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mountai O Climbing every By Robert Todd Marie Henein has reached the pinnacle of the criminal bar through passion, hard work, and believing in herself, but mostly by just being practical and not letting anything hold her back. ntario's criminal lawyers waged a heated and lengthy battle with the provincial government over legal aid rates last year, boycotting homicide and guns-and-gangs cases. After eight months of conflict, the provincial govern- ment in January agreed to increase lawyers' tariffs, pledg- ing a five-per-cent raise for each of the next seven years. The defence bar rejoiced at the news that lawyers would no longer have to take on the most serious of cases at a monetary loss, all costs considered. What few know, however, is that it might never have happened without Marie Henein. The boycott had caused discomfort in many halls of the profession's legal establishment. In fact, says Criminal Lawyers' Association past president Frank Addario, who spearheaded the campaign, there were moves afoot at some legal organizations to issue public condemnations. Addario turned to Henein, one of the country's most accomplished and respected defence lawyers, to build bridges and convince those groups to, at least, remain neutral. The vocal opposition from representatives of large swaths of the profession may have put a swift end to a risky boycott. It also could have caused a long-term rift among the different segments of the bar. "I relied heavily on Marie to translate what we were doing into language that could be understood by civil lawyers and members of the establishment, because they respect Marie," recalls Addario. "She was able to explain to them that we were not bug-eyed radicals who didn't 28 ApRil 2010 www. C ANADiAN law ye rmag.com LIAM SHARP