Canadian Lawyer

30 A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m DENNIS EDNEY AND NATE WHITLING Defence counsel, Edmonton, Alta. In a rare move, Edney and Whitling are being named as Top 25 honourees as a team. Both have spent more than a decade advocating for Omar Khadr, almost universally on a pro bono basis. From Guantanamo Bay to the Supreme Court of Canada (three times), the unlikely duo have fought for Khadr to have him released from prison (success in May), have him treated as a child soldier, and otherwise continue to battle for his legal rights at home and abroad. It's been what the Globe and Mail called waging "a war of legal attrition against the government," which has consistently done everything to paint Khadr as a dangerous terrorist who should be kept behind bars. Edney, a former soccer player who only started practising law at 40, has been the public and media face of the continuing legal battles, even taking Khadr into his own home after he was recently released on bail. Whit- ling, a Harvard law grad and former SCC clerk, is a much more quiet and reserved force behind the scenes. ROCCO GALATI Rocco Galati Law Firm PC, Toronto, Ont. Rocco Galati is famous for being a one-man opposition to the pres- ent government, so far spending $42,000 of his own money on court challenges. He successfully launched a case that blocked Ste- phen Harper's appointment of Justice Marc Nadon to the Supreme Court of Canada. His opposition to the appointment of Federal Court of Appeal Justice Robert Mainville to the Quebec Court of Appeal was not as successful. While he doesn't always win, Galati is dogged in his efforts to defend the Constitution against a government he sees as pushing the boundaries with a lack of respect for the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He's now also been elected as bencher of the Law Soci- ety of Upper Canada and it will be interesting to see what he brings to the regulation of the profession. WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "Dennis has gone above and beyond the call of duty in his defence of Omar Khadr. The nobility of our profession depends on lawyers like Dennis as we are sometimes called upon to defend unpopular people or entities — but people who are no less deserving of natural justice and procedural fairness." Whitling is an "intelligent and highly effective advocate who stays out of the limelight." He is a "fantastic lawyer. Exceptionally intelligent and excellent to work with." WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "A true Canadian constitutional and human rights hero." CRIMINAL / HUMAN RIGHTS LAW THE CANADIAN PRESS/ COLIN PERKEL

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