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experience from the University of Toronto. Her notorious work ethic pro- duced top-notch results at law school, with impeccable grades helping her land an articling spot with prominent crim- inal defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan in 1989. Henein says it had long been her goal to article with Greenspan. She recalls announcing the ambition to an under- graduate peer at U of T, who, perhaps justifiably, laughed it off as unrealistic. "For me, there were few options, and it was so clear to me where I wanted to be, and who I wanted to learn from," time gig without sending out a single application. Not only had Henein done that, but would be going to battle on some of the highest profile cases in the land. As Greenspan and Rosenberg note, it was clear from early on that Henein was a special talent. "Even then she was innovative; extremely hard-working," says Rosenberg. While Henein spent most of her time working with Greenspan, Rosenberg notes her ability, even at that early stage of her career, in spotting the heart of a case. "She would know what was the real "One of the greatest accolades that defence counsel can receive is preparedness, intelligence, a dogged determination to succeed, and the respect of your peers. That is Marie in a nutshell." — Eddie Greenspan says Henein. "To actually get there was unbelievable, because at the end of the day, I had no connections, no nothing." While she had landed a dream artic- ling spot with Greenspan and his then- partner Marc Rosenberg (now an Ontario Court of Appeal judge), she was unwill- ing to give up her thirst for academics. So after her articling term, she headed south to New York and completed her LLM at Columbia University. That move proved fruitful, as she wrote her thesis on theor- ies of evidence, a subject that later served as a gateway to her teaching career. When Henein returned to Toronto in 1991, however, she had no job. While juggling the idea of pursuing a doctor- ate, she received a call from Osgoode Hall criminal law professor Alan Young asking her to help teach a course on evidence. She accepted, and continued as an adjunct professor until 2006. In 2008, she took over as co-chairwoman of Osgoode's LLM program. At the same time as first teaching with Young, Henein began assisting him on an appeal case with Rosenberg. That brought her back to the offices of her old articling firm, which soon offered her a job as an associate. Few young lawyers land a full- issue," he says. "She has very good com- mon sense, and a good feel for the way people act and think. So she has a good feel for what makes sense in somebody's story, how to deal with them." Greenspan says Henein's impressive marks in law school and sharp focus made her an easy choice as an articling student, and later associate and partner. "She was articulate and knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life and was determined to work hard to achieve her goal," he says. Greenspan adds that throughout their time practising togeth- er, Henein served as a key adviser. "When conflicting issues arose and I needed a sounding board, she was one of the few people that I could talk to and have con- fidence and trust in." He further praises his former partner, saying, "One of the greatest accolades that defence counsel can receive is preparedness, intelligence, a dogged determination to succeed, and the respect of your peers. That is Marie in a nutshell." Her time with Greenspan and Rosenberg certainly paid off. Henein credits Rosenberg, who was appointed directly to Ontario's top court in 1995, for showing her the ropes of appeal work. "What was striking was how much con- fidence the court would have in him, because he was so objective," says Henein. "I remember if I wrote a factum for him — and I wrote many, many, facta — if the Crown came back saying we accept the summary of facts, he would say to me, 'That's an excellent factum.' So it was about objectivity and even-handedness." On what she learned from Greenspan, Henein says quite simply, "The experi- ence as a trial lawyer was invaluable." She credits the experience for helping form her approach to cross-examina- tions, development of case theories, and the true mark of a top defence lawyer — perseverance. "There's no point too small, that you wouldn't spend hours trying to figure out. He's meticulous," she says of Greenspan. Plus, Henein was never curtailed in her thirst for more work and bigger responsibilities. "In that environ- ment, you were given the opportunity to do absolutely everything," she says. Henein makes a point of noting her gender never factored in when Greenspan assigned her work, something many young women lawyers say can be elusive. "It was never that I thought of myself as anybody different than anybody else. That was liberating, because I just never had to deal with those sorts of issues that I guess many, many women unfortu- nately do when they talk about the ability to be taken seriously or get cases. It was never an issue; you could take as much as you want, and you could climb whatever mountain you wanted to climb." The theme of women in the profes- sion is close to Henein's heart. It served as her motivation for leaving the partner- ship with Greenspan in 2002. She desired independence, and wanted to blaze a trail as a woman lawyer whose name came first on the letterhead. So in September 2002, she opened Henein & Associates, which now bustles with her and four other lawyers. Henein points to her parents as the genesis of her belief that women should not be encumbered in ways that men are not. "I was not brought up to talk about when I was getting married and www. C ANADiAN law ye rmag.com APRIL 2010 31