Best Lawyers In Canada

Murray Klippenstein

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

Justice Murray Sinclair

Chairman, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg, Man. An uncommon write-in candidate winner with this season 's Best 25, Sinclair was on the record this past year, making headlines again in June with the release of the overview of the report of the TRC along with 94 recommendations to redress the cultural genocide of Canada's residential college system. Over six decades, Sinclair led the TRC hearing the tales of over 7,000 survivors of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. Sinclair, that had been 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 at 2001. He was 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 near future, after which he will choose whether to go back to retire or court and advocate for native rights full-time, go to https://turnkeyrealestateinvestments.ca/.

Lorne Waldman

Waldman & Associates, Toronto, Ont. Waldman is a good defender of refugees, immigrants, and human rights. He's won a number of important victories, including health care for refugees in Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care v. Canada and a woman's best to wear the niqab while making her citizenship oath at Ishaq v. Canada together with his associate Naseem Mithoowani. He also argued at the Supreme Court of Canada in J.P. v. Canada and G.J. v. Canada, that Canada's anti-human smuggling provisions should include asylum seekers participating in mutual assistance. Along with Peter Edelmann, he acted on behalf of the CBA from the Harkat case prior to the SCC at 2014. On the global stage, he symbolizes Mohamed Fahmy (along with Amal Clooney), the Canadian journalist working for Al Jazeera. He's also been a vocal opponent of Bill C-51 and changes to Canada's citizenship law. What voters had to say: Lorne educated us all, especially today, to preserve democracy and to preserve the rule of law.

Justice Beverley McLachlin

Chief justice, Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa, Ont. A frequent member of the Top 25 list along with also the top vote-getter in years past, McLachlin proceeds to make waves, handing down two very important decisions on aboriginal law. The 2014 Tsilhqot'in Nation v. British Columbia decision led by McLachlin is the earliest of its type in the history of British Columbia. This past year the Supreme Court of Canada granted announcement of aboriginal title to over 1,700 square kilometres of land. She's responsible for upholding the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in Keewatin v. Ontario (Natural Resources) released in July 2014, she has what the Lamer court started and has left her mark in this region for decades ahead. The chief justice is still a highly effective proponent of greater justice for all Canadians. As her incredible number of votes once more this year reveal, McLachlin is greatly admired not just for her rulings but also her public support in favour of free speech, diversity, and comprehensive leadership. What Republicans needed to say: An excellent judge that, time and time again, marries the law with common sense. Justifiably most respected legal mind in the nation; outstanding integrity; reliable public servant; clearly guided by the law and a strong moral compass.

Pascal Paradis

Executive director, Lawyers Without Borders Canada, Quebec City, Que. Back to his second time around the Top 25, Paradis is a unstoppable force and a passionate advocate for human rights, especially for women and children. As a result of Paradis' initiative, the Quebec bar joined LWBC to act as international counsel in favour of Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger condemned to prison and flogging for his remarks criticizing the plan. Since January 2015, Paradis and LWBC are leading a consortium of Canadian organizations working to get a wide-range five-year job to foster justice. They aim to implement means of prevention and reconciliation for women victims of sexual violence and other persons affected by the Malian armed conflict. He also speaks at several international conferences on human rights problems. What Republicans needed to say: He's left a very profitable position in a big national law firm to head LWBC for a very compact paycheque because he followed his heart and his passion.