Canadian Lawyer

Cross Examined A lawyer walks into a bar Bob Mann thinks much of life is a laughing matter By donalee Moulton F or most people, the law is no laughing matter. Not so for Bob Mann. In fact, the manager of discipline and appeals at Dalhousie University believes much of life is a laughing matter. Then again, he is a comedian. ���I like funny things. I see funny in things,��� says Mann. Mann���s interest in making people laugh can be traced back to his youthful love of theatre. In high school, Mann studied music for a long time ��� he learned guitar and is self-taught on the piano ��� and even as a political science undergraduate at Unversity of King���s College in Halifax, he continued to take classes in music. Mann���s university experience also included acting in live performances of The Beggars Opera and Noises Off. But his real love, he says, was writing. In 2000, he expressed that love by writing a comedy show 24 March 2013 www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m for Halifax���s then-annual Fringe Festival. Despite his passion for tickling funny bones, Mann pooh-poohed the idea of a career in theatre. ���I intended to take the more traditional route,��� he says. After the birth of his first child in 1999, that route led directly to Dalhousie Law School. Funnily enough, Mann���s decision to follow a tried-and-true career path further sparked his interest in acting generally and comedy specifically. ���I was drawn to those things,��� says Mann, who gave his law class something to remember ��� and something to laugh about ��� as their class valedictorian. ���I was pleased and surprised throughout law school that something I thought I���d have to turn my back on was embraced,��� he says. Moot court was one of the first opportunities that presented itself. ���I felt it was a neat marriage of litigation and performance. I grabbed on that. I was able to get into it,��� says Dan Callis ���Legal work and performing go hand in hand,��� says Bob Mann.

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