Top Lawyers In Canada

Fred Headon

Assistant general counsel, labour and employment law, Air Canada, Montreal, Que. As chairman of the Canadian Bar Association's Futures Initiative, Headon has contributed over 25 presentations to lawyers, law students, professors, librarians, law firm staff, and labs in Toronto to Buenos Aires, Victoria to Halifax, in person and online, go to https://gklaw.ca/gk-law-real-estate-lawyer-services-mississauga/. The Futures report was released in August 2014 and its own recommendations place Headon squarely in the middle of several important discussions on subjects crucial to the profession. He continues to direct the Futures steering committee because it now turns its guidelines into actions. Headon is an integral part of the debate about the future of the profession and he was the first in-house counselor to become the president of this CBA. What voters had to say: Brings energy and decency and the smarts to what he does.

Sheila Block

Partner, Torys LLP, Toronto, Ont. One of the sharpest litigators in the country, Block has served as lead counsel on a newly dismissed $5-billion class action lawsuit against CIBC plus a $100-million suit brought by roughly 8,000 inhabitants of Barbados from Manulife. She was also staunch counsel for former Manitoba associate chief justice Lori Douglas in the question of the judge's role in a scandal involving her deceased husband, one of his former clients, and salacious photographs of herself posted online. Block additionally received an honorary LLD from the Law Society of Upper Canada this past year. An urge dedicated to teaching law in Canada and around the world, she's trained advocates for the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in Rwanda and the Special Court on Sierra Leone. What voters had to say: Elle demontre son interet a la fois pour l'education du publique et des affaires. (She's shown her fascination to the education of the public and company.)

Justice Beverley McLachlin

Chief justice, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ont. A frequent member of the Top 25 list and the top vote-getter in years ago, McLachlin proceeds to make waves, handing down two very important decisions on aboriginal law. The 2014 Tsilhqot'at Nation v. British Columbia decision directed by McLachlin is the earliest of its type in the history of British Columbia. Last year that the Supreme Court of Canada granted declaration of aboriginal title to over 1,700 square kilometres of land. She's also responsible for upholding the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal at Keewatin v. Ontario (Natural Resources) published in July 2014, she has overhauled what the Lamer court started and has left her mark in this area for decades to come. The chief justice continues to be a powerful proponent of greater justice for all Canadians. As her unbelievable amount of votes once more this year show, McLachlin is greatly admired not just for her rulings but her public aid in favour of free speech, diversity, and inclusive direction. What voters had to say: A brilliant judge that, again and again, marries the law with common sense. Justifiably most respected legal mind in the country; outstanding integrity; reliable public servant; clearly guided by law enforcement and also a strong ideology.

Justice Murray Sinclair

Chairman, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg, Man. An uncommon write-in candidate winner with this year's Best 25, Sinclair was among the record last year, making headlines again in June with the launch of this summary of the report of the TRC and 94 recommendations to remedy the cultural genocide of Canada's residential school program. Over six years, Sinclair directed the TRC hearing the tales of more than 7,000 survivors of sexual, physical, and mental abuse. Sinclair, that was the first aboriginal judge in Manitoba, was first appointed to the provincial court where he became associate leader in 1988 and then elevated to the Court of Queen's Bench in 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 finish the commission's full report in the near future, after which he will decide whether to return to retire or court and advocate for indigenous rights fulltime.

Orlando Da Silva

President, Ontario Bar Association, Toronto, Ont. Da Silva's heartfelt public confession of a very long and deep depression and attempted suicide has opened up discussion on mental health within the legal community such as never before. While there's a deep-rooted stigma against mental illness eased by a dominance of type A personalities, Da Silva's courageous leadership has helped create technical support programs for lawyers who battle in silence. As if that wasn't sufficient, Da Silva has gone one step farther and asked lawyers to call him personally if they require support. His fans emphasise that Da Silva's efforts are crucial in a business that encourages bravado and frequently mistakes mental illness for a personal weakness. What voters had to say: Mr. Da Silva's bravery in grounding increasingly recognized mental health issues in the legal profession in his personal experience will advance these issues among lawyers and lead to positive ends.