Canadian Lawyer

May 2016

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m M A Y 2 0 1 6 3 nti-feminist. Unethical. Traitor to her gender. These are just a few of the epithets slung at criminal lawyer Marie Henein during and in the wake of the Jian Ghomeshi sex assault trial. Her choice of shoes, not to men- tion their cost, also came under fire. As did her hair and clothes. Let's not even get started on what the twitterati had to say about her cross- examinations. What a tremendous amount of energy was spent by so many professional and armchair critics in trying to tear down Henein. What an absolute blood sport the trial turned into, and not just for the accused and the witnesses. The outrage, the mudslinging, the name calling, and the gen- eral focus on Henein is a sign of the times, and not a good sign, in my humble opinion. Almost all of it shows an incredible lack of understanding by the public of the justice system, what a defence counsel's role is in the system, and what the rights of the accused are. It highlights how social media and minute-by-minute commentary from those who don't really understand the criminal justice system can be whipped up into a fervour of misinformation and personal insults. As Henein herself said in her CBC interview with Peter Mansbridge, people who say her dogged cross-examination showed her to be "against women is a fundamental misconception of what we do in the justice system. Female judges adjudicate all sorts of cases including sex assault cases. They are not traitors to the gender when they acquit or supporters of the gender when they convict. They are doing their job as am I." Henein is considered one of the best criminal lawyers in Canada by her peers. Her reputation also means clients will seek her out. She is a successful woman in a male-dominated area of practice. She is a successful woman by most standards in any profession. She is a mentor and role model to many young lawyers, par- ticularly women. She is also fierce. She is driven. And her strong personality can rub a lot of people the wrong way. That does not make her a gender traitor, anti- feminist, or a bad person. She is who she is. Her success means that when people get into trouble and they are looking for someone to fight for them in court, they will go to her. And like essentially every criminal lawyer, it's her job to take the cases. It's her job to do everything she can to represent her client and work to create reasonable doubt about his or her guilt in the courtroom. Any criminal lawyer would do the same. The system is designed as it as, and it is far from perfect, but within that system she did every- thing she should and could to represent her client. What she did was ethical, no question, it's her job and the job of every defence counsel in a courtroom. And she should never have to answer the question of whether she is "comfortable" representing a client. Every Canadian has the right to representation and it is the ethical duty of lawyers to provide that. You don't have to like your client, condone their behaviour, or agree with their politics. It is the lawyer's job to represent them and be the kind of person who can keep their personal feelings and opinions aside to do so. E D I T O R ' S D E S K @canlawmag gail.cohen@tr.com A love letter to Marie Henein By Gail J. Cohen Director/Group Publisher: Karen Lorimer karen.lorimer@tr.com Editor in Chief: Gail J. Cohen gail.cohen@tr.com Staff Writer: Yamri Taddese yamri.taddese@tr.com Copy Editor: Patricia Cancilla Art Director: Bill Hunter Production Co-ordinator: Sharlane Burgess sharlane.burgess@tr.com Contributors: Jean Sorensen, donalee Moulton, Pascal Elie, Geoff Ellwand, Marg. Bruineman, Jim Middlemiss, Jennifer Brown, Shannon Kari, Patricia Chisholm, Richard Foot Canadian Lawyer is published 11 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Canadian Lawyer disclaims any warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or currency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Advertising Sales Representatives Joseph Galea Tel: (416) 649-9919 E-mail: joseph.galea@tr.com Steffanie Munroe Tel: 416-298-5077 E-mail: steffanie.munroe@tr.com Kimberlee Pascoe Tel: (416) 649-8875 E-mail: kimberlee.pascoe@tr.com Grace So Tel: (416) 609-5838 E-mail: grace.so@tr.com Canadian Lawyer Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON. 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