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regional wrap-up high standards expected of all judges." The council said a concession from Cosgrove that his actions meant he could not sit on cases involving the provincial or federal Crown acted as a "tacit acknowledgment" that many litigants may not have confidence in his ability to judge impartially. It also found the 32 letters of support for Cosgrove, many from other judges, did not help determine if public confidence was too deeply undermined by his blunders in a murder trial. Once the CJC recommended Cosgrove's removal, the final step would have been a joint resolution of Parliament. Cosgrove, a federal former cabinet minister and mayor of Scarborough, Ont., who has lived in Brockville, Ont., since becoming a judge in 1984, would have reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in December. In 2005, Cosgrove took a constitutional challenge over the CJC proceedings to the Federal Court. He won, but the Federal Court of Appeal later overturned the decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada rejected his leave to appeal application in November 2007. The CJC convened in mid-March to The CJC's full report can be found online at: www.cjc-ccm.gc.ca/cmslib/ general/Report_to_Minister_ Justice_Cosgrove.pdf hear Cosgrove's response to the inquiry committee's findings. His lawyer Christopher Paliare urged the council against ousting the judge. But the council found that, "These errors went far beyond the types of errors that can be readily corrected by appellate courts." Cosgrove had not commented publicly during the process, leaving Paliare to field questions from the media. However, Cosgrove said, "now that I've made my decision to resign . . . I felt that it was time for me to answer questions, as I'm doing now." He said he lives in a small community and "life goes on." Having spent years as a local politician, Cosgrove said he's interested in planning issues and will try to get more involved in that now in Brockville. Other than that, he said, "I think my big challenge will be helping day to day with grandchildren." — ROBERT TODD rtodd@clbmedia.ca Lawyers take it to the mat THE PRAIRIES room. Darcia Senft, general counsel with A trio of Winnipeg lawyers had the fi ght of their lives last month — and it was nowhere near a court- the Law Society of Manitoba, Doug Johnston, a partner with Myers Weinberg LLP, and Troy Harwood- Jones, a corporate lawyer who runs his own firm, traded in their briefcases for JONES WINS AGAIN T boxing gloves to participate in Pan Am Boxing Club's fifth annual White Collar Brawler fundraising fight card. All three were regular participants he athletic accomplishments of Manitoba lawyers continued on the ice as Jennifer Jones, in-house counsel at Wellington West Capital, defended her national women's curling title in Victoria. It was the third national crown in the last five years for the 34-year-old, who balances a full workload at the brokerage house with a hectic curling schedule, including a trip to Scotland prior to the nationals. "Wellington West is very supportive and I try to work as much as I can while I'm away. I am fortunate to have a supportive employer but it is definitely demanding. I have my laptop and BlackBerry while I am away and I try and keep up on things. I do work a lot to make sure everything is dealt with before I leave," she says. By virtue of their 8-5 victory over B.C. in the final, Jones and her team qualified to defend their world title in Korea. Jennifer Jones 10 M AY 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com — GK in Pan Am's lunch-hour and evening classes, which are billed as "Winnipeg's hardest workout" and incorporate all elements of boxing training, such as skipping, hitting the heavy bag, running stairs, shadow boxing, and countless push-ups and abdominal exercises — everything but the contact. But then they decided to ratchet things up, start sparring, and step in the squared circle in front of a screaming throng of 250. The 10 fights on the card, all of which consisted of three two-minute rounds, helped raise more than $7,000 for Pan Am's programs for at-risk kids. Harwood-Jones says when he discovered the White Collar night was geared towards people like him, he threw his hat in the, um, ring. "It was a higher level challenge for me. I'm not the sort of person who backs down from a challenge. I saw it as a great opportunity to improve my fitness, push myself, and find out what it was like to step into the ring," he says. MICHAEL BURNS/CANADIAN CURLING ASSOCIATION