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"[He's] so formal and incredibly professional and polite, [you] never see him say anything nasty or losing in the courtroom, in a very erudite, learned, formal kind of way." Peck is not always on the side of public opin- ion, then again criminal lawyers rarely are. He prefers to make his arguments before a court, rather than at a podium. And despite victories that propelled him into the upper echelon of the criminal bar in Canada, many both inside and outside the profession have likely never heard his name. Sixty-year-old Peck is not a self-promoter, rather a living, breathing con- tradiction of the traditional idea of what a top criminal litigator is or what one acts like. His contemporaries, including Air India co-coun- sel Michael Code, say Peck has no territorial is- sues, is extremely modest, and "brings almost BORN: June 14, 1948, in Victoria, B.C. RICHARD PECK AT A GLANCE WORK HISTORY: GRADUATED: University of British Columbia 1974, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws FAMILY: Married to wife Mary, they have four children, Kathryn, Shauna, Cydney, and Devon 1974 – 1981: Rankin and Co., Vancouver, B.C. – articling student, associate, and partner 1981 – 1990: Robertson Peck, Robertson Peck Thompson – partner 1990 – 1992: Harper Grey Easton – partner 1992 to present: Peck and Co. – partner 32 NO VEMBER / DECEMBER 2008 www. mag.com his temper or attacking his opponent on a personal level, he's all straightforward business — Michael Code no ego issues at all to the courtroom." What he lacks in self-promotion, Peck cer- tainly more than makes up for in promotion of the legal profession. "I've been intrigued by the lore of the profession particularly in Canada," says Peck. "The great characters that have gone before us, some incredible people and I've known many of these people over the years and learned to admire and respect what they've done. This goes from the mighty to the less mighty, just having had the opportunity to spend time with people like [former B.C. chief justice] Allan McEachern, and over the years [former justice] Michel Proulx, to know CAREER MILESTONES: 1975 – Called to the bar of British Columbia 1986 – 1987 – Director of the B.C. Crime Prevention Association 1987 – Appointed Queen's Counsel 1988 – 1997 – Bencher of the Law Society of British Columbia and now a life bencher