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 6 29 Justice Rosalie Abella Supreme Court of Canada Ottawa This year, Abella became one of only three other Canadians — and the first female Canadian — to receive an honorary law degree from Yale University, the latest in a long line of honours for the well-respected judge and human rights defender. A Yale press release called Abella "one of the world's finest liv- ing judges." Among her many rulings from the SCC, Abella recently and again took a stand for equality rights in the Carter v. Canada decision. The decision was a landmark one for Canada and has already changed the legal landscape when it comes to assisted dying. With a unique animal rights decision in June, Abella was the sole dissenting voice in a ruling that said penetration was a requirement for bestiality. She argued in her opinion that acts with animals are "inherently exploitive" and the narrow definition of bestiality "completely undermines the concurrent legislative protections for animals from cruelty and abuse." Many peg Abella as the next chief justice of the Supreme Court after Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin retires in 2018. Changemakers Chris Bentley Executive director, Ryerson University's Law Practice Program and Legal Innovation Zone Toronto Bentley had an illustrious political career as a former Ontario attorney general and as a Liberal lead- ership candidate, but he has been making interesting waves in the legal industry recently. He is a staunch promoter of legal innovation and is pushing hard to bring change and innovation to Canada's somewhat staid legal profession, particularly by instilling innovative sensibilities in potential and young lawyers. He runs the experimental Law Practice Program at Ryerson, where he also helped to establish the Legal Innovation Zone, which partnered with Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP earlier this year. Bentley is very active in the profession, making educators and practitioners examine what they need and how to work together to move the profession and practice of law forward. What voters had to say: "As a mentor in the LPP . . . I was inspired by Chris Bentley's commitment to the integrity of the program, its core mission, and candidates alike." What voters had to say: "Had tremendous impact this last year!" What voters had to say: "She is a visionary that is ahead of her time. Her judicial reasoning that was often a dissenting decision in her earlier decisions is now often a majority decision. Her consideration of social justice issues facing the impoverished and vulnerable pro- vides for a judiciary that best represents Canada's value set." Craig Forcese and Kent Roach Associate professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law; and Professor & Prichard Wilson Chair in Law & Public Policy, University of Toronto Ottawa, Toronto This duo more than anyone helped educate the Canadian public on the pitfalls and issues of the previous federal Conservative government's proposed anti-terrorism laws. Forcese and Roach's approach to influencing public policy development also changed the way academics contribute it. They ditched traditional models in order to engage in real time on bill C-51, launching a blog about it (antiterrorlaw. ca), publishing their work on the world's largest open-access database — the Social Science Research Network — sending it to public policy-makers, writing op-eds, and appearing before parliamentary committees. Their book False Security: The Radicalization of Canadian Anti-terrorism, will be published this fall. MING LIN 2 5 the top infl uential most

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