n;In Montreal, Marie Cossette
has joined Lavery, de Billy LLP.
Over the course of her career she
has served as: assistant chief
counsel of the commission of
inquiry into the collapse of the
Concorde overpass (Johnson
Commission) created in 2006,
senior counsel of the commission
of inquiry into the sponsorship pro-
gram and advertising activities
(Gomery Commission) created in
2004, and as counsel for Sûreté
du Québec officers during the Poi-
tras commission of inquiry created
in 1996.
n;In Toronto, Robert Mason
has joined Gowling Lafleur Hen-
derson LLP as a partner special-
izing in corporate finance,
mining and mergers and acqui-
sitions (M&A). He was previ-
ously with Fasken Martineau
Dumoulin LLP in Toronto.
n;In Hamilton, Ralph
D’Angelo has joined Gowlings as
counsel specializing in insurance
defence. He previously worked in
the legal department of Desjardins
General Insurance Group in Missis-
sauga, Ont.
DONALEE MOULTON
Several years ago Eleanor
Wiebe was settling her daughter
into new digs at the University of
Calgary and idly wondered what
she would do with the free time
that comes from having a child
away at school. A call from the
Canadian Bar Association during
that trip answered the question—and took the Winnipeg-based lawyer around the world to
Laos and Cambodia.
Wiebe, a partner with Fillmore
Riley LLP, has now made three
trips to the two countries, each
time teaching practising lawyers
and articling clerks the fine art of
contract drafting. The work is
sponsored by the CBA and funded
by the Canadian International
Development Agency in a combined effort to help develop and
strengthen the legal profession in
other countries.
The fact that Wiebe doesn’t
speak the language or have fam-
iliarity with the civil law regimes
of these countries is not an issue.
Translators help address the for-
mer problem, and experience the
latter. “Knowing what the law is
doesn’t help draft a contract,”
said Wiebe. “There are a lot of
things that have application.”
For the University of Mani-
toba graduate, the teaching
experience was eye-opening. “It’s
totally humbling,” she said. “We
take for granted the rule of law.”
For many years, that rule was
absent in Cambodia, where
Wiebe ventured most recently. In
an article she wrote for her firm’s
website, the commercial lawyer
noted that the Khmer Rouge
effectively destroyed the legal
system in Cambodia between
1975 and 1979, when most of the
country’s lawyers, judges, pros-
ecutors and legislators either fled
or were killed.
“It has been suggested by the
end of the Khmer Rouge that
only 12 trained legal professionals remained alive in the country,” Wiebe noted. “This was followed by Vietnamese occupation
LAW SCHOOL NEWS
LAW FIRM NEWS
n;A cast of lawyers are taking a
stab at Shakespeare for a good
cause. The event raises money
for Nightwood Theatre, Canada’s
national women’s theatre since
1979. Thirty-five lawyers will perform in William Shakespeare’s As
You Like It from June 9-11 in
Toronto. For tickets visit: www.
nightwoodtheatre.net.
THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
VOL. 22, NO. 27 NE WS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002
n;Ian Holloway, he current dean
of law of London, Ont.’s University
of Western Ontario (UWO), is
leaving to become the dean of law
at the University of Calgary. His
new job kicks off July 1 for a five-year term. Holloway served as
UWO’s dean of law since July
2000, prior to which he served as
an Australian National University
associate dean and University of
Cambridge visiting scholar.
LAWYER OF THE WEEK
Name:
Eleanor Wiebe
Law school:
University of Manitoba
Called to the Bar:
1983
Career highlights:
1982 Received her LLB
1988 Appointed Queen’s
counsel
2007 First trip overseas to
teach contract drafting
Eleanor Wiebe (centre) with two participants of the Cambodia program.
and continuing civil war, until
the United Nations was able to
assist in a cease fire and elec-
tions in 1993.”
Cambodia is a different
country today, but its challenges
are significant. First and fore-
most among them: extreme
poverty. “It’s very heart wrench-
ing,” said Wiebe.
For the co-chair of Fillmore
Riley’s Wills and Estates Group,
the teaching is affirming—and
has become an avocation. In fact,
when Wiebe returned from Laos,
she contacted the University of
Manitoba’s law school about
teaching there. Now for the past
three years, Wiebe has instructed
a course on wills and succession.
She has also been a central
force in the establishment of the
Legal Help Centre, which opened
earlier this year in Winnipeg’s
inner city. This joint initiative of
the University of Winnipeg and
the University of Manitoba is
designed to bring together stu-
dents and volunteer professionals
to help those who cannot afford a
lawyer navigate the legal system
and access fundamental public
services and benefits.
Got news?
Contributions to Names in
the News can be emailed
to names@lexisnexis.ca
Publisher
Anand Ablack, LL.B.
Managing Editor
Tim Wilbur, JD
Focus Editor
Natalie Fraser, LL.B.
Legal Business Editor
Melissa Dunne
Ottawa Bureau Chief
Cristin Schmitz
Art Director
Tammy Leung
Production Coordinator
Pauline Braithwaite
Production/Art Intern
Greg Burchell
Correspondents
Luigi Benetton, Toronto
Arnold Ceballos, LL.B., Toronto
Thomas Claridge, Toronto
Christopher Guly, Ottawa
Jeremy Hainsworth, Vancouver
Geoff Kirbyson, Winnipeg
Luis Millan, Montreal
donalee Moulton, Halifax
Gary Oakes, Victoria
Mike Sadava, Edmonton
® THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002
THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION December 6, 2002
THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002
HOW TO REACH US
Phone: (905) 479–2665
Toll-free: 1–800–668–6481
Fax: (905) 479–3758
Email: tlw@lexisnexis.ca
Main Office
123 Commerce Valley Drive East
Suite 700, Markham, ON L3T 7W8
Phone: (905) 479–2665
Ottawa Bureau
c/o Parliamentary Press Gallery
Rm 350-N, Centre Block
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Phone: (613) 820-2794
Fax: (613) 995-5795
Website: www.lawyersweekly.ca
Member, Ontario Press Council
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706, Toronto, ON
(416) 340–1981; Fax: (416) 340–8724
ADVERTISING
Team Lead, Advertising Sales
Jodie Carrera (905) 415–5805
CIRCULATION
Circulation Controller
Scott Welsh (905) 479–2665, ext. 324
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
1 year (48 issues): $270, plus tax
2 years (96 issues): $460, plus tax
U.S. and international subscriptions: $375/year
Law student rate: $62, plus tax
Individual copies: $9.50, plus tax
GST/HST/QST No.: R121051767
Postal Information: Please forward all
postal returns to: Circulation Controller, The
Lawyers Weekly, 123 Commerce Valley Drive
East, Suite 700, Markham, ON L3T 7W8.
Return postage guaranteed. ISSN 0830-
0151. Publications Mail Sales Agreement
Number: 40065517.
COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARK
The Lawyers Weekly is published on Fridays,
48 times a year, by LexisNexis Canada Inc.,
123 Commerce Valley Drive East, Suite 700,
Markham, ON L3T 7W8. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form (including photocopying or storing it in
any medium by electronic means and whether or not
transiently or incidentally to some other use of this
publication) without the written permission of the
copyright owner, except in accordance with the
provisions of the Copyright Act. The Lawyers Weekly
is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Canada Inc.
