The legal community bestows various honours on esteemed members of the profession. Many such awards are of the black tie persuasion — occasions where senior members of the bar are honoured with lifetime achievement–type awards for their many decades of service. Other awards recognize less senior lawyers, but only from a particular area of specialization. Something has been missing. Until now.
This issue marks the introduction of the Precedent Setter Awards. These awards give us the opportunity to honour lawyers in their first, not fourth, decade of practice and to recognize individuals from across the profession, not just from one narrow field.
These awards recognize lawyers called to the bar in the past 10 years (1999–2009) who demonstrate excellence and leadership in their practices and in their communities. Our winners are remarkably diverse: they come from different backgrounds and hometowns. They practice various types of law and have their own unique ways of contributing to their communities. But they also have something in common: a passion for law and a commitment to giving back. Each of these winners is shaping and changing our profession. We are all better for it.
We put out our call for nominations in March and assembled our panel of judges. Lawyers Sue Gaudi, Adam Maerov, Samantha Prasad and Sean Robichaud generously contributed their time and expertise to the decision-making process. They scrutinized every nomination and in late April convened to discuss the top candidates. I moderated that session and I can assure you that with so many amazing nominees from which to choose it was a very lively discussion. Ultimately, they did come to a consensus on the winners.
Meet our inaugural Precedent Setters in the special feature section. To find out more about the award process, please visit lawandstyle.ca/the-precedent-setter-awards/. And start thinking about the precedent setters you know. Nominations for the second annual Precedent Setter Awards will open in early 2011.
Thank you to everyone who participated this year — the nominees, nominators, judges and sponsors. Your contributions have set an amazing standard for the years to come!
Sincerely,
Melissa Kluger Publisher & Editor