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 M A R C H 2 0 1 6 23 Many years ago, McLaren decided he wanted to make a differ- ence. "I read a book by a man named Loius Nizer," says McLaren. Nizer was a litigation lawyer who practised in the United States, "and that man was involved in all the huge legal battles of the commercial world in the '50s, so I got fascinated by that." My Life in Court sparked McLaren's initial interest in law and, subse- quently, "what influenced me to go to law school." McLaren began his practice in the labour and commercial law fields prior to joining the NHL Players' Association and it took a bit of luck to enter the world of sports arbitration. In the early 1990s, the National Hockey League and the Players Association set up a new legal regime for pro-hockey collective bargaining. They decided to create a new group of salary arbitrators — clubs couldn't seem to agree with the players as to what they should be paid. Each side made a list of eight arbitrator candidates and agreed to strike four names from the opposing side's list. "I sur- vived the cut," says McLaren and that is how it began. "Once it started to happen, I took advantage of it and then I did start to plan it as it went along, but not until after the [2000 summer] Sydney Olympic Games," he explains. McLaren advises future lawyers to be the best lawyers they can be, seize opportunities when they come, and the rest will follow. He notes, however, that sports arbitration is "essentially business law . . . primarily contracts law." He also points out that in his role with WADA, his high-school science classes turned out to be handy. "Chemistry that I had done reasonably well in [in high school] was suddenly valuable to me, having been useless for years, because of the doping problems in sport," he says. McLaren has three children — as well as three grandchildren — one of whom has followed in his father's footsteps. "He does some pro bono work with athletes alleged to have committed doping infractions," and is a full-time insurance defence litigator, says McLaren. "All three of the boys helped me at various stages when I was doing salary arbitration work at the National Hockey League," he says. In fact, the experience is what was instrumental in helping his son decide on a career in law. WADA appointed the Independent Commission to look into alleged widespread doping in athletics in December 2014. The commission included McLaren, Pound, and chief investigations officer Jack Robertson. Pound says it is not so unusual anymore to have two Canadian lawyers take the lead. In Canada, there is respect for the rule of law and the legal system is well developed, and lawyers are quite rigorous in the application of the law, he notes. "In fact, many parties would much rather have a Canadian lawyer than a U.S. lawyer." McLaren explains the commission was formed due to the uproar raised by German broadcaster ARD, which released a documentary about the "Russian medal-making machine." The investigative documentary alleged corruption, and manipulation of doping samples, blood samples, and urine samples in Russia, as well as problems inside the IAAF for track and field. The deeper McLaren and the commissioners looked into the allegations, the more accurate the documentary appeared to be, he says. The first part of the report released last November revealed widespread, systematic doping in Russia, involving government officials. The commissioners held back the second 90-plus-page report — released in January — in order to not interfere with the Interpol investigation into the matter. It found there were problems in international track and field that were not just of the sporting nature, he explains. "For example, not running your doping control rules correctly . . . there were bribes being given to delay and impede the doping control procedure, there was extortion of athletes who would've otherwise been pursued in disciplinary procedures," he says. The report led to a series of resignations of IAAF officials, as well as a suspension of Russian athletes from international track and field competition. Former director Dr. Gabriel Dolle and president Lamine Diack — who held office for 16 years — also resigned. Diack is now facing corruption and money-laundering charges in France over bribes totalling approximately $1.5 million. The second report gives five recommendations, among which out-of-competition testing must demonstrate that no impedi- ments exist. "For 2016, it is our hope that the Russian Federation is suspended," says McLaren. The IAAF is also asked to consider increasing blood and urine samples, as well as the implications of maintaining an informal sample database that may potentially get into the hands of third parties. With the added prestige that the Order of Canada gives McLaren, he hopes to continue "making a contribution, making a difference to helping them get out of these antiquated Victorian governance models they have and move into the 21 st century." And on the personal level, "Watching my grandchildren grow up and succeed," he says. CONNECT WITH IN-HOUSE COUNSEL COLLEAGUES AT LEXPERT.CA/CCCA Check out in-house counsel's best networking tool! The 2015/16 Lexpert CCCA/ACCJE Directory & Yearbook online edition is a user-friendly, outstanding key resource for all in-house counsel. Access more than 4,000 listees, more than 1,900 organizations, find fresh editorial content, and information on deals and links to important resources. ANYWHERE. ANYTIME. ANY DEVICE. Untitled-1 1 2016-02-11 10:17 AM

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