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the ABCP restructuring, "there was no template," he says. "We had to break new ground. It was extraordinarily challen- ging and extraordinarily rewarding." Despite Halperin's professional suc- cess, it wasn't always certain he'd end up a corporate lawyer. Growing up in Montreal, he didn't know any lawyers. No one in his family had gone to university. His father was a middle manager at an insurance company. His mother was a saleswoman. Halperin was drawn to law, but also considered becoming a reporter. As an undergrad, Halperin edited a stu- dent newspaper and wrote articles for the Canadian Press. He also met his future wife Andrea. He was accepted to Carleton University's journalism program and McGill University's law school. Torn, he asked his father for advice. "My father said, 'You can always be a journalist with a law degree, but you can't be a lawyer without one.'" He picked law school. At McGill, Halperin took courses that would train him as a litigator, but found civil procedure and evidence dull. "Maybe that should have been a tipoff I was fol- lowing the wrong path," he says with a laugh. While articling at a Montreal firm that is now McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Halperin got his first taste of corporate law. "I found it fascinating. I found the interpersonal dynamics between corpor- ate lawyers and their clients, and between corporate lawyers and their peers in try- ing to achieve a result much more suit- able to my personality than litigation." In 1980, Halperin and his wife moved to Calgary where he joined Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP. "Calgary was booming. It was moving way ahead of the infrastructure of professionals to handle the growth," he says. "I got 14 years of legal training in the seven years I spent in Calgary." When he and his family moved to Toronto in 1987, he looked for a firm with a similar culture — young- er and entrepreneurial. He found it at Goodmans, where he's been for 23 years. Dale Lastman, co-chairman of Goodmans, says Halperin "represents the very best of what lawyers ought to be. He has managed to build himself a spec- tacular reputation internationally while at the same time being a really decent human being, an unselfish partner, and someone who is well-liked, respected, and admired. . . ." While Halperin is passionate about law, his office hints at other delights. On the wall, there's a picture of him and golfer Mike Weir. Halperin picked up golf 10 years ago. His average score is in the 90s. "I love the game of golf and the game of golf hates me back." There's a table of photographs from his daugh- ters' weddings. His face lights up as he talks about them. Nearby, plaques from non-profit organizations thank Halperin for his volunteer work, which includes sitting on Mount Sinai Hospital's finance committee and fundraising for Princess Margaret Hospital's Pencer Brain Tumor Centre. A framed sketch of McGill's law school sits by the window. Halperin recently committed to give the university two size- able donations. "McGill has a real special spot in my heart. I loved my time there. I'm very grateful to McGill for opening the door to the career that I've had." Halperin and his wife, a graduate of the School of Social Work, have com- mitted to donate $50,000 to the dual- degree program in law and social work. The donation celebrates the 35th anni- versary of the couple's graduation and marriage. Halperin has committed to give an additional $150,000 to McGill law for innovative teaching in corpor- ate and business law. The donation will help expand the courses in international business law, securities law, and corpor- ate social responsibility. It will also help students travel to competitive moots, the former moot-court champion says. The night after our interview, I bumped into Halperin and his wife at a documentary about Superman. With his glasses, dark hair, and neatly ironed shirt, Halperin looks a bit like Clark Kent. Superman might leap over tall buildings, but Halperin provides legal advice for billion-dollar deals, mentors young law- yers, volunteers for hospitals, donates funds to help law students, and still finds time for a date night with his wife. Now, that's a real superhero. Meehan & Sharpe on Appellate Advocacy DVD How to develop an 'appealing' case Winning on appeal requires a different set of skills than winning at trial. With this video you'll get tips on written and oral advocacy and expert advice on how to triumph on appeal. Canada Law BookNew! 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