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 N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 4 9 A fter almost 40 years in a legal administrative role — the last 16 as the CEO of the Law Soci- ety of Manitoba — Allan Fineblit has returned to private practice. His last day with the law society was Oct. 31. "I loved being CEO," he says of his time with the LSM. "It was interesting and chal- lenging and I liked the people I worked with. But, after 16 years here, I felt that it was time to have somebody else lead this organization into the next 10 to 15 years." Fineblit says now was a very good time to go, with the law society in good shape financially, new people in key positions, and a new vision plan for the future to implement. Fineblit received his law degree in 1973 from the University of Manitoba. After three or four years in private prac- tice with the former law firm Buchwald Asper Henteleff, he was presented with the opportunity to go to work for the still relatively new Legal Aid Manitoba. "Legal Aid Manitoba was the right mix for me with my legal training and my interest in social change," he says. "The late 1970s was an exciting time to be part of legal aid. We were doing amazing things in aid of people who are disadvantaged. We had top criminal and family lawyers who were willing to take on legal aid cases." Fineblit served with legal aid for 20 years, the last eight as the executive director. His next role was with Manitoba Jus- tice as assistant deputy attorney general responsible for prosecutions. That was also an exciting position, he says. The issues he dealt with in that role ranged from the matter of French translations on licence plates to gang prosecutions. He became the law society CEO in 1998. "The job has been very interesting and incredibly diverse," he says. "The law society has so many different areas of operation." Among the highlights that Fineblit recalls over the past 16 years have been the establishment of CanLII for which the LSM was a major supporter. He says his organization was also a leader in pushing for a stronger national organization and for the removal of provincial barriers to legal practice. He is particularly proud of the Family Law Access Centre, which was created by the law society four years ago to provide legal services for the working poor (those who are not eligible for legal aid). Under the terms of the program, the LSM pays the legal fees and then collects from the client over a period of time based on what the client can afford to pay. "The pro- gram currently has an 18-month waiting list," says Fineblit. "Other jurisdictions are studying this program." Fineblit has returned to private prac- tice with Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, one of Winnipeg's largest firms. In part, he will be serving as counsel to the firm dealing with practice and ethics issues. He also expects to be doing some regula- tory work. He notes that he already has some work lined up. "I am looking forward to whatever may come along," he says. — MyroN LovE Prairies loNg-time maNitoba law Society ceo returNS to private practice CbA bACks down in fACe of pressure from members T he Canadian Bar Association found itself in hot water with its members over a planned intervention in the Chevron Corp. matter at the supreme Court of Canada. After quite extraordinary pressure from members and other legal groups, the CBA in mid- october announced it was dropping out of the case just a day before the deadline to submit its factum. But the question around the appropriateness of its initial plan remained divisive with some lawyers celebrating the last-minute withdrawal while others say it would have been helpful if it had continued with the case. "This is the result we hoped for," David Mcrobert, one of the 120 lawyers across Canada who signed an open letter that urged the CBA to drop its intervention, told Law Times. "The whole intervention had a bad smell about it." But civil litigator James Morton called the withdrawal "unfortunate. To my thinking, this is one of the most important jurisdictional deci- sions in my career. It will have a significant impact, depending on the result, on the practice of law, and business generally. I think it would have been valuable and I think it would have been helpful for the bar association to continue and it's unfortu- nate that they've chosen not to. Having said that, I understand their political pressures." According to several sources, the CBA's legisla- tion and law reform committee had recommended against the intervention before the CBA decided to intervene in the matter. In its statement on the withdrawal, the association said: "The CBA will respect the committee's opinion and the interven- tion will be withdrawn. The CBA is thankful for the diligence, conscientiousness and professionalism of its counsel and for the generosity of Blakes in agreeing to undertake this file for the CBA." The CBA's decision to intervene in the mul- tinational oil company's battle against a group of indigenous people in Ecuador stirred signifi- cant controversy among members of the bar and resulted in protests against and resignations from the organization. The CBA had emphasized it wouldn't be supporting either party in the matter but would speak to "foundational corporate law principles" such as the corporate veil. But many members of the bar said they didn't stand behind those principles and that powerful corporations need to be more accountable. The Chevron matter will be before the supreme Court in December. — yAMrI TADDEsE yamri.taddese@thomsonreuters.com

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