Top Lawyers In Canada

Alice Woolley

Professor and associate dean-academic, University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Calgary, Alta. Woolley is a true changemaker in the region of law and technology in addition to law regulation. She's been a valuable member of the Canadian Bar Association's integrity and professional responsibility committee. Her job with the CBA Futures project as an ethics and regulatory problems staff member is really making a mark at the legal community. Woolley is also responsible for sweeping educational modifications as chairwoman of the committee which developed and adopted significant curricular changes in the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law, which concentrate on the practical elements of legal instruction and will come into effect in September. What voters had to say: Leading expert on legal profession and ethics; once she talks, people listen. Alice is a visionary. Teaching law students in a means that will prepare them for a 21st century practice is of crucial importance to the future of our profession, real estate lawyers Toronto.

Justice Murray Sinclair

Chairman, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg, Man. An uncommon write-in candidate winner for this season 's Top 25, Sinclair was among the record last year, making headlines in June with the launch of this overview of the record of the TRC and 94 recommendations to redress the cultural genocide of Canada's residential school system. Over six decades, Sinclair directed the TRC hearing the tales of over 7,000 survivors of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. Sinclair, that had been the first aboriginal judge in Manitoba, was initially appointed to the provincial court in which he became associate leader in 1988 and then raised to the Court of Queen's Bench at 2001. He had been co-commissioner of Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in 1988 and presided over a 2000 inquest into the deaths of 12 infants at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. Sinclair hopes to complete the commission's full report in the not too distant future, following which he will decide whether to return to retire or court and advocate for native rights full-time.

Murray Klippenstein

Creator, Klippensteins Barristers & Solicitors, Toronto, Ont. Back to the second year on the Top 25, Klippenstein's ongoing representation of 13 members of this native Mayan Q'eqchi' population from El Estor, Guatemala, continues to make waves. Three related lawsuits are before the Ontario courts against Canadian mining firm Hudbay Minerals within the brutal killing of Adolfo Ich and the gang rape of 11 girls from Lote Ocho. In a precedent-setting judgment in July of 2013, an Ontario court decided that lawsuits could proceed to trial in Canada over the objections of Hudbay Minerals. At home he is also taking on the big men in a situation against Encana Corp. which 's challenging the law and practice of hydraulic fracking at Canada. What Republicans needed to say: Kudos for standing up for, upholding Canadian values, wherever we operate.

Dennis Edney and Nate Whitling

Defence counsel, Edmonton, Alta. In a rare move, Edney and Whitling have been termed as Top 25 honourees as a team. Both have spent over a decade recommending for Omar Khadr, nearly universally on a pro bono basis. From Guantanamo Bay to the Supreme Court of Canada (three times), the unlikely duo have fought for Khadr to have him released from prison (victory in May), have him treated as a child soldier, and otherwise continue to battle for his lawful rights at home and abroad. It's been what the Globe and Mail called waging a war of legal attrition from the government, that has always done everything to paint Khadr as a dangerous terrorist who should be held behind bars. Edney, a former football player who just started practising law in 40, has been the general public and press face of the continuing legal conflicts, even taking Khadr into his own home after he was recently released on bond. Whitling, a Harvard law grad and former SCC clerk, is a much quieter and reserved force behind the scenes. What Republicans needed to say: Dennis has gone over and beyond the call of duty in his defence of Omar Khadr. The nobility of the profession depends on attorneys like Dennis as we're occasionally called on to defend unpopular people or entities -- but people who are not as deserving of natural justice and procedural fairness. Whitling is an smart and extremely effective advocate who remains out of the limelight. He's a excellent lawyer. Exceptionally smart and excellent to work with.

Sheila Block

Partner, Torys LLP, Toronto, Ont. Among the sharpest litigators in the country, Block has served as lead counsel on a newly discounted $5-billion class action lawsuit against CIBC and a $100-million lawsuit brought by roughly 8,000 residents of Barbados from Manulife. She was also staunch counsel for former Manitoba associate chief justice Lori Douglas from the question of the judge's character in a scandal involving her husband, one of his former customers, and salacious photos of herself submitted online. Block additionally received an honorary LLD from the Law Society of Upper Canada this past year. An advocate dedicated to teaching law in Canada and around the world, she has trained advocates for the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in Rwanda and the Special Court in Sierra Leone. What Republicans needed to say: Elle demontre son interet a la fois pour l'education du publique et des affaires. (She has demonstrated her interest to the instruction of the public and business.)

Louise Arbour

Counsel, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Montreal, Que. An international lawyer who has recently settled in Canada, Arbour has earned a place on the Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influential record again this year. She is a winner of the 2015 Simons Foundation Award, recognizing world leaders who shape and create an environment for a safer and more just world. Arbour has spoken out from prolonged use of solitary confinement and has been inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. She has been a Supreme Court of Canada judge, an international war crimes prosecutor, and a law school professor. Her ability to pick up things quickly led her into different roles nationally and internationally. Arbour says economic disparities between and within counties is that the number-one inexcusable human rights issue at the moment. Constantly craving fresh and challenging environments, only last year she eventually did something she hadn't ever done: joined a law firm in Montreal where she continues to struggle for human rights. What Republicans needed to say:Her magnificent contributions speak for themselves. International celebrity.