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REGIONAL WRAP-UP ish lawyers to unite to advance their objectives, which includ- ed fi ghting for minority rights. Regular meetings began being held at various synagogues until the Montefi ore Club — a prestigious private downtown club that has been an integral part of Montreal's Jewish community since its opening in 1880 — became its unoffi cial home. It still is, and the society held its 60th anniversary celebrations at the club on Sept. 18. The lawyers named their group in honour of Rufus Daniel Isaacs, who was born in England in 1860 and was the fi rst Jewish lawyer in the United Kingdom. Also the fi rst Jewish member of the cabinet, Isaacs was made chief justice of England and took the title of Lord Reading in 1913. In the past 60 years, Solloway says a who's who of Jewish jurists "from our ranks" have been ap- pointed to the bench at all levels up to the Su- preme Court of Canada. While the group holds six dinner meetings a year, he said Ian M. Solloway the September one that features a human rights lecture "by the most brilliant speakers and minds" has become a major event on the legal calendar in Quebec. Shortly after being elected bâtonnier of the Barreau de Montréal last May, Stephen Gerard Schenke informed outgo- ing society president Mark Schrager, of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, that the local bar council would be awarding its prestigious médaille to the society in the context of its 60th anniversary. (Ronald Levy of De Granpré Chait was appointed the society's 54th president in June.) N.B. law society fl ying into not-so-friendly skies of New Brunswick. The society has been asked to take one of its own to task by the Air Line Pi- lots Association. The ALPA objects to T here may be turbu- lent skies overhead for the Law Society "The Montreal bar is indeed fortunate to have the Lord Reading operate in its midst," Schenke wrote. "The Lord Read- ing's passion for social justice, its tradition of legal excellence, its contribution to the judiciary and to the Montreal bar are just a few of the signifi cant contributions that we wish to recognize. "We also believe that by honouring the Lord Reading Law Society, we are recognizing the di- versity of the Montreal bar," he added. "By high- lighting your 60 years of success, we are sending a message of welcome to all ethnic groups in Mon- treal and cherishing values of pluralism that are so important to the future of Montreal and Quebec." "We're extremely proud of getting the medal," said Solloway, who pointed out it marked only the third occasion the médaille wasn't bestowed upon an individual. The coveted prize was presented at the annual rentrée judiciaire, the opening of the judicial season, this year held Sept. 4 at the Montreal courthouse. "We were once described as the dead poets society, but not anymore," stressed Solloway, who served as the society's 48th president. "We're here, active, visible, and vibrant. We're part of the diversity." — MIKE KING mking@videotron.ca Most of our successes come in court… ATLANTIC CANADA a new job Paul Lordon undertook that it says places the former chairman of the Cana- dian Industrial Relations Board in a clear confl ict of interest. The fl ight path looks like this: in 2002, Lordon wrote "Decision 183," which inter alia settled the appropriate Canada Labour Code principles for determining seniority integration for former Ca- nadian Airlines and Air Canada pilots. Under the protocol, the arbitration decision was agreed to be fi nal and binding. That protocol has since withstood several court challenges. All litigation concerning the seniority list ended in 2007 when a third leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was denied. ntitled-2 1 …but getting them on the world stage is nice too. Dimock Stratton ��� is proud to be named Canadian Patent Contentious Firm of the Year for 2008 by Managing Intellectual Property. D����� S������ ��� experience. results. 20 Queen W. 32nd fl, Toronto | 416.971.7202 | dimock.com www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com OC T OBER 2008 11 9/9/08 8:54:41 AM