Media Advisory - Two LLDs to be presented at Toronto Call to Bar ceremony

Law Society to call members of Bora Laskin Faculty of Law's first graduating class

TORONTO, Sept. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Two extraordinary legal professionals will each receive honorary Doctor of Law degrees, honoris causa (LLD) from the Law Society of Upper Canada at the Call to the Bar ceremony at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto on September 23, 2016. This special Call to the Bar ceremony will include Lakehead University's first graduating class from the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.

The Law Society confers LLDs, honoris causa, in recognition of outstanding achievements in service and benefit to the legal profession, the rule of law or the cause of justice. Each honorary LLD recipient serves as an inspirational keynote speaker for the new lawyers attending the Call ceremony.

The LLD recipients are:

Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN)
A highly respected leader, Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler has championed the cause for truth and social justice for First Nation communities for decades. He was elected Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) in August 2015. He has led the way for First Nation rights and reforms on issues such as police services, clean water, housing, and health services.

He has led justice initiatives, including, the Goudge Inquiry and the Kashechewan inquests. Grand Chief Fiddler executes his duties with humility, intelligence, thoughtfulness and respect. His dedication and diligence to meeting the challenges of his office to fight for economic and social equality for First Nation communities has rightly earned him the respect of members of Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across Canada.

Professor David N. Weisstub
An international, distinguished leader in forensic psychiatry and human rights, Professor David N. Weisstub is recognized as a true pioneer in the development of law and mental health. He is the Philippe Pinel Professor of Legal Psychiatry and Biomedical Ethics ­at the University of Montreal, Faculty of Medicine — a position he's held since 1993. For nearly two decades, he was a Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Prior to being called to the Bar of Ontario in 1972, Professor Weisstub was a Senior Fellow at the Yale Law School and, in 1969, introduced a course at Yale College entitled, "Law in Philosophy and Literature." He is the honorary life president of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, a consultant on mental health legislation and forensic reforms, a recipient of many awards and a published creative writer.

The Law Society will call more than 280 new lawyers to the Bar of Ontario at the September 23 ceremony.

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SOURCE The Law Society of Upper Canada

Members of the Media: Please confirm your attendance in advance by contacting Susan Tonkin, Communications Advisor, 416-947-7605 or [email protected].