Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 33 DAWN DEVOE General counsel, World Vision Canada, Toronto, Ont. Devoe is World Vision's key legal adviser for its No Child for Sale advocacy campaign aimed at ending child labour and human traffick- ing. As lead counsel for the Cana- dian negotiations regarding World Vision's partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme, she has represented the organization at global partnership meetings in South Africa, Kenya, and the Philip- pines. This partnership accounts for more than $30 million of annual food aid programmed through World Vision Canada. With projects in nearly 100 countries across the globe, Devoe manages a busy legal department and has been able to remain flexible and nimble. PASCALE FOURNIER Professor & research chair, legal pluralism and comparative law, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Ottawa, Ont. Fournier has achieved international recognition for her groundbreaking work on gender, religion, and the law, using fieldwork interviews with women from various countries to highlight the complex interplay between religious and secular law. She has received numerous national and international awards and nominations in 2014. Fournier became a fellow of the prestigious International Women's Forum for her role as a leader in the legal profession; receiving the Canada-Arab Chamber of Commerce Award for "academic excellence and contribution to humanity." Fournier represented the University of Ottawa as a successful leader in the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference and was unanimously appointed by the National Assembly of Quebec to the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission. WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "Amazing lawyer and person. She not only has a love for the law, but also cares deeply for oth- ers and demonstrates that in her work." "Brilliant legal counsel, very creative problem solver, able to incorporate legal and taxation laws into a beneficial solution to all parties." WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "Outstanding mind, according [to] Harvard's Prof. Kennedy." MURRAY KLIPPENSTEIN Founder, Klippensteins Barristers & Solicitors, Toronto, Ont. Back for the second year on the Top 25, Klippenstein's ongoing representation of 13 members of the indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' population from El Estor, Guatemala, continues to make waves. Three related lawsuits are before the Ontario courts against Canadian mining company Hudbay Minerals over the brutal killing of Adolfo Ich and the gang rape of 11 women from Lote Ocho. In a precedent-setting ruling in July of 2013, an Ontario court decided that lawsuits can proceed to trial in Canada over the objections of Hudbay Minerals. At home he is also taking on the big guys in a case against Encana Corp. that's challenging the regulation and practice of hydraulic fracking in Canada. PASCAL PARADIS Executive director, Lawyers Without Borders Canada, Quebec City, Que. Also back for his second time on the Top 25, Paradis is an unstoppable force and a passionate advocate for human rights, particularly for women and children. Thanks to Paradis' initiative, the Quebec bar joined LWBC to act as international counsel in favour of Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger condemned to jail and flogging for his comments criticizing the regime. Since January 2015, Paradis and LWBC are leading a consortium of Canadian organizations working on a wide-range five-year project to foster justice. They aim to imple- ment means of prevention and reconciliation for women victims of sexual violence and other persons affected by the Malian armed conflict. He also speaks at many international conferences on human rights issues. WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "Kudos for standing up for, upholding Canadian values, wherever we operate." WHAT VOTERS HAD TO SAY: "He has left a very profitable position in a big national law firm to head LWBC for a very small paycheque because he followed his heart and his passion." ERICK LABBE

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