Browse "Lawyers"

Christopher Alexander Hagerman, lawyer, politician, judge (b at Adolphustown, UC 28 Mar 1792; d at Toronto 14 May 1847). "Handsome Kit" grew up outside the charmed circle of pupils educated by John STRACHAN.

Martin finally achieved her goal on 2 February 1897, becoming the first woman lawyer in the British Empire. She went on to earn Bachelor of Civil Law (1897) and LLB (1899) degrees and to establish a successful Toronto practice.

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. "This application to the Law Society of Upper Canada is refused. The governing statute regulating this body, not having been drafted under the advanced views of the day and specifically referring to the admission of persons, does not permit the interpretation of 'persons' to include women. This was the spirit of the reply to Clara Brett Martin's application to study law in 1891.

Clayton “Clay” Charles Ruby, CM, lawyer, writer, activist (born 6 February 1942 in Toronto, ON; died 2 August 2022 in Toronto). Clayton Ruby was a lawyer, activist and social justice advocate. He specialized in civil rights, criminal law and constitutional law. One of Canada’s best-known defence attorneys, he was an impassioned defender of press freedom and an active member of Canada’s environmental movement. Ruby worked to ensure that all people receive equal access and treatment under Canada’s laws. His more notable clients included the surviving Dionne Quintuplets, Donald Marshall Jr., Guy Paul Morin, Michelle Douglas, Svend Robinson, Dr. Henry Morgentaler and the men charged in the 1981 Toronto Bathhouse Raids.

Crown attorneys are agents of either the ATTORNEY GENERAL for Canada or the attorneys general for the provinces and territories, who respectively are the chief legal officers for the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

David Alexander Dunlap, lawyer, mine executive (b at Pembroke, Canada W 13 Oct 1863; d near Toronto 29 Oct 1924). Dunlap was a lawyer in Mattawa when he and his associates, Henry and Noah TIMMINS and the McMartin brothers, acquired the LaRose silver mine near COBALT, Ontario.

In 1881 Read retired from his legal practice and devoted himself to preserving Ontario's history. He wrote articles, gave lectures and participated in historical societies.

David Cargill McDonald, lawyer, judge (b 23 May 1932 at Prince Albert, Sask; d 8 Apr 1996 at Edmonton). McDonald was one of Canada's outstanding jurists, combining great intellectual curiosity and devotion to principle with irrepressible energy.

David Spencer, merchant (b at St Athan, Wales 9 Aug 1837; d at Victoria 2 Mar 1920). A farmer's son, he was apprenticed to a dry-goods merchant in Wales and came to Victoria in 1862.

Delos Rogest Davis, KC, teacher and lawyer (born 4 August 1846 in Maryland, died 13 April 1915 in Anderdon Township, ON). Davis was the third Black lawyer in Canada and the first Black person appointed to the King’s Counsel in all of the British Empire.

Donald Stovel Macdonald, PC CC, politician, lawyer (born 1 March 1932 in Ottawa, ON; died 14 October 2018 in Toronto, ON).

Edgar Nelson Rhodes, lawyer, politician, premier of NS (b at Amherst, NS 5 Jan 1877; d at Ottawa 15 Mar 1942). A distinguished politician, he began his career as a lawyer in Amherst in 1902.

Edmond McMahon. Choirmaster, singer, lawyer, coroner, b Ste-Rose (later Laval), near Montreal, 18 Oct 1852, d Westmount, Montreal, 2 Feb 1942. He was called to the bar in Montreal in 1881, becoming coroner in 1892 and justice of the peace in 1894 of the City of Westmount.

Like so many people before and after them, Emmett Hall's parents moved to Western Canada seeking a better life for their young family.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on November 27, 1995

Emmett Matthew Hall, lawyer, judge (b at St-Colomban, Qué 9 Nov 1898; d at Saskatoon 11 Nov 1995). In 1910 Hall moved to Saskatoon with his family. A classmate of John G.