Canadian Lawyer

July 2014

The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers

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22 J u l y 2 0 1 4 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m Cross EXaMinEd After hitting the 'blue wall,' Jim Lowry left the police force. F or 33 years Jim Lowry put accused criminals in jail. Now he's defending them. The personable Toron- tonian joined the city's police force in 1976, a year out of high school. He rose from walking the beat to probing complex white-collar frauds. He loved the job, but that changed after he started investigating fellow officers. He hit what he calls "a blue wall" within senior police ranks. "It was an eye-opener, to say the least," says Lowry. "My attitude towards the police service changed 180 degrees." Now he taken on a new role: crim- inal defence lawyer. He and his wife Lisa have moved to Winnipeg and, at 58, he is articling with the criminal defence firm Bueti Wasy- liw Wiebe, having just finished studies at the University of Ottawa law school. He is defending accused criminals against the "boot-heel of the state," as he has put it, and is working to hold the jus- tice system to account. "You might not be able to change the system, but you sure as heck can make a dent in it," he says. As a police officer, Lowry played by the rules and enjoyed helping people. Moving to the other side Former Toronto policeman Jim Lowry is now defending criminals against the 'boot-heel' of the state. by Peter SMall

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