Canadian Lawyer

14 www.canadianlawyermag.com FEATURES CROSS EXAMINED IN THE EARLY 2000S, Doug Lewis — a lawyer and former federal attorney general — took an interest in a young lawyer who worked in his wife's office building. A lunch- time meeting revealed that lawyer — Doug Downey, called to the bar in 1999 — was hop- ing to open a law firm. Lewis decided to come along for the ride and that lunch was the launchpad for Lewis Downey Tornosky Lassaline & Timpano PC. "He was hard-working," Lewis says of Downey's early career. "He was into the Ki- wanis Club and community efforts. I just like the way he seemed to balance all that." Still, how did a lawyer just a couple of years out of school manage to hook a former justice minister and solicitor general of Canada into his firm? "Well," says Lewis. "He is also quite a like- able chap." Today, that young lawyer has one of the most closely scrutinized roles in law, after being named attorney general of Ontario in June 2019. At the peak of his career, Downey is facing more challenges than ever before. The legal community, confronted with dev- astating cuts to the legal aid funding regime, was demanding action from the moment Downey set foot at 720 Bay Street. Then there's the fight with the federal government over the carbon tax and looming potential changes to the judicial selection process. Amid the pressure, Downey capped off 2019 with a major justice overhaul bill that has of some of the challenges with how peo- ple treat each other in the real world. And understanding that reality, and the sup- ports that need to be there for people," says Downey. "Both my parents, they look for the good in people, and I think that's some- thing that I value." As AG, Downey has an opportunity he's always wanted: making the justice system run more smoothly. Being the son of an engi- neer, Downey unsurprisingly describes being DOWNEY'S BIG OPPORTUNITY With the future of Ontario's justice system hanging in the balance, all eyes are on this Simcoe county lawyer, writes Anita Balakrishnan drawn a variety of reactions. The legal com- munity's passion, while raw, has also provid- ed some honesty. "I am a politician and a lawyer. So, I'm used to getting a variety of opinions on what peo- ple think. But I actually like getting opinions. I think if somebody is telling me something, there are probably 10 people who would never say something to me," says Downey. As it turned out, likeability and hard work can get a lawyer a long way, notes Lewis, who says that during their 14 years as partners, Downey seemed to be on friendly terms with every real estate agent and was frequently able to call on contacts across the country dat- ing back to his days at Dalhousie. Downey credits his demeanour to his par- ents, who were heavily involved in the com- munity and had a diverse group of friends. His mother, a nurse, later became a family counsellor and then a crisis counsellor. "I grew up with that frame of reference enthralled with how each part of the system comes together, like the picture forming from a jigsaw puzzle. That puzzle is what initially drew Downey as a young man to apply for a summer job in the Barrie courthouse, although he was used to gigs working on area farms, roofing or driv- ing a parts truck. "It's more curiosity than ambition. I just I like to learn things. I like to learn how things work. And it can be mechanical things or it ". . . I'm used to getting a variety of opinions on what people think. But I actually like getting opinions. I think if somebody is telling me something, there are probably 10 people who would never say something to me."

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