Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 41 MOST INFLUENTIAL TOP THE THE WORLD STAGE KLIPPENSTEIN REPRESENTS 13 MEMBERS of the indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi population from El Estor, Guatemala, who have filed three related lawsuits in Ontario courts against Canadian mining company HudBay Minerals over the brutal killing of Adolfo Ich and the gang- rape of 11 women from Lote Ocho. In a precedent-setting ruling, an Ontario court ruled in July 2013 that the lawsuits can proceed to trial in Canada over the objections of HudBay Minerals. This was the first time a Canadian court ruled a claim could be made against a Cana- dian parent corporation for negligently failing to prevent human rights abuses at its foreign mining project. While this is an interim ruling, its impact is far-reaching, as it means allegations of human rights violations by Canadian corporations elsewhere can be heard in Canada. MURRAY KLIPPENSTEIN FOUNDING PARTNER, KLIPPENSTEINS BARRISTERS & SOLICITORS, TORONTO What voters had to say: " ank you for dedicat- ing your time and taking a serious risk in being a voice for those who can- not speak for themselves. ank you for attempt- ing to wake Canada up to crimes we have been sleeping on." PARADIS IS ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS of Lawyers Without Borders Canada. Since 2002, LWBC has defended human rights, man- aged international co-operation programs, and embarked on dozens of annual missions focusing on justice and human rights. Based in Quebec City, LWBC has field offices in Colom- bia, Guatemala, and Haiti, where it has imple- mented its most comprehensive programs. Since becoming executive director in 2005, Paradis has completed projects within Afghanistan and Nigeria. LWBC also focuses its efforts on hold- ing conferences and lectures to raise awareness of the issues they address, and Paradis is a frequent speaker at these events. PASCAL PARADIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LAWYERS WITHOUT BORDERS CANADA, QUEBEC CITY What voters had to say: "A great institution that Pascal leads — great work internationally." SAMPSON LED AN ARMY OF PRO BONO LAWYERS (and incredible fundraising efforts) in a successful lawsuit against the Kenyan police force in May 2013 for neglect- ing reports of rampant sexual abuse involving girls aged three to 17. The case, which received testimony from 160 Kenyan girls, eventually reached the High Court of Kenya, and concluded with a court order to ensure police carry out investigations in cases of rape against children. Any future failures will result in penalties and jail time for offending officers. Sampson's organization, The Equality Effect, has other ongoing projects in Kenya, Malawi, and Ghana. Sampson has worked as counsel for the Ontario Human Rights Commission and as the Director of Litiga- tion at the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund. What voters had to say: "She rallied an army of pro bono lawyers to take on rape culture in Kenya — and she won." EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE EQUALITY EFFECT, TORONTO This article was prepared with the assistance of Bruce Laregina. FIONA SAMPSON

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