work and found herself yelling at her fellow lawyers. “I asked myself, what are you doing? That was my wake-up call,” she says. She researched burnout and put a plan in place to change her negative patterns. She started saying no to some requests when she realized she couldn’t take on everything. She checked in with herself mentally to see if she felt angry or frustrated. She talked to her husband about her feelings. She adopted healthy eating, exercising and sleeping habits. And she wrote the blog to hold herself accountable. The CBA is striving to change the culture of the way lawyers work to prevent burnout, but if members are struggling, there are resources to help them. The CBA’s online Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession course has had 2,277 registrations since its launch in 2015. “That’s considered to be a very high participation rate,” says Canning. “And we think it will continue to grow because people are talking about mental health like never before. The problems have always existed, but people weren’t willing to talk about them or seek help. More people are coming to us to access our programs, and that’s a measure of success.” n Visit www.cba.org for information about the Mental Health and Wellness in the Legal Profession course and other CBA Wellness resources. 26
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The pursuit of happiness Nancy Levit, Professor of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, was the Schulich School of Law’s 2015 Horace E. Read Memorial Lecturer. She discussed themes in The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law, the book she co-authored with her colleague Douglas O. Linder about how law compares to other occupations along various dimensions of job satisfaction and the behavioural patterns common to happy lawyers and happy law students. Here’s an excerpt from The Happy Lawyer’s foreword: Now seems like the right time for a book about finding satisfaction in a law career. The past couple of decades have produced a torrent of research on happiness from fields of neuroscience and positive psychology. Some of the research results suggest happiness boosts that are largely to be found outside the office, through activities ranging from playing tennis to meditating to eating chocolate. But many other of these research findings have important implications for the way law is practiced, if happiness really matters to lawyers—and it obviously does. Perhaps more critically, such research also contributes to the better design of happiness strategies; we know, for example, that liking and trusting your co-workers contributes more to your long run satisfaction than snagging the corner office or a six-figure bonus. In addition to the explosion of research on happiness, the practice of law has changed in a way that makes career satisfaction much more relevant to law schools than used to be the case. Law schools that previously told entering students, “Look to your left and look to your right; one of the three of you won’t be here at the end of the year” now realize they have a stake in convincing prospective students that they can best help them achieve that satisfying law career they’re looking for—happy alumni are more likely to be generous and supportive alumni. This generation of students, more than any previous generation, ranks life satisfaction highest among their goals. Schools that can credibly promise a better shot at career happiness are in a better position to recruit the best and brightest students. Law firms also have a growing interest in making associates happy. The old system that welcomed many to the firm but retained few of them (the “up or out” system) has given way to a process that places a premium on careful selection and retention. Firms have come to recognize the high costs of associate attrition. They now understand that demoralization among associates affects the quality of their work product as well as the law firms’ bottom line. There is a growing consensus that trends adversely affecting happiness—such as everincreasing billable hour requirements and declining civility in the profession—no longer can be ignored if firms hope to continue to attract the members of a new generation that places personal happiness on the top of life’s wish list. Moreover, many older lawyers are coming to the same conclusion as a lot of newer ones: “If I’m not happy doing what I’m doing, what’s the point?” By permission of Oxford University Press, USA. Extracts (426w) from pp.xi–xii. Foreword by Nancy Levit and Douglas O. Linder from The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law by Levit, Nancy & Linder, Douglas O. (2010).
PROFILE
A textbook lesson
Aarij Wasti has spent much of the last decade working on the Qatar World Cup project, taking him on a journey that began in Canada with a destination that remains wide open
by Tom Mason
O
n paper, Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup looked like a long shot. Qatar is a small country, after all; its population of about 2.6 million people makes it about the same size as Atlantic Canada. To make the world’s secondlargest sporting event a success, no fewer than eight stadiums would have to be built or refurbished along with the other infrastructure, including hotels, roads, mass transportation facilities, a new underground rail network and dozens of training sites. Along the way, there would be questions about the treatment of migrant workers, a lengthy investigation of both FIFA and the 2018/22 bid-
ding processes and, more recently, an unrelenting economic blockade by Qatar’s regional neighbours. Throughout it all, the whole world would be watching. Qatar responded with a textbook lesson in how to organize a major sporting event under such unique circumstances. All eight stadiums are slated to be completed well ahead of schedule in 2020. The event will be staged in November and December to escape Qatar’s hot summer. And significant progress is being made on the issue of workers’ welfare, drawing praise from some of the country’s most vehement international critics. To help make it all happen, Qatar turned to a number of 2018 H E A R S AY
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PROFILE
A night view of the Khalifa Olimpic Stadium in Doha, one of eight stadiums built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
foreign experts for help, including Dalhousie Law School alumnus Aarij Wasti (JD ’03). At just 41 years of age, Wasti has spent much of the last decade working on the Qatar World Cup project, first on the historic bid and now on the delivery phase. After working on the project in various capacities, including as external counsel and a secondee, he is now in-house senior counsel at the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), the organization responsible for delivering the tournament infrastructure and legacy. Wasti is tasked with focusing on sports law, working closely with FIFA and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), keeping a keen eye on tournament-related issues. “Everyone gave us less than an outside chance to pull it off, and we did it,” says Wasti. “Now we’re showing the rest of the world how major sporting events can be developed, particularly in the context of a compact hosting plan.”
A unique perspective
Wasti’s journey to Qatar was a long and winding one. The Calgary native spent much of his childhood travelling the world with his parents and two sisters, living for a time in such exotic places as Indonesia. The Wasti family also made frequent journeys back to the family home in Pakistan. “Our parents wanted us to know both ends of our heritage,” he says. “They wanted Pakistan and Canada to both be home to us. I feel very fortunate for that. It gave me a unique identity and a unique perspective on the world.” Wasti graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree from McGill, then spent some time in Japan teaching English before applying to law school. He says in retrospect that Dalhousie was an easy choice. “It was 1999 and Dalhousie had built a 28
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brand as Canada’s national law school. I felt very much a Canadian, but I didn’t feel like I belonged to any one province, so relocating to the East Coast made as much sense to me as moving west.” A few days after law school started in September of 2000, he was sure he had made the right choice. “There is a real intimacy to Dal Law. It was easy to form strong relationships with other students and faculty members. At the same time, Atlantic Canadians are some of the warmest, most hospitable people I’ve ever met. Those friendships and feelings have stayed with me over the years.” Although Wasti admits he has never considered becoming a criminal lawyer, his favourite subject at law school was international comparative criminal law. The Sept. 11 attacks took place at the start of Wasti’s second year, and in the aftermath there was much discussion, inside and outside the classrooms, around Sharia law, cross-cultural change and religious law issues. “I loved the discussions we had in criminal law class,” Wasti recalls. “Professor Bruce Archibald taught the class so well, despite the challenges such topics and discussions came with.” Wasti articled with Ho Macneil Jenuth, a boutique firm in Calgary, under Dal Law alumnus Stephen J. MacNeil, who died earlier this year at 69. Wasti was called to the Bar in Alberta before hitting the road. He spent four years working at two firms in Islamabad, Pakistan, focusing on power projects, hotels and privatizations. In the aftermath of the great South Asian earthquake of 2005, he travelled as a volunteer to Northern Pakistan to help with relief efforts. He recalls a day soon after he arrived in the relief zone when a man whose house had been destroyed offered to share his last few meagre biscuits with the relief workers. “He said, ‘It’s all right. Someone will help me just as I’m helping you now.’ It gave me real per-
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Doha in just over four years
spective.” In 2006, Wasti was called to the Bar in Pakistan and married his wife, Mishael, also a lawyer. Two years later, he accepted a job with Dentons in Doha, Qatar, and began building a practice in sports law, first working on Qatar’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and later as a secondee to Doha’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics. That same year he was admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. In 2010, he and Mishael had their first child, a daughter, Manaal, who was to gain a sister, Alayna, three years later. In 2012, he moved to Clyde & Co as a senior associate and was almost immediately seconded across to the SC, then known as Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022. In his spare time, Wasti has completed a Master Certificate in Human Resources from Cornell and attained an Islamic Finance Qualification. He also completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with Mishael in 2016.
The world will be watching
When Qatar won the 2022 FIFA World Cup bid and began preparing for the biggest show in the region’s history, there was a palpable sense that the team involved was doing something of great consequence. “This is the first time anything like this has ever happened in the Middle East,” says Wasti. “The world is going to be watching us carefully, and we’ve set some very high standards.” For one thing, the build-out of eight FIFA World Cup stadiums, not to mention the supporting infrastructure, is attracting migrant workers from all over the world who are bringing their skills and knowledge to Qatar. Making their work conditions healthy and safe, with a focus on things like nutrition and living conditions, is part of the priority. “It’s a
real opportunity to make meaningful improvements,” says Wasti. “There’s also a physical fitness aspect to the World Cup—a chance to promote sport and healthy living to the people of Qatar and the Middle East.” Wasti’s work at the SC has helped develop a number of key social and economic legacy projects, including an innovation award (Challenge 22), a centre of excellence for sports and events (Josoor Institute), community-engagement programs and the region’s first behavioural insights unit—also known as a “nudge” unit—the Qatar Behavioural Insight Unit. Wasti has also played a role in the success of Generation Amazing, a key corporate social responsibility program that empowers a new generation of leaders to use football (soccer to North Americans) to create positive change in their communities. Through Generation Amazing, Wasti has travelled to work with children from vulnerable communities throughout Pakistan and Nepal, where he is “seeing tangible social change that provides real benefits to children. This tells us we are on the right path and makes all of the work, often against the odds, worth it.” The 2022 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Doha on Nov. 21 in just over four years. It will be a major personal milestone for Wasti and the entire SC team. He loves the Middle East’s rich culture and history, and he is proud of the work his team has done to help ensure that when the FIFA World Cup finals come to Qatar, it will be one of the world’s greatest events. “We’re challenging the status quo. We’re building a new model of how these events can be run. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of this journey—one that I have no doubt will leave a positive and lasting legacy not just for this region and time but far, far beyond.” n 2018 H E A R S AY
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PROFILE
BUDDING
TIMES After a successful 25-year disabilities and labour law practice, Myrna Gillis is embracing a new career in medical cannabis production—and proud to be one of the few women at this industry’s leading edge by Allison Lawlor
I
n a converted warehouse on the grounds of a former pulp-and-paper mill in a small coastal Nova Scotia community, Myrna Gillis (’91) sits at the helm of a company poised to be the largest producer of medical cannabis in the province. Leaving behind her successful 25-year-old disabilities and labour law practice in Halifax, Gillis has embarked on a new trailblazing career, becoming one of the few women at the forefront of a budding industry. “I saw this as a much bigger opportunity to bring about change,” she says.
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PROFILE
“I have learned more securities law in the past 12 months. I call on my legal skills every day” Motivated by her passion for disabilities advocacy and desire for access to safe all-natural cannabis, Gillis, along with a committed team, founded Aqualitas Inc. in 2014 and its research-and-development company, Finleaf Technologies. “I’m more in my wheelhouse today than I have been in a long time,” says Aqualitas’ CEO, speaking enthusiastically about her career evolution and her company’s plans. “I’m thrilled about our technology. I’m thrilled to be a woman taking a lead in this industry.” Sitting inside her company’s 70,000square-foot production facility in Liverpool, an hour-and-a-half drive from Halifax on the province’s picturesque South Shore, Gillis is clearly excited about being at the forefront of a new industry and witnessing changing attitudes. “The stigma around this plant is dissipating,” she says. “We are breathing our last breath of protest to this plant.” In June, the company planned to harvest its first crop of all-natural, aquaponically grown cannabis, which combines hydroponics with aquaculture. Expecting to grow 9,000 kilograms of cannabis annually, with expansion plans in the future, Gillis believes the company is on track to becoming Canada’s largest licensed producer of allnatural cannabis.
Close collaborations
After years of largely solitary work in her private practice, Gillis is energized by working closely with a diverse team that includes scientists and financial executives. Being a lawyer has been an asset in running a risky startup. “I have learned more securities law in the past 12 months,” she says, laughing. “I call on my legal skills every day.” Gillis’s legal practice saw her ap32
H E A R S AY 2018
PHOTO COURTESY OF AQUALITAS
— Myrna Gillis
The Aqualitas team at Acadia inspects the koi tank that is part of its award-winning aquaponics growing platform. (From left): research advisor Russell Easy, head grower Jake Ward, CEO Myrna Gillis and CFO Mike O’Keefe.
pearing before all levels of Nova Scotia’s Supreme Court, the province’s Labour Board and the Human Rights Commission, as well as acting as the lead negotiator for unionized employers and successfully concluding about 100 collective agreements without work stoppages. Making the leap from disabilities and labour law to medical cannabis production felt logical to Gillis. “It’s a more natural evolution than people might think,” she says. “In my practice, I saw firsthand people who had benefited greatly from medical cannabis.” Some of her clients, who had been unable to work, turned to medical cannabis and went back to work. “I am a big believer in it, but it’s not a panacea. It’s not necessarily for everyone.” As a disabilities lawyer, Gillis
closely followed access to medical cannabis cases involving the right to possess, such as the Skinner case that went to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. When the federal government brought in new rules surrounding medical cannabis in the spring of 2014, Gillis tracked the changes. By Canada Day she had the idea of starting a company but knew she couldn’t do it without the right people. In September of that year, she called a meeting at her law office, bringing together 12 people she believed had the skills necessary to make a company succeed. She invited a chartered accountant, a pharmacist, someone with an MBA, scientists, contractors and her detail-oriented law colleague Barbara Darby (’02). It was Darby who drafted
the company’s 2,000-page application to Health Canada to cultivate medical cannabis. “Everyone in that room said yes to moving forward, and every one of those people is still involved in the project,” says Gillis proudly. Motivated by a strong sense of advocacy and social justice, the team worked initially without compensation, in partnership with Dalhousie and Acadia universities, to develop a new technology using aquaponics to grow the cannabis plants. The growing system they developed uses Koi fish to create nitrogen and other nutrients for the plants, which pass back filtered water for the fish, creating a closed-loop ecosystem where waste produced by one species are used by another. The cultivation process requires 50 per cent less energy, 90 per cent less water and no synthetic chemicals or pesticides. To get the company where it is today required not only a dedicated team but also a tremendous amount of capital. Gillis led the team in raising $15 million and attracted the attention of U.S.-based The Arcview Group, an investor network focused on the cannabis industry. Aside from securing investments, Aqualitas also developed an international network of support and a relationship with Green Acre Capital, a private investment fund focused on the Canadian cannabis industry. At Aqualitas’ production facility in Liverpool, Gillis expects to soon employ up to 60 people; at full capacity there could be as many as 300 employees. With expansion plans on the horizon, she envisions moving into the international medical cannabis market, establishing a cannabis research station and using their growing system to cultivate other crops. “I’m going back to my farming roots,” she jokes.
PHOTO COURTESY OF AQUALITAS
Aqualitas’ production facility expects to soon employ up to 60 people. At full capacity, there could be as many as 300 employees
The aquaponics growing system uses Koi fish
Following in legal footsteps
While her parents were raised on farms, Gillis grew up in the university town of Antigonish. Thriving on her family’s spirited political discussions around the dinner table, a career in law seemed inevitable. She watched in awe when her eldest sister, Deborah, went off to Dalhousie to study law and fondly remembers boarding a bus in Antigonish with older sister Andrea with a suitcase full of food to visit Deborah. “I always loved debating,” she says. “From as long as I can remember, I never had any other desire but to go to law school.” After Deborah graduated in the law class of 1978, her sister Andrea was next, graduating in 1984. Gillis, who was the
president of the Law Students’ Society and is an active alumna now, graduated in 1991. Following her at the Schulich School of Law were her nephew, Ian McIsaac (’11), and two nieces, Elizabeth and Christena McIsaac (both ’14). When Ian announced his intention to become a lawyer, the family joked that it wasn’t possible—in the Gillis family, being a lawyer was woman’s work. A law degree may also be in the future for Gillis’s son, Ben. Now an undergraduate student at the University of King’s College and a member of Canada’s national debate team, Ben shares his mother’s love of verbal sparring. “I tell him that a law degree can help you in whatever you choose to do.” n 2018 H E A R S AY
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2017 BERTHA WILSON HONOUR SOCIETY
34
DAHLIA BATEMAN (’04) Ontario
PAMELA LARGE MORAN (’89) Prince Edward Island
KENNETH PIKE (’84) New Brunswick
PETER DARBY (’58) Nova Scotia
GAIL MACAULAY (’79) Manitoba
Since 2004, Dahlia Bateman has been providing legal counsel in commercial law, litigation and employment law in the Greater Toronto Area. In 2006, she started her own law firm specializing in criminal and mental health law, and for almost a decade she has offered legal services to small and mid-size corporations. Bateman is a long-time supporter of Dalhousie in various capacities, including as the university’s ombudsman and an ambassador appointed by the admissions director to promote the law school and recruit students. She was also the student representative on the Admissions Committee (and remained on that committee after graduation), an IB&M Initiative student representative and vice-president of the Dalhousie Black Law Students’ Association. Her public service includes volunteering for the Ontario Bar Associations Elementary Mock Trial Program and sponsoring back-to-school programs in Jamaica. She has been honoured by Knox College’s Association of Past Students (New York chapter) for her efforts to help disadvantaged students in Jamaica.
Committed to social justice and access to justice issues, Pamela Large Moran is at the forefront of alternative dispute resolution. The mediator/arbitrator and adjudicator in First Nations issues and restorative justice has conducted more than 300 hearings of residential schools’ claims survivors across Canada. She has made significant contributions to First Nations issues and was a claims evaluator for the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children. Her many past titles include director and vice-president of the ADR Institute of Canada, president and current director of ADR Atlantic and chair of the ADR Section of CBA–PEI. She has made great efforts to increase the cultural competency of the province’s legal community and accessibility to justice for First Nations people. Currently, Large Moran is the P.E.I. Canadian Bar Association’s Aboriginal Law section chair. She provides pro bono services to the Aboriginal Justice Program of the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. and legal services to the Prince Edward Island Business Women’s Association and the Canadian Cancer Society.
Kenneth Pike is an advocate and educator for disadvantaged individuals and a researcher and writer on disability issues and social policy issues. He coordinated and managed the Older Parents Project, a threeyear R&D project for the Fundy Regional Council Association for Community Living addressing issues faced by aging parents of sons and daughters with intellectual disabilities, and the Disability Support Program Pilot Project for the New Brunswick Association of Community Living to develop and test ways of providing individualized and flexible supports to adults with a disability under the age of 65. His major publications include Estate Planning for Families Who Have a Son or Daughter with a Mental Handicap: A Guide for the Legal Profession of Atlantic Canada and Achieving Inclusion: A Parent Guide to Inclusive Education in New Brunswick. Pike is currently the director of social policy for the New Brunswick Association for Community Living. He is the recipient of a New Brunswick Human Rights Award, and the New Brunswick Association for Community Living named him a Distinguished Associate.
The late Dalhousie Law School professor Peter Darby was not only an exceptional educator and mentor but also a leader as a labour arbitrator and adjudicator both in Atlantic Canada and nationally. In the field of labour relations, he was known for his expertise on employment law and occupational and safety matters. His career highlights include serving as the solicitor for Imperial Oil in Calgary, partner with Willet and Darby in Saint John, arbitrator and adjudicator for the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Workforce Development and member, chair and vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board. While teaching at Dalhousie Law School, he received the Rosemary Gill Award for exceptional (non-academic) service to student life. The Class of 1974 established a personal bursary for a law student in his name, describing him as “beloved professor.” He sat on many law school and university committees, and he made contributions to the arts community, including the Dalhousie Art Gallery.
As a 23-year-old lawyer, Gail MacAulay moved to The Pas, a northern community 600 kilometres north of Winnipeg. She articled with Manitoba Legal Aid, travelling to remote First Nations communities by truck, bush plane and boat. While in the North, she served on the board of directors that established and ran the first Residential Crisis Centre in Northern Manitoba, serving on the Friendship Centre and United Church outreach boards. After finishing her Manitoba articles, MacAulay articled at Nova Scotia Legal Aid in Antigonish before returning to Manitoba, where she worked for the next five years in The Pas. For the rest of her career, which spanned more than three decades, she practised criminal law in Winnipeg, handling the criminal courts in First Nations communities that were served out of the capital city. MacAulay has volunteered for the Elizabeth Fry Society, the Salvation Army Community Advisory Council, World Vision, the Aspers Foundation for Human Rights and Holocaust Societies. She has worked with many organizations for disabled children and those with Down syndrome.
H E A R S AY 2018
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Do you know an extraordinary alum of our school? Why not nominate her/him for induction into The Bertha Wilson Honour Society? Established in 2011 to pay tribute to an alumna and pioneer of the Canadian judiciary, the Honourable Madam Justice Bertha Wilson, this award showcases the geographic reach of alumni contributions to law and society. More information and a list of past inductees can be found on the law school's alumni website: dal.ca/faculty/law/alumni.html Eligibility:
A Dalhousie law graduate
Nominations:
With this form please include a letter of nomination along with the nominee’s curriculum vitae.
Selection:
A selection committee appointed by the board of directors of the Dalhousie Law Alumni Association.
Deadline:
Nov. 30, 2018
My nomination for The Bertha Wilson Honour Society: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Nominated by: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: Email: ________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Please return this form to: Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University 6061 University Avenue P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 tel: 902-494-5100 fax: 902-494-4222 lawalum@dal.ca
2018 H E A R S AY
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The Schulich School of Law and the Dalhousie Law Alumni Association are proud to announce the 2017 recipient of the Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service
TRINDA ERNST Kentville, Nova Scotia
The 2017 recipient of the Schulich School of Law’s Weldon Award for Unselfish Public Service is Trinda Ernst, QC (’83), a senior lawyer at Waterbury Newton Law Firm, which has offices in Kentville and Berwick, N.S.
and Wolfville L’Arche Homefires Society. She has been involved in many initiatives, including with the CentreStage Theatre Society, Valley Women’s Business Network, Eastern King’s Chamber of Commerce and Valley Regional Hospital.
Ernst has worked at Waterbury Newton since 1985. Her field of expertise includes wills and estates, elder law, corporate/commercial law and real estate law. As an Associate, she practised extensively in family law and, to a lesser extent, criminal law. Previous roles included Nova Scotia Legal Aid Commission lawyer and articled clerk at the Atlantic Regional Office of the Department of Justice (Canada) in Halifax.
Among Ernst’s myriad awards and appointments are The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s Gold Award, CBA-NS Branch Distinguished Service Award, the Girl Guides of Canada’s Gold Merit Award and national president of the Canadian Bar Association. However, she is perhaps most well known for taking young lawyers and law students under her wing at events and introducing them to her broad network of peers. Many count themselves fortunate to have been on the receiving end of her energy, enthusiasm, mentorship and friendship. n
In addition to her legal practice, Ernst is an active community volunteer with many interests, including the Girl Guides, Valley Voice a cappella choir
NOW ACCEPTING
Weldon Award for Unselfish
2019
Public Service
For more information or to make a nomination, please email lawalum@dal.ca. Deadline is May 31, 2019.
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H E A R S AY 2018
SCHULICH SCHOOL OF LAW DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY
2016–2017
DONOR
REPORT 2018 H E A R S AY
37
1958
1963
1968
1971
1949
Class Participation.......... 13% Dr. William H. Charles Prof. Peter E. Darby* June Nudelman Karlin
Class Participation............ 2% David J. Waterbury
1959
Total Class Giving........ $2,625 Class Participation..........29% David Case David F. Curtis* Harold MacKay G. Brian Purdy
Total Class Giving.........$3,175 Class Participation...........11% Heather Grant D. William MacDonald William R. McColm Sen. Wilfred Moore David H. Sohmer William E. Wells
Total Class Giving........$9,450 Class Participation............ 9% M. A. Cameron Hon. Judge William Digby Donald Gibson Walter A. McEwen Derry Millar Peter A. S. Milliken Douglas Moores Tarcisio Nella Michael Phelan
1935 Class Participation............ 5% Arthur Thurlow
1950 Class Participation............ 2% Robert Lyall
1951
1960
Class Participation............ 2% Maj (Rtd) John A. Commerford
Total Class Giving........ $5,821 Class Participation.......... 13% F. Garrick Homer Hon. Arthur M. Lutz Stuart MacKinnon J. A. MacLellan
1953 Total Class Giving...... $11,825 Class Participation.......... 15% Hon. Justice Hiram Carver Harold F. G. Stevens Hon. Ronald C. Stevenson Bert Wyman
1954 Class Participation.......... 12% Kenneth A. Lund Joel Matheson Richard L. Weldon
1961 Total Class Giving........$2,550 Class Participation.......... 19% Richard Cashin Paul Creaghan Milton H. Grant Boyd Lowery David Matheson Tom Scott
1955
1962
Class Participation............ 2% A. J. Stone
Total Class Giving......$53,330 Class Participation..........20% Alan V. M. Beattie David A. Bissett Hon. Robert Ferguson Hon. Charles Haliburton Larry Hebb Robert E. Radford Hon. Eugene A. Scheibel Wayne R. Smith
1956 Class Participation............ 7% Sir Graham Day J. D. Furzer Elliot Hon. Peter Power
1957 Class Participation............ 2% M. C. Justine O’Brien
38
Class Participation............ 6% Shirley T. Rayes Elizabeth Strong Reagh Hon. Justice David Riche
H E A R S AY 2018
1964 Class Participation............ 9% Hon. Justice William Fitzgerald David Morris John A. Yogis
1965 Total Class Giving........$2,350 Class Participation.......... 15% Dr. George T. H. Cooper Arthur Donahoe Hon. Justice Gerard C. Hawco Ian H. MacDonald Hon. Theodore E. Margeson
1966 Class Participation.......... 13% Paul Murphy William Rand
1967 Total Class Giving......$43,258 Class Participation..........29% Leo Barry Norman H. Carruthers Diane Campbell David C. Day John M. Hanson Alan G. Hayman Robert Kelly John C. Lovett Arthur F. Miller Hon. George J. Mullally Thomas J. O'Reilly Ernest G. Reid David B. Ritcey Dennis M. Starzynski
1969 Total Class Giving........ $3,795 Class Participation.......... 13% Brian Bruce Morris J. Haugg Steve Konchalski Paull N. Leamen Ronald A. MacDonald Robert G. MacKeigan John S. McFarlane David A. Milner Hon. Justice Denis Roberts Robert B. Waind
1970 Total Class Giving........$2,550 Class Participation.......... 14% Hon. Douglas Cook Pat Curran Mary Dawson Pierre M. Hebert Ceri Hugill Hon. Emile R. Kruzick Kathleen D. Marrie Dennis Y. Perlin John M. White
1972 Total Class Giving........ $9,473 Class Participation..........10% William J. Leslie Hon. J. Vernon MacDonald George Macintosh J. Fraser B. Mills Dolores M. Morrell D. Clifton Prowse Jeffrey L. Schelew Hon. Justice Janet Sinclair Prowse David R. Thomas Judge Jim Wilson
1973 Total Class Giving.........$7,970 Class Participation..........10% Michael Bird James E. Dorsey Raymond F. Glennie Hon. Robert B. Hyslop John McLeish Justice John D. Murphy Thomas W. Patience Hon. Justice Nicoll M. Scaravelli Hon. Justice Abraham Schwartz
SCHULICH LAW DONOR REPORT THIS REPORT IS A RECOGNITION OF GIFTS RECEIVED BETWEEN APRIL 1, 2016, TO DECEMBER 31, 2017
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
Total Class Giving...... $31,525 Class Participation.......... 13% Prof. Bruce Archibald John W. Chandler Justice Wayne Cheverie Mary Clancy Bruce Elman Richard S. Goodman James Gregg Paul D. Jardine Mark Johnson Beryl MacDonald David Meadows William Mouris Dan O’Connor John Plowman Elizabeth Roscoe Paul Stokes
Total Class Giving.........$7,189 Class Participation.......... 12% Hon. Jean-Louis Batiot Jo Ann Carmichael Roberta J. Clarke David G. Fredricksen Linda M. Gaudet David C. Hicks Mary A. Kimball Andrew G. Love Bud MacDonald M. Clare MacLellan Brian MacLellan Timothy Matthews Stephen Mattson Robert M. Purdy Lynne Redden Gerry Roy John Stringer Anthony L. Sweet
Total Class Giving........$3,488 Class Participation.......... 13% Frank Archibald Bernard J. Butler Elizabeth Callaghan Joseph A. Cameron Elizabeth Ellis Kari J. LeLacheur Valerie Macdonald Mary E. Meisner G. Michael Owen Don Roger Judge Peter Ross Claude Samson Gerald B. Stanford Margaret J. Stewart Hon. Michael Stober Shirley L. Strutt Tom R. Strutt Prof. Rollie Thompson
Total Class Giving........$5,555 Class Participation.......... 12% Lorne H. Abugov Kenneth L. Baggs J. Helen Beck D’Arcy DePoe Hon. Anne S. Derrick Valerie Dyer P. R. Hames Prof. Archibald Kaiser Stuart Koskie Norman Letalik Mark E. MacDonald James MacLean Donald MacLennan J. Brian Medjuck Patricia L. Reardon Mark S. Rosen Alison W. Scott Randy Smith
Total Class Giving.......$11,700 Class Participation..........10% Clare F. Barry Joanne Bourinot Hon. Judge Jamie Campbell Kenneth Godfrey Scott P. Gray Justice Lois Hoegg Ian MacKay G. Douglas Sealy Toshimi A. Sembo Shauna Sullivan Curley Justice Michael Wood
1977
1979
1981
Total Class Giving........ $7,955 Class Participation.......... 12% Hon. Justice Nancy J. Bateman Janice M. Bruni Steven Enman Les Grieve Justice Kenneth C. Haley Alison Taylor Love Colin Patrick MacDonald J. Barrie Marshall Robert G. McNeil Susan C. Potts Hon. Judge Michael B. Sherar Elizabeth J. Shilton Hon. Justice Frans F. Slatter T. Ann Smiley Harold M. Smith Robert Stewart Tim White
Total Class Giving...... $20,165 Class Participation.......... 12% Andrew Brands Hon. Judge Marc Chisholm Brent Cotter Hon. Judge Anne E. Crawford John H. Cuthbertson Randall C. Fleming D. Suzan Frazer M. David Gates Chief Justice Joseph M. MacDonald Rose Ann MacGillivray Brian Maltman Marian McGrath Donald R. Miller Justice Rosemary Nation Maureen O’Connell Lawrence I. O’Neil Linda M. Rankin David N. Ross Hon. Judge Alan T. Tufts
Total Class Giving........$9,096 Class Participation.......... 16% Jeff Berryman Barbara H. Campbell Patrick I. Cassidy Janice Crawford Hon. Justice Steven D’Arcy Hon. Justice Leslie J. Dellapinna Margaret Dickson Peter K. Large Michael Lynk J. Scott MacKenzie Steve MacNeil* Dinyar Marzban Arthur Oliphant Curtis C. Palmer P. Geoffrey Plant Paul Radford Clifford J. Shaw Marlene Stones Paul L. Walter Vance Wirth Rhonda G. Wishart
1975 Total Class Giving........$6,050 Class Participation...........11% A. Lawrence Filion Bruce M. Graham Gregory S. Hildebrand Beatrice Fejtek Hines Brian Langille Ted McFetridge Laurie S. Pascoe Justice Paul J. Pearlman F. T. Mark Pujolas Heather Robertson Wendell Sanford Michael Schelew Lawrence Steinberg
1983 Total Class Giving.........$7,707 Class Participation...........11% Del W. Atwood Julia E. Cornish Brian W. Derrah Guy Desmarais Daryl Fridhandler Donald Allan Landry Christopher W. Morris M. Lynn Murray Scott Norton Gretchen G. Pohlkamp Hon. Geoff Regan Assoc. Chief Justice Deborah Smith Hon. Judge Robert T. F. Smith Ronald Stockton Art Theuerkauf Natalie Vukovich
* Deceased
2018 H E A R S AY
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1984
1986
1989
1992
1994
Total Class Giving......$29,301 Class Participation.......... 13% Janet M. Chisholm Claire Christie Bill Faminoff John S. Fitzpatrick Andrea D. Gillis Mary J. Gleason Peter Gorgopa Mark A. Greenberg Shirley Lee Chris Manning Hon. Justice Gillian D. Marriott Douglas McLean Ken Mills Jim Musgrave Kim Pate Ken Pike Penelope Tham Jeremy A. Thomas Judge Pam Williams
Total Class Giving........$5,878 Class Participation............ 8% Michelle Christopher Linda G. Dolan Kevin P. Downie Barry G. Fleming Hon. Justice Theresa Forgeron Donna Franey Donald B. Jarvis Alex MacFarlane Ronald M. Snyder Mme Justice Maria Speyer Nancy Trott Ian C. Wallace
Total Class Giving........ $7,575 Class Participation............ 4% R. Glen Boswall Hon. Judge Stephanie A. Cleary Nathalie Goyette Marilyn Sandford Janice Spencer
Total Class Giving........ $4,275 Class Participation............ 9% Bill Abbott Sheila J. Cameron Peter D. Crowther Denis R. Huot John T. Kalm Geoffrey Litherland Toby D. Mendel Dr. Stephen G. A. Pitel T. A. Pratt Darren Stratton Samira G. Zayid Rodney J. Zdebiak
Total Class Giving........ $3,750 Class Participation............ 9% Michael I. Christie David Clayton Timothy Costigan Heather A. de Berdt Romilly Shanti Dogra Jane D. Harrigan Daphne C. Loukidelis Tyna Mason Garry A. McCay Heather A. McNeill Patricia A. Neild Greg Shirley Robert K. Smithson Eric Taylor Hon. Henry A. Visser
1985 Total Class Giving...... $10,190 Class Participation.......... 12% Deborah A. Armour Roger A. Burrill Brenda Christen Steve Coughlan Hon. Judge Pamela Goulding Karen Hudson Jay C. Humphrey Mark Knox Hon. Justice Mona M. Lynch Jim MacAulay Kevin MacLean Francine McIntyre Celia J. Melanson Valerie A. Miller Dean D. Pietrantonio Peter M. Rogers Penny A. Ross Samy F. Salloum
40
H E A R S AY 2018
1987 Total Class Giving........$5,200 Class Participation............ 6% Robert A. Balcom Charlotte Davis Brandy Dowdall Margery Fowke John Kulik Yvonne R. LaHaye Mary E. Murphy Janice E. Younker
1988 Total Class Giving...... $93,618 Class Participation..........10% Peter Dale Michael Dickey E. W. Scott Dickieson Donald J. Dow Darlene A. Jamieson Coleen Kirby Gordon Manuel Al Meghji Michael D. Pantalony Rina Elster Pantalony Mark Schmidt Brian V. Vardigans Ann G. Wilkie
1990 Total Class Giving........ $9,267 Class Participation...........11% James K. Arends Maeve Baird Diana L. Belevsky Bob Buckingham James E. Fisher Susan J. Fullerton Jonathan G. Herman Donald G. MacDiarmid Donald K. MacKenzie Roxanne MacLaurin Diane L. McInnis Randy Pelletier Cynthia M. Thomas James D. H. Wood
1991 Total Class Giving........$3,050 Class Participation............ 6% Steven Baldwin Jane Fitzpatrick Heather L. Hemphill Sean F. Layden Celine Levesque Ronald MacLeod Saul T. Schipper Richard Southcott Andrew C. Staples David Taniguchi
1993 Total Class Giving........$4,472 Class Participation............ 8% Brian Beck Subrata Bhattacharjee Matthew Certosimo Jeff Christian Dale A. Darling Frederick L. Glady Anthony (Tony) Glavin Joan Hatch Erin S. Iles Roger Lee Peter MacKenzie Scott Warwick
1995 Total Class Giving........$3,338 Class Participation............ 7% Jennifer G. Carmichael Anneke Driessen van der Lieck Shannon Farrell Donna B. Foulkes Jay Maw Rebecca A. Redmond-MacLean Megan Shortreed Andrew G. Stephens Patricia Thiel Candace Thomas John Underhill
1996 Class Participation............ 2% Zarah E. Walpole D. Scott Worsfold
SCHULICH LAW DONOR REPORT THIS REPORT IS A RECOGNITION OF GIFTS RECEIVED BETWEEN APRIL 1, 2016, TO DECEMBER 31, 2017
1997
2002
2008
Total Class Giving........... $875 Class Participation............ 4% Cheryl Canning Susan E. Carruthers Vincent C. Kazmierski Robert F. MacDonald Lisa C. Osoba Duaine W. Simms
Class Participation............ 2% Patricia E. Doyle-Bedwell Dr. Ikechi Mgbeoji
Class Participation............ 2% Mark Watton Daniel Zatzman
2003
2009
Total Class Giving........... $625 Class Participation............ 3% Claude Martin Jonathan Shapiro Julia Tremain Donald Zarow
Class Participation............ 1% Dr. Pamela D. Palmater
2004
2011
Class Participation............ 1% Anastasia Linthwaite
Class Participation............ 1% Teresa-Anne Martin
2005
2012
Total Class Giving........... $420 Class Participation............ 2% Lorraine P. Lafferty Naiomi S. Metallic Matthew Owen-King Graham Reynolds
Class Participation............ 1% Jalana Lewis
1998 Total Class Giving.........$1,166 Class Participation............ 6% Justice B. Richard Bell Paula Boutis Paul Falvo Sean Foreman Julienne Hills Charlene J. Moore James Rossiter
1999 Total Class Giving........ $3,570 Class Participation............ 4% Kate Dewhirst Harry Korosis Alexander Ostrop Sheila Wildeman Douglas T. Yoshida
2000 Class Participation............ 1% Rick Dunlop
2001 Total Class Giving........$2,645 Class Participation............ 4% Joe Burke Annette J. Duffy Patricia M. Elliott Sandra Oxner Andrew Wilson
2010 Class Participation............ 1% Alexander N. McNabb
2006 Total Class Giving........... $450 Class Participation............ 2% Charlotte Christophersen Jonathan M. Coady Keri Gammon Julien Ranger
2007 Class Participation............ 2% Peter Dostal Hirschorn Law Jennifer Ko
* Deceased
2018 H E A R S AY
41
HERITAGE SOCIETY
FRIENDS OF THE LAW SCHOOL
The Dalhousie Heritage Society was established to recognize and thank those who have remembered the faculty in their estate plans.
Jacqueline F. Allen
Mike Brady Dr. Christopher J. English Trinda L. Ernst Cherry G. Ferguson Duncan C. Fraser Gerald Godsoe* & Dale Godsoe Jarvis Googoo Edwin & Patricia Harris Dr. Stephen G. A. Pitel & Dale E. Ives Janette M. MacDonald Robert M. McInnes A. Anne McLellan
Meagan Almond Philip Anisman Kirk M. Baert Jennifer K. Bankier William F. Barton Robert Bauman Richard Bogoroch Richard Boivin Keith Boswell Kimberley Brooks Douglas Bryce Camille Cameron Harry S. Campbell Roger Chown George Clarke Sylvia Corthorn Mary Cossitt Austin Cull Eleanor R. Dawson William DeJong Diana W. Dimmer
ESTATES
Paul J. Dorsey
Estate of R. B. Viscount Bennett
Patrick Duffy
Estate of Douglas Coombes
Nicole Duval Hesler
Estate of Mairi Macdonald
Stanley Dwyer
Estate of Alex Ross
Jo-Anne Embree
Estate of Sarah Wolff
Richard L. Evans
Ernest Drapeau
Dick Evans Jeanne Fay
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H E A R S AY 2018
Rosemary Fisher
Larry J. Levine
Denis Pelletier
Catherine Fraser
Jean M. Llewellyn
Shane Perlmutter
Jane Fraser & Paul Deveau
Geoffrey Loomer
William S. Philpott
Valerie D. Getson
Lindsay Loomer
Gavin D. Price
Andrew Gibbs
Gary Luftspring & Elizabeth Ellis
Joan A. Pugsley
Elaine Gibson
Martina MacDougall
Gillian Pullen
Gerald Godsoe* & Dale Godsoe
Christine M. MacInnes
Genevieve Regan
David Goldstein
Audrey Macklin
Douglas & Maureen Reid
Brian G. Grant
Shannon E. MacLean
Gerald Rip
Margaret L. Grant-Paton
Keith MacPhail
Bronwyn Roe
P.A. Neena Gupta
J. Scott Maidment
John Rooke
Stephan Halperin
Alan H. Mark
Robert A. Russell
Sylvia D. Hamilton
Allan Markin
Philippa G. Samworth
Anna L. Marrison
Teresa Scassa
Meredith Hancock
Frank Marro
Robert Shaw
Kenneth G. Hare
Malik Martin
James Herbert Sherwood
Catherine S. Harrison
Anne Matthewman
Heather Smith
Richard F. Haskayne
Martha A. McCarthy
Kristen Stallard
C. Clifford Hood
Paul McCulloch
Elizabeth M. Stewart
Alexandra Hoy
Beverley McLachlin
David W. Stratas
Robin Hunter
Graham Mitchell
Tara Sweeney
Dominique T. Hussey
Julie Moores
Bruce Towler & Judy Steele
David Jenkins
Ann L. Morgan
Susan Trenholm
Gaston Jorre
Michael & Barbara Morin
Johanne Trudel
Karen Kavanaugh
David Mullen
Tiffany Tsang
Marjorie Kelley
Marc Nadon
Wendy C. Turner
Kathleen Kelly
Robert Newby
George T. Valin
Lucy Kerr
Marc Noel
Ronald Veale
Jean F. Knickle
Mary Jo Nolan
Gwendolyn Verge
Ronald Kruhlak
Alexandra Norris
Thomas E. Weeks
Roger Lafreniere
Maureen O’Brien
Michelle Williams
Andrea Laing
Alison & Gordon Patterson
Faye Woodman
Lucie Lamarre
James S. Peacock
Barbara L. Legate
Dana M. Peebles
& Bev A. Greenlaw
SCHULICH LAW DONOR REPORT THIS REPORT IS A RECOGNITION OF GIFTS RECEIVED BETWEEN APRIL 1, 2016, TO DECEMBER 31, 2017
ORGANIZATIONS
Mark T. Knox Inc.
2301072 Nova Scotia Ltd.
McCarthy Tétrault
Bell Canada
McInnes Cooper
Benefaction Foundation
Medical Class of 1967
Bereskin & Parr
Michelle C. Christopher Barrister & Solicitor
Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP
Miller Thomson LLP
Bob Buckingham Law
Nutowima Limited
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (ON)
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
BoyneClarke LLP
Patterson Law
Campion Law Corp.
Pink Larkin
Canadian Association of Black Lawyers
RBC Staff
Canadian Bar Association–Nova Scotia Branch
Schwab Charitable Fund
Canadian Energy Law Foundation
Smithson Employment Law Corp.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
Stewart McKelvey
Cape Breton Barristers’ Society
Stockton Maxwell & Elliott
Ches Crosbie Success Foundation
The Advocates’ Society
Chevron Canada Resources Limited
The Calgary Foundation
Schulich School of Law
The Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman
Dartmouth Cole Harbour Liberal Association
Foundation
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
The Mathison Family Foundation
Dinyar Marzban Law Corporation
Thomas M. Scott Investments Inc.
E.W. Scott Dickieson Barrister & Solicitor
Torys LLP
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Ukpik Inuit Art
Fort Calgary Preservation Society
W. Donald Goodfellow
Goldcorp Inc.
Waind Management & Consulting
Gowlings LLP
William L. Mouris Professional Corp.
James E. Dorsey Law Corporation
Youth Advocate Program
McCall MacBain Foundation
JMC Professional Services Corporation Joe Clark & Associates Limited John S. Fitzpatrick Legal Services Law Foundation of Nova Scotia Lenehan Musgrave LLP Manning & Associates Law Office Ltd.
* Deceased
While every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of this report, we apologize if your name has been misspelled, omitted or incorrectly listed. Please let us know so we can correct our records. Total Class Giving amounts were excluded for those classes with fewer than three donations, to protect confidentiality. The names of those who wished to be anonymous were also excluded.
2018 H E A R S AY
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SCHULICH LAW DONOR PROFILES Inaugural Chuck Meagher Law Hour
Law Hour at the Schulich School of Law provides an excellent opportunity to connect the legal issues and ideas learned in law school with how the law works in everyday life. The weekly, hour-long, student-run lecture has been an institution at Dalhousie since the 1960s and has had tremendous support from students, faculty, and members of the community. Law students have used Law Hour as an opportunity to invite leaders from law, business, politics, the NGO community and public policy arenas to talk to the law school community and the wider community. When Chuck Meagher was a law student from 1980 to 1983, he was involved in both the design and the organization of Law Hour. After his untimely death in 2015 at age 57, a fund was established by his estate and his family, friends, classmates and clients to honour his life and legacy. On Nov. 23, 2017, in Room 105 of the Weldon Law Building, Meagher’s classmate Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada and MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, spoke to a packed room at the inaugural Charles (Chuck) J. Meagher Law Hour. The topic of May’s presentation was “Bad Laws and Good Intentions: How and Why Harper-era Policies Resist Reform.”
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Before May spoke, her classmate John Rogers paid tribute to Meagher, his best friend from the first day of law school until his death, explaining that Meagher lived the Weldon Tradition through a distinguished legal career and a dedication to public service. “The fund is meant to embody Chuck’s commitment to the law school, to legal education, robust public policy debate, and engagement in community by supporting Law Hour,” he said, describing Meagher as loyal, honourable, thoughtful, civil, kind, sharing, humorous—“honestly, anything you could want in a leader or a friend.” In her introduction, Dean Camille Cameron said that thanks to the generosity of donors, including Rogers and his classmate Daryl Fridhandler, the fund’s current market value was $70,000. “That fund will grow—and with it, the opportunity to make Law Hour even better,” she said. When May took the podium, she said, “It’s an honour to be the first lecturer in a Law Hour series in the name of, and in memory of, one of my best
friends too, Chuck Meagher of Medicine Hat.” She became emotional when she added, “Of all of his wonderful accomplishments, I would say, above all else, Chuck Meagher excelled at friendship—nobody did it better.” Meagher and Fridlander roomed together when they moved to Calgary after law school. “I couldn’t have been luckier to have such a roommate and lifelong friend in one of the most unselfish people I have ever known,” said Fridlander. “Thank goodness we have Law Hour as another event to remember what Chuck stood for—a lively, open engagement on topics that matter.” After graduation, Meagher returned to the law school to visit every year. “The Chuck Meagher Law Hour will, in a way, continue to bring Chuck back to Nova Scotia and the law school every year to be part of another really good conversation,” said Rogers. — JANE DOUCET
Roman Elster Internship in IP and Innovation Rina Elster Pantalony is excited about a new internship being offered to law students that both honours her father and pushes law students to think creatively about intellectual property. The Roman Elster Internship in Intellectual Property and Innovation will allow a student in first or second year at the Schulich School of Law to intern for 10 weeks this summer with Creative Commons, a non-profit organization that enables the sharing and use of creative works and knowledge globally through its free copyright licenses. “It was an excellent first choice for a partnership because of the nature of the innovation Creative Commons has instigated,” says Elster Pantalony, the director of Copyright Advisory Services at Columbia University Libraries. The successful recipient will receive $5,000 in funding and a hands-on experience working on timely legal projects focused on intellectual property and innovation. Students will be faced with how to creatively work with the challenges the rapidly changing online world poses to issues surrounding copyright and intellectual property. “This internship is so important,” says Elster Pantalony. “We are moving at such a breakneck speed.” Her father, Roman Elster, was a businessman who understood the need to foster curiosity to spark new ideas and new ways of doing things. “My father promoted the concept of innovation and technological development,” says Elster Pantalony. “He had a strong inventing spirit.” Jewish and born in Poland, Roman Elster escaped the Nazis and internment in a Soviet labour camp during the Second World War. While living in a displaced persons camp in Austria after the war, he completed his education in science and dentistry. In 1951, he immigrated to Canada and entered a dentistry practice in Halifax. He then moved to Montreal and developed a ski-manufacturing-anddistribution business and later moved into real estate development. He died in 2011 at the age of 88. “He
“This internship is so important. We are moving at such a breakneck speed” — Rina Elster Pantalony could always envision mechanically how to make things better,” says Elster Pantalony. “He was always solutions oriented.” In 2012, Elster Pantalony and her husband, Michael Pantalony, both Schulich School of Law graduates from the class of 1988, made their initial donation to the law school to create an award in Roman Elster’s honour; the following year, the first award was given out. After discussions with the law school, the award was transformed this year into an internship. “The whole purpose of the internship is to challenge students to think critically and to put theory into practice,” says Elster Pantalony. Having spent her career confronting and seeking solutions to the challenges the digital world poses to issues of intellectual property, Elster Pantalony is excited to offer students the opportunity to work in the rapidly changing, intangible online space and to foster their innovative thinking. “We need to have the capacity to push our students to try to keep up,” she says. “We shouldn’t be scared of these challenges, but we have to rise to these challenges.” — ALLISON LAWLOR
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SCHULICH LAW DONOR PROFILES Class of ’67 marked 50 years
What better way to celebrate and mark an important milestone than with a memorial plaque and a new teaching award? That’s exactly what the Schulich School of Law’s Class of 1967 decided last fall as part of its 50th-reunion celebrations. “Most people in our class have a warm spot in their hearts for the law school,” says Diane Campbell, the president and CEO of The Berkeley, a Halifax-based retirement residence company and a member of the reunion’s organizing committee. “Our class was really closely knit. We had a special bond with one another.” Having the distinction of being the first class to graduate from the Weldon Law Building at its present site, they marked the historical event with a simple plaque mounted to a granite rock on the lawn outside the law school. Dedicated on Sept.16, 2017, during the class’s 50th reunion celebrations,
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the plaque features a rendition of the law school as it looked in 1967 and acknowledges the school’s place in its graduates’ lives. “The graduates honour the role of the law school in shaping their successful and fulfilling careers,” the plaque reads. Alan Hayman, the chair of the reunion committee, was passionate about ensuring that the 50th reunion would be meaningful, not only for his classmates who spent the years between 1964 and 1967 at the law school but also for the school. After much discussion with Schulich School of Law Dean Camille Cameron and Dalhousie’s Advancement Office, it was decided that in addition to the plaque, they would create a teaching excellence award. The Law Class of 1967 Teaching Excellence Award will be given annually to a deserving professor who advances teaching and learning innovation for the benefit of students at the law school.
It will provide annual funds, starting this year, of between $2,000 and $2,500. “This is an award that will support students,” says Campbell. Hayman, a practising QC at Burchells LLP in Halifax, is pleased that he and his former classmates have rallied together once again, this time to achieve something worthwhile and lasting for the law school; at press time, they had raised close to $50,000. “It is a recognition of our appreciation for the higher education that we received at Dalhousie that enhanced our lives,” says Hayman. “We’ve achieved quite a bit, and it’s important that we give back.” — ALLISON LAWLOR
Class of ’90 establishes Memorial Fund
For Schulich School of Law classes working to create a lasting legacy, the Dean’s Cup is the gold standard. To date, the award that recognizes graduating classes who raise more than $100,000 for their class endowment funds has only been handed out once, to the Class of ’74 in 2015. But that may be about to change. The Class of 1990 has already raised around $94,000 for its Memorial Endowment Fund and will likely reach Dean’s Cup eligibility soon. Don MacDiarmid (’90), who worked with the law school to establish the class endowment fund more than a decade ago, says that the idea of a class fund germinated out of an early tragedy for the Class of 1990. About a year after graduation, his class got word that a young classmate named Mary Bailey had died of cancer. A memorial fund at the law school was quickly set up in her name. A few years after that, the Class of 1990 lost a
second classmate, Linda Putnam, who died in a Swiss avalanche. Classmates at the time mooted the possibility of establishing another law school fund in Linda’s name. MacDiarmid was concerned about the possible proliferation of small individual funds to honour individual lost classmates. “It occurred to me that if we kept starting standalone funds for classmates who had died, it risked resulting in a lot of comparatively small separate funds that would be cumbersome for the law school to administer,” says MacDiarmid. “I began thinking about setting up a more general class fund that could be used to honour everyone from the Class of 1990.” Around 2005, he kicked off the Class of 1990 Memorial Fund with a personal donation. To date, MacDiarmid estimates that about 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the class has donated to the fund, a number that continues to grow as more
classmates become aware of its existence. MacDiarmid is encouraged by that trend; he has always regarded the fund as a long-term effort and says the slow take-up by classmates is typical of memorial funds of this nature. “It’s a process,” he says. “If you can make people aware of the fund when they are in their 20s and 30s, by the time they are in their 50s and 60s with money to donate, you will have a place in their thinking.” While winning the Dean’s Cup would be an honour for Law ’90, MacDiarmid says the real success of the fund will be as a lasting memorial to everyone in the class, and the time they spent together during an important time in their lives—one that will continue on after the last classmate has died. “Ultimately, this will be a memorial to all of us, and a gift to the law school from all of us,” he says. — TOM MASON
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The Weldon Professors Professor KIM BROOKS continues to love teaching tax law. She has been working on a project on comparative statutory interpretation and has provided technical assistance to several countries seeking to draft new income tax laws.
Dean CAMILLE CAMERON has continued her work as a member of the new Independent Advisory Board for Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments. She was recently appointed to the Australian Law Reform Commission Expert Panel for the Inquiry into Class Action Proceedings and Third Party Litigation Funders. She is looking forward to that role as an opportunity to pursue her research and policy interests in class actions and commercial litigation funding. This year she enjoyed teaching the new Legal Ethics in Context course for first-year students. Professor ALDO CHIRCOP taught Maritime Law and Practice and Law of the Sea. He published several articles and book chapters on maritime law and co-authored, with Professor Meinhard Doelle, a major report on greenhouse gas regulation of shipping. He received major grants from the Ocean Frontier Institute for a project on navigation and shipping and a postdoctoral fellow on occupational health and safety at sea. He was invited to speak at several conferences in Asia and Europe. Professor ELAINE CRAIG is on sabbatical this year. Highlights from the previous 12 months include the publication in February of her new book, Putting Trials on Trial: Sexual Assault and the Failure of the Legal System, and teaching a wonderful group of constitutional law students in the fall of 2017.
Professor ROB CURRIE has been enjoying a sabbatical year doing criminal appeals, pro bono, with Nova Scotia Legal Aid. He has also been working with the Coalicion COPLA, a group dedicated to establishing an international court to prosecute transnational crimes in Latin America and the Caribbean. Cross-border crimes and investigations continue to be another focus of his work, and his latest writing on this topic was cited by the British Columbia Court of Appeal. He looks forward to returning to his first love, teaching, in the fall of 2018. 48
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Associate Dean, Academic MICHAEL DETURBIDE taught Business Associations, chaired the Studies Committee and Admission Committee, was a member of the Academic Committee and represented the law school at the LSAC annual meeting. He was involved in several research projects, participated in the administration of the Law and Technology Institute and was an examiner of several graduate theses. He also served as a commissioner of the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, was a member of the Credentials Committee of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and the Exam Policy Committee of the National Committee on Accreditation and served on the board of the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute. For his sins, Professor RICHARD DEVLIN agreed to take on the role of Acting Associate Dean, Research for the 2017 academic year. He was also the co-editor of two books: Lawyers’ Ethics and Professional Responsibility, now in its third edition, and Canada and the Rule of Law: 150 Years After Confederation. In addition, he published several articles on topics such as judicial appointments; regulating lawyers in Canada, the United States and Mexico; and the art and craft of judicial decision-making. In 2017 MEINHARD DOELLE completed work as co-editor and co-author of the book The Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It was the first, and still is the only, comprehensive legal analysis of the breakthrough 2015 Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Leading negotiators and academics contributed chapters on each of the key provisions of the Paris Agreement. Published by Oxford University Press, the book was launched at the climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, last November. In July of 2017 Professor ELAINE GIBSON travelled to the International Congress on Law and Mental Health in Prague to co-present the results of a project that she, Professors Constance MacIntosh and Sheila Wildeman and research associate Leah Hutt had completed for the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. The topic was legal issues surrounding the electronic monitoring of forensic mental health patients. She continues to serve on the Dalhousie University board of governors, as well as teaching torts and a range of health law courses.
Professor LUCIE GUIBAULT enjoyed teaching classes in Public Law and Intellectual Property Law. She co-operated on an ongoing project led by the Art-Law Center of the Université de Genève on intellectual property issues arising from the digitization of museum collections. She also took part in the National Forum on Text Mining with Limited Access Data, organized by researchers of the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). The discussion focused on the copyright barriers to text mining in academia and on possible solutions, where she made a contribution from a Canadian and European perspective. Finally, she gave a Mini Law School on the Road public lecture in Millbrook, N.S., entitled “How can we legally protect Indigenous culture?” She will write a chapter on this topic for a European publication. Professor JODI LAZARE spent the 2017–2018 year teaching Constitutional Law; Children, Youth, and the Law; and Animals and the Law. In 2018–2019, she will add Family Law to the list. She continues to research in the areas of Family Law, with papers underway on the judicial reception of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines across provincial lines and on devising the best tools for the regulation of intimate relationships. Professor CONSTANCE MACINTOSH was a visiting scholar at the University of Kent, where she worked to build connections on refugee-related matters, including irregular detentions. In Halifax, she chaired a successful international conference on end-of-life law, ethics, policy and practice in collaboration with Professor Jocelyn Downie, which was supported by a grant from the Max Bell Foundation. Her publications ranged from work concerning mental health supports for Indigenous inmates to the question of mature minors and medical aid in dying. This year Professor NAIOMI METALLIC taught Constitutional Law, Indigenous Governance and Aboriginal Peoples and the Law and oversaw the new first-year Aboriginal and Indigenous Law in Context course. She was named Best Lawyers in Canada’s Lawyer of the Year in Aboriginal Law for Halifax and received the DLAA and LSS Award for Excellence in Teaching Law. She co-wrote the chapter “Realizing Administrative Aboriginal Law” in Administrative Law in Context and has been involved in several committees, including the Indigenous Bar Association, a panel on policing on Indigenous communities and the federal Judicial Appointments Committee for Nova Scotia.
Professor SARA SECK is excited to have joined the faculty in July of 2017 after 10 years at an Ontario law school. This year, she taught Business and Environment, Conflict of Laws and Property Law. In November, she and her coeditors were thrilled to submit the manuscript of Global Environmental Change and Innovation in International Law, forthcoming in June 2018. Recent and future publications consider business responsibilities for human rights, environmental rights, climate justice and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Professor ROLLIE THOMPSON spoke at 20-plus conferences in Canada of lawyers or judges on family law and evidence topics in 2017, but he also left the country to present at international conferences last summer. He spoke about Canadian child-protection law at the seventh World Congress on Family Law and Children’s Rights in Dublin in June, then about parental relocation at the 16th World Conference of the International Society of Family Law in Amsterdam in July. Professor DAVID VANDERZWAAG launched two new research projects in 2017. Through a grant from the Donner Canadian Foundation, he is leading a collaboration with the Far Eastern Federal University School of Law in Vladivostok in comparing Canadian and Russian approaches/ challenges in Arctic Ocean governance. With Professor Karen Scott of the University of Canterbury School of Law, he is co-editing a Research Handbook on Polar Law to be published by Edward Elgar. Professor SHEILA WILDEMAN’s highlights include research on guardianship and institutionalization in Bulgaria and participation in conferences on disability and law in Prague and Galway. She contributed to an administrative law textbook and to a book bridging legal analysis with first-voice experiences of guardianship. She is on the board of the East Coast Prison Justice Society and accompanied students to the Burnside jail to deliver prison law education sessions. As part of the Bill 59 (Accessibility Act) Alliance, she received a Nova Scotia Human Rights Award; sharing in that award were Professor Archie Kaiser and the late Professor Emerita Dianne Pothier, who is sorely missed.
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September 28–29, 2018
THE ANNUAL LAW ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND This year, we welcome alumni back to campus from September 27 to 30 for Dalhousie’s Homecoming 2018. As the first Homecoming of our third century, with a full weekend of events planned, this year’s celebration is not to be missed!
Sept. 28, 1:30–3:30 p.m. ALUMNI/STUDENT PANEL Room 105, Weldon Law Building
Sept. 28, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner IGNITE: DAL’S THIRD CENTURY Halifax Convention Centre
What can I do with my law degree? A panel of returning law alumni will speak to students about options for career paths.
Through immersive storytelling with three of our leading researchers, we’ll explore some of the greatest challenges facing humanity: food security, debilitating disease and sustainable energy. It will be an evening of inspiration and discovery.
Sept. 28, 3:30–5:30 p.m. LAW ALUMNI RECEPTION Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
Sept. 29, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. WELDON OPEN HOUSE Atrium, Weldon Law Building
In celebration of our Annual Law Alumni Reunion and Dalhousie’s 200th anniversary, the law school will host a reception at the Halifax Citadel.
Wander the halls of Weldon or take a student-led tour. The Dean will host a reception and breakfast will be served.
Visit dal.ca/law/reunions for more details on these events and for contact information for 2018 Reunion Weekend class organizers. Tammi Hayne • lawalum@dal.ca • 902-494-5100
GRAPEVINE 19 5 5
19 7 6
was recognized by the Public Policy Forum with a Frank McKenna Award for his contributions to public policy. GEORGE COOPER
was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. He practises with Patterson Law in Halifax.
retired from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
ROBERT PURDY
DONNA RING
19 8 1 has joined Cox & Palmer’s Halifax office as partner.
PATRICK CASSIDY
19 6 5 has joined EastPoint Engineering’s Advisory Board.
DOUG TUPPER retired
from McInnes Cooper in Halifax.
JAMES COWAN
19 6 8
19 7 7
a Justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court since 1998, was appointed Nova Scotia’s new lieutenant-governor.
JACQUELINE MATHESON was
ARTHUR LEBLANC,
19 7 1 CLARENCE BECKETT was awarded the prestigious Lee Samis Award of Excellence by Canadian Defence Lawyers in 2017. The award recognizes exceptional contributions and/or achievements by CDL members.
honoured by the University of King’s College with an honourary degree at the 2017 Spring Convocation. She is a part-time supernumerary judge of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. CATHERINE WALKER merged her sole practice, Walker Law, with Patterson Law in
was awarded the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award, which is presented each year to a Nova Scotia lawyer who has made significant contributions to the community, the legal profession and the Society. He is legal counsel with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs and the Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office. BRUCE WILDSMITH
ALEXANDER (SANDY)
19 7 8
DARREL PINK retired
from the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society as executive director. He was also awarded the Canadian Association of Legal Ethics Lifetime Achievement Award.
19 7 9 was appointed the new president of Cape Breton
DAVID DINGWALL
FELIX CACCHIONE
19 7 5 was appointed to the board of directors of the Home Capital Group Inc. JIM LISSON
was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. Prior, he was managing partner in the St. John’s office of Cox & Palmer. MACDONALD
his firm, MacLean & MacDonald, and is now practising with New Glasgow, N.S., firm MacIntosh, MacDonnell & MacDonald.
19 74 recently retired from the Nova Scotia Supreme Court and was named director of the province’s Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT). He is in charge of overseeing serious incidents involving police officers in Nova Scotia.
ANDEW KOVEN was appointed to Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s board of directors. He will serve as a Class I director and on the board’s compensation and the nominating and corporate governance committees.
Halifax.
IAN MACLEAN merged
19 7 3
MARJORIE HICKEY, a partner in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, received the Benchmark Canada 2018 Award for top lawyer for the practice area of medical defense/health.
has joined Cox & Palmer’s Halifax office as partner.
WILLIAM NEARING
19 8 2
was appointed to the Judicial Council of the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Council evaluates applications to join the provincial court and handles complaints over judicial conduct. He is managing partner with Roebothan McKay Marshall in St. John’s. BRAD WICKS
19 8 3 JULIA CORNISH received the 2017 Constance R. Glube Spirit Award from the Canadian Bar Association–Nova Scotia chapter. The award celebrates members who demonstrate strong CBA spirit through outstanding volunteer effort and contribution to women in law. Julia was also the 2017–18 president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society.
a partner in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, was recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2018 Securities Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018. FAE SHAW,
ANN MARIE SIMMONS was appointed a new Provincial and Family Court judge in Nova Scotia. She was previously chief federal prosecutor in Halifax.
19 8 4
counsel in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, was recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2018 Insurance Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax and is listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018. WENDY JOHNSTON,
University. known for building the largest personal-injury practice in Nova Scotia, retired from BoyneClarke LLP in Dartmouth.
a partner in our McInnes Cooper’s St. John’s office, was recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2018 Real Estate Law “Lawyer of the Year” in St. John’s and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018. WILLIAM BOYD,
MATT NAPIER,
19 8 0 a judge of the Provincial and Family Courts of Nova Scotia, was appointed a judge of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. ANNE DERRICK,
JANICE STAIRS was appointed to Marathon Gold Corporation’s board of directors. She is currently general counsel to Namibia Rare Earths Inc.
RON MACDONALD is
chief civilian director of British Columbia’s Independent Investigations Office. He was previously the director of the Serious Incident Response Team (SiRT) in Nova Scotia.
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and his partner, Pamela, are enjoying their relocation to New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region and their new home in Byron Bay after 17 years in Brisbane. Bill is The Honourable John Dowd Chair in Law, as well as Dean and head of the School of Law & Justice, Southern Cross University, and he was elected chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans. His latest book, Novel Judgements: Legal Theory as Fiction, won the Penny Pether Prize for Scholarship in Law, Literature and the Humanities. Bill and Pam look forward to welcoming to Byron Bay all Dal law alumni, especially members of the Class of ’84, with whom they renewed many friendships after attending the 2014 law school reunion in Halifax.
WILLIAM MACNEIL
GILLIAN MARRIOTT was
appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta on June 16, 2016. Prior to that she was practising family law with Widdowson Kachur Ostwald Menzies LLP and was the executive director of Pro Bono Law Alberta. RICHARD PAYNE assumed the position of secretary on the Executive Council of the Creditors' Rights Section of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) at the 123rd National Convention of the CLLA, which was held in Chicago from April 5 to 8, 2017.
Atlantic Canada. He was elected to the National Canadian Red Cross board of directors in 2010 and, prior to his recent election as chair, served two years as national vice-chair.
has joined Pink Larkin in Halifax after practising for 31 years with Nova Scotia Legal Aid. a partner with McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, assumed the role of national chair of the Canadian Red Cross at the organization’s 2017 AGM in Winnipeg. Gavin’s work with the Canadian Red Cross has spanned almost two decades; he has held every senior volunteer post in the organization in Nova Scotia and GAVIN GILES,
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19 8 8 PAUL BURGESS was
19 8 6 ROBYN RYAN BELL, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP, has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice in Ottawa. CRAIG BERRYMAN has joined Cox & Palmer’s Halifax office as partner.
appointed Queen’s Counsel in Newfoundland and Labrador.
TILLY PILLAY is the new executive director of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. She joins NSBS from her prior post as executive director of Legal Services at the Nova Scotia Department of Justice.
19 9 0 JACK GRAHAM, partner
with McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, received the 2018 Heenan/Ross Award from the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers. was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America. She practices with Merrick Jamieson Washington Sterns & Mahody in Halifax.
MARC BELLIVEAU has joined Boyne Clarke’s Business Law team as a bilingual (English/ French) registered trademark agent, copyright counsel and senior corporate paralegal.
DARLENE JAMIESON
is completing his two-year volunteer term as president of Golf Canada. He has also served as Canada’s representative on the Royal and Ancient’s Amateur Status Committee in St. Andrews, Scotland. He is vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. ROLAND DEVEAU
IAN HANOMANSING now
hosts CBC’s The National, alongside Adrienne Arsenault, Rosemary Barton and Andrew Chang.
DAVID MACDOUGALL,
counsel in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, was recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2018 Natural Resources Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018.
19 8 7 MARIANE RUTH ARMSTRONG was
appointed a judge of the Provincial Court of British Columbia in Kamloops. She previously served as administrative Crown counsel for Salmon Arm.
19 8 5 VINCE CALDERHEAD
was elected leader of British Columbia’s Liberal Party.
ANDREW WILKINSON
was appointed an honorary distinguished fellow of Dalhousie University’s MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance and taught a public policy research course as an adjunct professor for the Fall 2017 term. DARRELL DEXTER
was elected the 2017–2018 president of the Federation of Law Societies. She is a partner with the firm of Lawson Lundell LLP in Yellowknife. SHEILA MACPHERSON
was appointed Queen’s Counsel in Newfoundland and Labrador and was appointed to the Judicial Council of the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Council evaluates applications to join the Provincial Court and handles complaints over judicial conduct. He is a partner with Cox & Palmer’s St. John’s office. GLEN NOEL
FRANCIS O'BRIEN was appointed a judge with the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Court of Appeal. He was previously director of legal education at the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
19 8 9 was appointed a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice.
VINCENT CLIFFORD
19 9 1
FRANK DEMONT was first vice-president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society for 2017–18 and is president for 2018–19.
DONNA BALLARD was appointed deputy minister of the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development. She retains her role as deputy minister of the Women’s Policy Office for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
NATHALIE GOYETTE was appointed to the Judicial Advisory Committee for the Tax Court of Canada. The JAC is composed of five members from across Canada with expertise in taxation. She is a partner with PwC Canada in Montreal.
LISA CAMPBELL was appointed associate deputy minister of Veterans Affairs by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She was previously assistant deputy minister of Defence and Marine Procurement, Public Services and Procurement Canada.
was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver. She was previously general counsel for the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.
GEOFFREY SPENCER, a
DIANE MACDONALD
has joined FutureVault as chief executive officer. Launched commercially in North America in late 2016, FutureVault created an advanced cloud-based, information-management platform. JOHN ORR
was recognized at the Canadian Bar Association B.C. Branch’s 2017 annual branch awards with the Harry Rankin QC Pro Bono Award. Donna’s pro bono commitments include providing seminars on prisons and parole issues for non-profit groups. She sits on the CBA’s National Criminal Justice section committee on imprisonment and release. In 2005, Donna won at the Supreme Court of Canada in determining the legality of decisions affecting prisoners’ liberty. DONNA TURKO
19 9 2 who was director of Public Prosecutions (Acting) with the Department of Justice and Public Safety, was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador and will serve in the Happy Valley–Goose Bay trial division. FRANCES KNICKLE,
19 9 3 COLLEEN KEYES, a
partner with Stewart McKelvey, has been appointed chair of Mount Saint Vincent University’s board of governors. MAUREEN MCTEER (LL.M)
received an honorary doctorate from Acadia University during its 2017 Spring Convocation. She is currently an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa and a member of the Global Commission on Pollution, Health and Development.
partner with McInnes Cooper’s St. John’s office, was admitted to the Insolvency Institute of Canada. He was recognized by Best Lawyers as the 2018 Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law “Lawyer of the Year” in St. John’s and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018.
was appointed Queen’s Counsel in Newfoundland and Labrador. JACQUELINE PELLETIER
senior general counsel with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Vancouver.
PAUL RILEY,
CANDACE THOMAS
19 9 4 has been elected vice-chair of the board of directors of Symphony Nova Scotia. She is managing partner at Barteaux Durnford. NANCY BARTEAUX
STEPHEN SPRACKLIN has been appointed a board member of the Grand River Hospital. He is currently vice president–legal of Sandvine Incorporated ULC in Waterloo, Ont.
19 9 5 JOHN BODURTHA was selected second vice-president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society for 2017–18. He will be first vice-president for 2018–19.
a member of the Poundmaker Cree Nation, was appointed a judge of the Federal Court. Prior, he was a partner at McKercher LLP in Saskatoon specializing in Aboriginal law with an emphasis on corporate and commercial law related to First Nations development. In that role, he acted as legal counsel to various First Nations, advising them on issues such as land designations, land claims and self-government negotiations. Justice Favel has served as Deputy Chief Commissioner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission since 2011 and as a member of the Oversight Committee on the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement since 2010. In addition, he has taught First Nations economic development at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Law. PAUL FAVEL,
received the Canadian Bar Association–Nova Scotia’s 2017 Community Service Award.
19 9 6 a partner with McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, was recently named to the CBA’s board of directors. RAY ADLINGTON,
a partner with Cox & Palmer’s Halifax office, received the Lexpert Zenith Award for excellence and action toward the advancement of women in the legal profession. SUZANNE RIX,
has joined Cox & Palmer as counsel to its corporate commercial team. He served as a member of the Nova Scotia legislature for the last 19 years. MICHEL SAMSON
JUDY WHITE accepted a position as the new assistant deputy minister of Indigenous Affairs for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. She was also appointed Queen’s Counsel.
19 9 8 was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in Halifax. She was previously a partner with Stewart McKelvey’s Halifax office. CHRISTA BROTHERS
ROSALIND MICHIE was appointed a judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in Amherst. Prior to that, she was a Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in Digby.
PAULA BOUTIS was appointed to the Ontario Municipal Board on May 1, 2017. Prior to this, she spent 16 years in private practice focused on social justice and environmental law. She is currently a member of the Toronto District School Board’s Special Education Advisory Committee. LAURA REATHAFORD has joined the Blank Rome LLP as a partner in the labour and employment group in the Los Angeles office.
SAMUEL MOREAU has been appointed a judge of the Provincial and Family Court of Nova Scotia in Amherst. Previously he was a managing lawyer in the Port Hawkesbury office of Nova Scotia Legal Aid.
was appointed a military judge of the Canadian Armed Forces.
19 9 7
19 9 9 has joined MacGillivray Law’s new St. John’s office. SCOTT BURDEN
was elected to the Council of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society as a member at large. She is a partner with Burchells LLP in Halifax. CHERYL CANNING
has joined Ryan Iannetti Law Office in North Sydney, N.S.
ROBERT RISK
SANDRA (MACLEOD) SUKSTORF
RICKCOLA BRINTON was
appointed a judge of the Provincial Court of Nova Scotia in Halifax. She was previously a managing lawyer with Legal Aid’s youth office in Halifax. was appointed a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice in 2015. SONIA KHEMANI
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2004 vice-president commercial and regulatory affairs and general counsel with the Prince Rupert Port Authority, has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Prince Rupert.
2000 PETER STANHOPE has joined Boyne Clarke LLP in Dartmouth as counsel. He was previously senior director, legal counsel, with Loblaw Companies Limited. SHERI WICKS, a partner with McInnes Cooper’s St. John’s office, was appointed by the Canadian Bar Association to its Equality Subcommittee, which promotes equality, develops helpful resources and oversees CBA equality initiatives.
2002 after more than nine years in-house at Sears Canada, most recently as associate general counsel, is now general counsel at YM Inc., a privately owned company operating hundreds of stores across Canada and the United States under well-known names such as Bluenotes, Stitches and Suzy Shier. Leigh lives in Toronto with his wife, Darcie, and their three sons.
LEIGH LAMPERT,
2003 CHRISTOPHER PEDDIGREW,
a partner with Wadden, Peddigrew, Hogan Law in St. John’s, was appointed a vice-chair of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Labour Relations Board. MARK SAKAMOTO’S
non-fiction book, Forgiveness, won the CBC’s annual Canada Reads “Battle of the Books” contest. The book chronicles the true story of how his grandparents survived the Second World War and how they learned to forgive and move forward for the sake of their children. 54
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2009 JAIME BATTISTE of
ANDREW MAYER,
Eskasoni, N.S., received the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from Nova Scotia’s lieutenant-governor for his ongoing work to preserve Mi’kmaq history and heritage. Jaime is a Potolek band member who currently works for the Mi’kmaw Kinamatnewey as treaty education lead for Nova Scotia. was appointed Attorney General for British Columbia. He is also the minister responsible for liquor, gambling and the Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia. She was previously equity and access officer at the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society. KRISTA SMITH has joined Barteaux Durnford in Halifax as partner.
was named partner in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office.
CHRIS MCINTYRE
DAVID EBY
2005 is now counsel with Vinson & Elkins’ Dubai office. He was previously with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
an estates and trust lawyer with McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, was named chair of STEP Atlantic, a two-year appointment. Sarah was also appointed to STEP Canada’s board of directors. SARAH DYKEMA,
DANIEL WALLACE was named partner at McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office. He was also named CBA Nova Scotia branch treasurer. It is a term of one year, after which Dan will be appointed vice-president and then president.
was named partner at Stewart McKelvey’s Halifax office.
MARC REARDON
is practising with Carter Ford LLP in Halifax.
ANSLEY SIMPSON
2 0 10 2007
was named partner in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office.
MICHAEL BLADES WILLIAM CAHILL, a
partner in the St. John’s office of Cox & Palmer, was named a 2017 Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40 by Lexpert Magazine.
JOSEPH CHEDRAWE
SHIVANI CHOPRA (LLM) is now an associate with the Toronto office of Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, where she practises management-side labour and employment law. She was most recently with McInnes Cooper in Fredericton.
DAVID CURRY was appointed Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service for Digby.
GORDON CUDNEY, a partner at the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG, was one of eight people honoured at the Royal Foundation’s signature Inspiration Awards Gala, an annual dinner uniting hundreds of Ottawa community and business leaders to celebrate the contributions being made to mental health. Vice-chair of the foundation’s board, Gordon sat as a member of its cabinet for the $25 million mental health campaign. He also co-chairs the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s annual golf tournament, helping it grow from $64,000 in 2009 to $217,000 last year.
2008 ELLEN BURKE was named partner at Patterson Law’s New Glasgow, N.S., office.
was appointed Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in Yarmouth, N.S.
MISTY MORRISON
STEVEN DEGEN was appointed Crown attorney in Dartmouth. He was previously a Crown prosecutor in Wetaskiwin, Alta. CONSTANCE MACISAAC was hired as one of two new Nova Scotia Crown attorneys to focus specifically on sexual assault cases and to train other Crown attorneys to handle such cases.
was named partner at Stewart McKelvey’s Halifax office.
TIPPER MCEWAN
2 0 11 a leading expert in food law, won a 2017 Precedent Setter Award. Principal with G. S. Jameson in Toronto, he helps retailers and growers navigate the laws that regulate how their products are produced, labelled and sold. GLENFORD JAMESON,
2 0 12 has joined Patterson Law as an associate in the Halifax
SARAH WHITE
office. opened Highlander Law Group, a general practice law firm serving Halifax. DIANNA RIEVAJ
2006 was appointed executive director of the Elizabeth
EMMA HALPERN
2 0 13 MARIA CONSTANTINE has joined Cassels Brock in the Toronto office.
2 0 14 KRISTIN PIKE has joined Patterson Law’s Halifax office. She was previously with Blois, Nickerson & Bryson.
is legal counsel with the Nova Scotia Health Authority.
LESLEY SAWERS
joined the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies as operations manager in 2016. ALEX WHALEN
2 0 17 BEN CAMPBELL has joined Key Murray Law as an associate.
2 0 15 was appointed Crown attorney in Halifax. She was previously an associate with Luke Craggs, Barrister and Solicitor.
KATHARINE LOVETT
DAVID CONSTANTINE has joined Stewart McKelvey’s St. John’s office. KEVIN GALWAY has joined O’Dea, Earle in St. John’s.
2 0 16 PETER L’ESPERANCE, an associate with McInnes Cooper’s Halifax office, received the William Tetley Award by the Canadian Maritime Law Association for his work, Regulating GHG Emissions from International Shipping. He was presented with the award at a dinner for the Eastern Admiralty Lawyers Association in September 2017. The award, named after Professor William Tetley, is given to Canadian authors of high-quality articles, papers, publications or other written materials of a maritime nature. The paper is reviewed by a panel from the Canadian Maritime Law Panel. MCFARLANE (MARC) NJOH was appointed Crown attorney with the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service in Yarmouth, N.S.
is practising with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP in the Toronto office. JENNIFER PARKER
is an intellectual property associate at Gowling WLG Canada’s Ottawa office. BENJAMIN PEARSON
has joined Patterson Law as an associate in the Halifax office. KATHRYN PICHE
GREG JOHANNSON has joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission.
has joined the Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission.
STEPHANIE MORTON
THOMAS MUNN has joined Cox & Palmer’s St. John’s office.
was honoured with a 2017 Nova Scotia Human Rights Award. She is also the recipient of the Dr. Burnley Allan “Rocky” Jones Individual Award recognizing her commitment to human rights by helping African Nova Scotian communities obtain titles to their land. ANGELA SIMMONDS
Send us your news The law school’s alumni magazine is a great way to communicate with your classmates and let them know what you have been up to. Send your submissions to Tammi Hayne: lawalum@dal.ca (tel) 902-494-5100 (fax) 902-494-4222 Schulich School of Law 6061 University Avenue PO Box 15000 Halifax, N.S. B3H 4R2
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IN MEMORIAM CHARLES MACINTOSH (’52) died on Aug. 30, 2017. After graduating with his law degree from Dalhousie, he practised law and became senior partner with Pace, MacIntosh and Donahoe from 1961 to 1974. In 1975 he began working for the Council of Maritime Premiers, and he became the director of legal services for the Land Registration and Information Service, where he oversaw the development and implementation of the land titles system. From 1988 until recently, he authored the Nova Scotia Real Property Practice Manual. He retired from government in 1990 at the age of 62 to become Corporate Secretary/ Corporate General Council for Armour Group, working with private clients until a few years ago. In September 2014, Charles received recognition for 60 years of being called to the Nova Scotia Bar. DONAT PHARAND (’52) died on
April 18, 2018. He earned his LL.B. and LL.M at Dalhousie, then an LL.D. at the Université de Paris and a diploma from The Hague Academy of International Law. In 1959 he joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, where he taught the Common Law and Droit Civil section for 29 years; he earned an S.J.D. from the University of Michigan while on sabbatical. The recipient of an honourary doctorate from Dalhousie and an Officer of the Order of Canada, he was one of Canada’s foremost experts on the law of the sea and the Arctic. CHARLOTTE PATRICIA HARRIS ('57) died on June 5, 2018. She is
survived by her husband of 59 years, Edwin C. Harris (LLB '58), 56
H E A R S AY 2018
along with their three children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Pat and Ed married on Aug. 28, 1958, following Ed’s graduation from Dalhousie Law School. They moved to Cambridge, Mass., for a year while Ed did graduate studies at Harvard before returning to Halifax. Pat was a pioneer in many ways, attending law school at a time when few women did. She was proud of being appointed as a Queen's Counsel and pleased to host the 60th reunion of her law class at her home last year. While earning an arts degree at Dal, Pat was actively involved in student affairs, including drama. After obtaining her law degree, she worked as assistant director of Alumni Affairs and served as a member of the university's board of governors. JOHN RICHARD NICHOLS (’57)
died on March 17, 2017. He obtained a bachelor of arts and a law degree from Dalhousie, then established a law practice in Digby, N.S., where he remained until being appointed to the Bench in 1972. His volunteer efforts in his community are too numerous to mention. Throughout his legal career, clients, lawyers, court sheriffs and his peers praised him for his fairness, consistency and the ability to do it all with a special comedic style. PETER DARBY (’58) died on June 4,
2018. He was called to the Bar in Alberta in 1959, after earning a BA from Mount Allison University in 1955, then his law degree from Dalhousie Law School. He worked at Imperial Oil in Calgary until 1960, after which he moved to Saint John. He practiced law in both Alberta
and New Brunswick before moving to Nova Scotia in 1969 to begin his career at Dalhousie, where he taught law for nearly 30 years. He received numerous awards as a labour arbitrator and adjudicator. In 1996, Darby was a recipient of Dalhousie’s Rosemary Gill Award, which was established the previous year to honour Dr. Rosemary Gill, the director of Student Health Services, who exemplified a high level of commitment of service to students. Darby retired from teaching at the law school in 1996. THOMAS BECK DAVIS (’59) died
on May 27, 2017. He graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with an engineering diploma and then with his law degree from Dalhousie. While completing his education, he served in the Canadian Military Service. He practised law in Nova Scotia for 20 years, then was appointed a territorial court judge of the Northwest Territories, living in Yellowknife for 15 years. Upon retirement he returned to Halifax, where he served two terms as alderman on Dartmouth City Council and was active in his community as a volunteer.
DAVID A. STEWART (’59) died on
Oct. 18, 2017. After earning an undergraduate degree at Mount Allison University, his law degree at Dalhousie, a master’s degree in comparative law at Southern Methodist University and further studies at the London School of Economics, he joined the law firm of Stewart, McKeen and Covery in Halifax, which later became Stewart McKelvey. He specialized in corporate, tax and estate law throughout his 56-year career.
ROY EDWARD (BUD) KIMBALL
died on Jan. 30, 2018. He earned a BA from the University of King’s College, then his law degree from Dalhousie. After graduation he practised law in Windsor, N.S., before being appointed a provincial court judge in 1967, sitting in Windsor and Kentville courts. He retired in 1995 but carried on as a supernumerary judge for a few more years. In 1987 he was awarded his master of laws degree from Dalhousie and was the first recipient of the degree in the part-time program. In 1989 he published the book The Provincial Court in Nova Scotia: The Struggle for Excellence.
(’60)
DAVID FERRAND CURTIS (’63) died on March 27, 2018. After earning his law degree from Dalhousie, he practised for over 50 years, starting with Gardiner Roberts in Toronto. He then studied overseas at the University of London’s King’s College, completing graduate studies in law. Upon returning to Canada, he partnered with James Retson and formed Retson Curtis, subsequently practicing with Burchell MacDougall, independently as David F. Curtis, Q.C. Law, from 1984 to 2016 and, more recently, with Patterson Law as counsel. He was an active community volunteer. JOHN MACARTHUR STEWART (’67)
died on June 11, 2017. After receiving his undergraduate and law degrees from Dalhousie, he went on to practice law for over 40 years at Blake, Cassels & Graydon. He was generous with his time, volunteering with numerous organizations. PETER STICKNEY (’72) died on April 15, 2018. He obtained his
bachelor of arts degree from Loyola (Concordia) University, his bachelor of education degree from McGill University and his bachelor of laws degree from Dalhousie. He taught in Quebec and was a respected lawyer with Nova Scotia Legal Aid until retirement. He believed in helping those less fortunate and enjoyed playing guitar. ROBIN NORMAN CALDER (’73)
died on April 5, 2017. Born in Scotland, he immigrated to Canada in 1967 to pursue his education. After earning his law degree from Dalhousie, his love of history and people led him to become a tour director with Atlantic Tours. He was passionate about opera music and cooking and was an avid basketball and golf fan. DAVID MUISE (’74) died
on Nov. 2, 2017. He attended both Mount Allison University and Dalhousie; after earning his law degree, he practised law for over 40 years. He served a term in the Nova Scotia Legislature as MLA for Cape Breton West and also served a term as mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. He then worked with Sheldon Nathanson and volunteered his time with numerous organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society. DONNA MARIE GILLIS (’75) died on March 8, 2018. She graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a bachelor of science degree in nursing, then earned a law degree from Dalhousie. She negotiated the first collective agreement for the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses (now the United Nurses of
Alberta), then went on to lead the human resources departments for two of Toronto's major hospitals. In 1989 Donna was appointed to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, and from 1991 to 1998 she chaired the Pay Equity Tribunal. Subsequent appointments included senior corporate staff relations consultant of the Nova Scotia Public Service Commission and director of academic staff relations at Dalhousie. STEVEN GORDON ZATZMAN (’75)
died on May 1, 2017. After graduating from Dalhousie with his bachelor of laws degree, he obtained his master of laws from the University of London. For more than 35 years, he enjoyed a distinguished career at Wolfson, Schelew, Zatzman, then at Boyne Clarke LLP, both in Dartmouth, N.S., where he practised family, transportation and civil law. Steve was a respected member of the local Bar, an avid participant in community organizations and a proud Dal alumnus.
porate lawyer in North Sydney at Khatter and Khatter and Nickerson’s, then in Halifax at SeaForth Fednav and at IMP. STEPHEN JOSEPH MACNEIL (’81)
died on Feb. 21, 2018. He earned his bachelor of arts and bachelor of education degrees from St. Francis Xavier University. After one month of teaching, he decided to pursue a career in the RCMP for a number of years. He returned to school to complete his law degree at Dalhousie, then practised law until a few months before his death. RICHARD W. P. MURPHY (’83) died on Nov. 28, 2017. He earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Acadia, then a law degree from Dalhousie. He worked in private legal practice for 25 years with Pink Star Murphy Barro before joining the Public Prosecution Service as a Crown attorney, where he loved working for the last eight years. M. GERALDINE (GERRI) MACDONALD
SARAH JANE WELCH (’77) died on
March 29, 2018. After attending Queen’s University, she earned her law degree from Dalhousie. She served as a Crown Attorney for the Province of Ontario and led the Ontario Crown Attorneys Association. She enjoyed summers in Prince Edward Island and, in recent years, fostered cats for The Humane Society. PATRICK BERNARD (BERNIE) O’ROURKE (’79) died on Oct. 13,
2017. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree from St. Francis Xavier University, then his law degree from Dalhousie. He worked as a cor-
(’88) died
on Feb. 12, 2018. She attended St. Francis Xavier University, then Dalhousie, where she earned a master of public administration degree, followed by a bachelor of laws degree. After graduation she worked in immigration law in Toronto until her sudden passing. died on June 27, 2017. Barbara attended the School for the Blind through Grade 11, finished high school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in 1972 and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Acadia University in 1975. She
BARBARA ANN LEGAY (’93)
was valedictorian and the first blind student to graduate from Acadia. She accepted a job in Ottawa with the Public Service Commission, then later earned a law degree at Dalhousie. She worked in law-related positions until her retirement in 2010 from the Department of Veteran Affairs Canada as advocate in the Appeals Division. She received the first of four kidney transplants in 1977, but neither her visual impairment nor her health issues slowed her down. Most recently, she was part of the sub-committee that rewrote the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act, passed by the Province as Bill 59 on April 28, 2017. CAMERON ANDREW “ANDY” LEWIS (’08)
died on Aug. 31, 2016.
FRIENDS OF THE LAW SCHOOL PAUL THOMAS graduated from the University of Wales with an honours LL.B., then went to Yale University Law School, where he earned an LL.M. He then enrolled at the Inns of Court in London, where he was Hardwicke Scholar at Lincoln’s Inn. He was proud of the fact that his call to the Bar was sponsored by the famous jurist Alfred Lord Denning. Although he was offered Chambers at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, he chose instead to teach before settling down to practice. That decision led him to the University of Manitoba, where he was director of the Legal Research Institute. In 1976 he arrived at Dalhousie Law School, where he served as Associate Dean and associate director of Dalhousie Legal Aid Service. In 1994 he received the Dalhousie Law Students’ Society and Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching. •
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Law Alumni Reunion Dinner 2017 58
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THE DEAN AND HER COLLEAGUES VISITED
CHARLOTTETOWN NOVEMBER 8, 2017 • SIMS CORNER STEAKHOUSE & OYSTER BAR
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THE DEAN AND HER COLLEAGUES VISITED
TORONTO NOVEMBER 22, 2017 • THOMSON REUTERS
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THE DEAN AND HER COLLEAGUES VISITED
ST. JOHN’S NOVEMBER 30, 2017 • THE SHERATON HOTEL
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IGNITE BRINGS TOGETHER CHANGE-MAKERS AND INFLUENCERS PASSIONATE ABOUT NEW KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS.
D A L’ S T H I R D C E N T U R Y
Through immersive storytelling with three of our leading researchers, we’ll explore extraordinary perspectives on some of the greatest challenges facing humanity – food security, debilitating diseases and sustainable energy. Join us for an evening of inspiration and discovery. Friday, September 28 Halifax Convention Centre 1800 Argyle Street Reception: 6:00 pm | Dinner: 7:00 pm
Purchase tickets at alumni.dal.ca/Ignite