Canadian Lawyer

August 2019

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL SPECIAL REPORT 30 www.canadianlawyermag.com Government/Non-profits/Associations STEPHEN COUGHLAN Law Professor, Dalhousie University, Halifax Stephen Coughlan spearheaded the efforts of the entire criminal law academic community in advising the Department of Justice on changes that led to the passage of Bill C-51, which removed outdated offences, reverse onuses and non-Charter-compliant crimes. It also led to the drafting of Bill C-75 (currently before the Senate). He was invited to speak directly to the deputy minister of justice in Ottawa repeatedly during this process. Coughlan's efforts led directly to greater links between the Department of Justice and the criminal law academic community, which have already started to bear fruit such as the report on reforming the law of duress. He has been the co-author of the Annual Review of Criminal Law for the past 15 years. He is co-author of the NJI Criminal Law eLetter, to which more than 1,200 judges subscribe. Having a large portion of the Canadian judiciary as an audience means Coughlan is having an impact on the development of Canada's criminal law justice system. Government/Non-profits/Associations JODY WILSON- RAYBOULD Member of Parliament, Vancouver/Granville The B.C. lawyer and former Crown prosecutor has become a household name this year through the SNC-Lavalin scandal. In February 2019, The Globe and Mail reported that the prime minister's office had applied pressure on Jody Wilson-Raybould to secure a remediation agreement for SNC-Lavalin — which was facing prosecution for allegedly bribing Libyan officials. Wilson- Raybould resigned from cabinet and was later removed from caucus. Many see her actions as a heroic stand against inappropriate political influence on the administration of justice. Wilson- Raybould was named Policy-Maker of the Year by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in 2017. In 2018, she was recognized as an International Women's Day Honouree by the Harvard Women's Law Association. Government/Non-profits/Associations MICHAEL BRYANT Executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Toronto Currently the executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Michael Bryant has recently worked as duty counsel in Brampton, Ont. tasked with providing free legal service to accused in need of immediate legal assistance. Under Bryant's leadership, the CCLA has had two significant wins at the Supreme Court recently. The CCLA recently intervened in R. v. Le, in which the court ruled in its favour, setting aside the conviction of a man found with a gun and drugs because the police had no legal authority to card Le and his friends in a private backyard. It also successfully intervened in Canada v. Chhina, in which the court extended the right of habeas corpus to immigration detainees. Bryant was the youngest attorney general of Ontario ever. He also served as minister of Aboriginal affairs, economic development and government house leader. He was also CEO of Invest Toronto, a municipal agency meant to attract investment to Toronto. Bryant is an author, having written two books about addiction.

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