The OBA's Award for Distinguished Service recognizes exceptional contributions and/or achievements by OBA members to the legal profession in Ontario; or to jurisprudence in Ontario or Canada; or to the law or development of the law in Ontario; or a significant law-related benefit to the residents of Ontario.

Ontario Bar Association Award For Distinguished Service Recipients  
1988  -  2007

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Award for Distinguished Service 2007

We are pleased to announce that the 2007 OBA Award for Distinguish Service was presented to the Honourable Dennis O'Connor and Susan McGrath on Friday, December 6th at the OBA Festive Awards Dinner.  The guest speaker for the evening was James Lockyer, Director of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC).


Award for Distinguished Service 2006

Chief Justice Lennox was appointed as Chief Justice to the Ontario Court of Justice in May of 1999 following his term as Associate Chief Judge at the Ontario Court Provincial Division. The Chief Justice is an active contributor to the Steering Committee on Justice Efficiencies and Access to the Justice System, a leader in judicial education programming and keynote speaker on the role of justices and the Court. He has shepherded both the family and criminal courts through periods of changing expectations, reversals and progress. Over the past year he has served as Co-Chair of the Ontario Judicial Council and Chair of the Justices of the Peace Review Council.

During Chief Justice Lennox’s tenure, the Ontario Court of Justice has matured its educational programming and is now viewed as a leader in judicial education by many courts in Canada.

The Chief Justice has been a long time member and strong supporter of the Ontario Bar Association and has spoken at numerous legal education programs and attends on a continuing basis other programming for Justices with the OBA.

Wayne Gray is a corporate-commercial partner in the Toronto office at McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP. He is listed in Lexpert’s databases of leading corporate-commercial law, mid-market and investment fund practitioners.

He is a specialist editor in Corporations Law for the Canadian Business Law Journal, is the author of three books published by Carswell: Annotated Ontario Business Corporations Act, 1st and 2nd Editions (loose-leaf service 2002); Annotated Canada Business Corporations Act, 1st and 2nd Editions (loose-leaf service 2002) and (with Casey Halladay) Guide to CBCA Reform: Analysis and Precedents (2002), and has written numerous articles on a variety of corporate and business law topics.

In 2005-2005 he headed up a working group for the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) to examine the issue of income trusts, and worked with legal professionals from across the country. He presented his findings to the ULCC at their annual meeting in August 2006 and has been asked to prepare a uniform statute on income trusts for their 2007 meeting.

As Chair of the OBA Corporate Law Subcommittee, a member of the Business Law Executive and Briefly Speaking editorial board and a regular keynote speaker at various programs, Mr. Gray’s continuous efforts have been of great benefit to the Association and to the profession.

Rino Stradiotto, Q.C. was called to the Bar in 1962. He is a partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Mr. Stradiotto was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1975 and inducted as a Fellow of the College of American Trial Lawyers in 1984.

In 1990 he was awarded the Law Society Medal by the Law Society of Upper Canada in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the law and legal education particularly in the fields of health care and products liability.

Mr. Stradiotto is Past President of The Medico-Legal Society of Toronto, Past President of The Advocates’ Society and Past Chair of Ontario Province, American College of Trial Lawyers. 

He is a frequent lecturer and panelist on health law issues to a wide range of organizations. He has published a number of articles and reports in both the health care field and products liability dealing with such issues as professional accountability, health care records, confidentiality of health care information, consent to treatment, the accountability of public hospitals for the conduct of independent physicians on staff (submitted to the Prichard Commission on Liability and Compensation in Health Care), medical/legal reports.

Mr. Stradiotto has been an active voice in health law matters for many years. He has prepared and submitted briefs in response to legislative proposals on a wide variety of topics relating to health care in Ontario.


Frank Bennett of Bennett & Company and The Honourable Robert J. Sharpe of the Ontario Court of Justice were presented with OBA’s Distinguished Service Award at the Festive Awards Dinner held on December 2^nd.

Mr. Bennett is the past Head of Sections and Lecturer for the Ontario Bar Admission Course on Creditors’ and Debtors’ Rights and Remedies, the past Chair of both the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Sections of the CBA, a member of several committees for the OBA, a former member of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Advisory Committee to Industry Canada and a frequent lecturer and author of several books and articles.

Mr. Justice Sharpe has been a judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario since 1999. He taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto from 1976 to 1988 and served under Chief Justice Brian Dickson as Executive Legal Officer at the Supreme Court Canada from 1988 to 1990. Robert Sharpe was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto in 1990 and served in that capacity until his appointment as member of the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) (now the Superior Court of Justice), in 1995. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, 1991. Justice Sharpe has written several books and is a frequent lecturer at academic conferences and professional development seminars.

OBA's Award for Distinguished Service recognizes exceptional contributions and/or achievements by OBA members to the legal profession in Ontario, to jurisprudence in Ontario or Canada, to the law or development of the law in Ontario, or a significant law-related benefit to the residents of Ontario.

OBA Festive Awards Dinner Hits New High - 2004

Over two hundred and fifty members and dignitaries attended the Granite Club on Friday, December 3rd to pay tribute to Tim Bates and Jim O'Brien for their distinguished service to the OBA over some 30 years. It was truly a festive occasion, with the Granite Club halls and OBA members and dignitaries decked out in their holiday finery. Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin delivered a lighthearted and humorous keynote address, while OBA President Ian Kirby maintained the lively atmosphere by quipping his way through his M.C. duties. All speakers paid tribute to Tim Bates and Jim O’Brien for their outstanding volunteer contributions to the OBA during the course of their distinguished careers.

In accepting their awards, both recipients spoke fondly and sincerely of the support they received from their colleagues and family, many of whom were in attendance. They both credited, in particular, their wives for enabling them to sustain a professional career and a fulfilling volunteer vocation for so many years.

In years past, the Distinguished Service Award was presented at the December Council dinner dance. This year, the event was open to all OBA members and guests. In addition, award recipients were announced well in advance, so friends and colleagues could have plenty of opportunity to attend. Many thanks to the Awards Committee: Don Short, Chair, Dorothy Quann, J. Kenneth Alexander, Andrew Kerr, Carole Brown, Geoffrey Creighton and Gita Anand, for making this happen.

We hope to build on the success of this format in future years and continue to attract members from across the province to this prestigious event.

Award for Distinguished Service – 2003

An integral part of the Annual OBA Council Holiday Dinner and Dance, besides the gathering of friends, delicious food and spreading of holiday cheer, is the presentation of the OBA Awards for Distinguished Service. Four OBA members dedicated to serving the legal profession, and their respective communities received this award on December 5, 2003. The Honourable Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci, Judith Huddart, Tony Keith Q.C., and James Leal were all present to accept their awards.

The OBA Award for Distinguished Service was created in 1988 to recognize the exceptional contributions and achievements by members of the Ontario Bar Association made to the legal profession as well as to the communities in which they serve. Each November, the OBA seeks nominations for this award. The recipients have made significant contributions to the legal profession in Ontario, to jurisprudence in Ontario or Canada; or to the law or development of the law in Ontario; or a significant law-related benefit to the residents of Ontario. Community Service is also an important element of the award.

The Honourable Mr. Justice Frank Iacobucci, currently a judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, is an extremely accomplished individual with an impressive list of credentials. Called to the bar in 1970, Mr. Justice Iacobucci has had a distinguished career as a lawyer, law dean, law professor and public servant. His service to the broader community, especially to the Italian Canadian community has been recognized by the Republic of Italy and the National Congress of Italian Canadians. A long-standing supporter and member of both the CBA and OBA, The Honourable Mr.Justice Iacobucci is an exemplary recipient of the Award for Distinguished Service 2003.

Judith Huddart has held leadership roles with the CBA and the OBA including serving as Chair of the Feminist Legal Analysis and Family Law Sections at the OBA. At the CBA national level, Ms. Huddart is the current chair of two Family Law Section subcommittees. In addition, Ms. Huddart has represented CBA at various American Bar Association programs and conferences. Apart from Ms. Huddart’s leadership roles in the legal community, she serves her broader community through leadership roles in her local school council and parents’ association.

Tony Keith has been an active member of both the CBA and OBA for many years. He was Chair of the OBA Membership Committee 2000-2002, Chair of the OBA Strategic Planning Committee from 1996-1999 and was also Chair of the Advisory Committee on the proposed merger with the County and District Law Presidents’ Association in 1997-1998. Mr. Keith has been also been actively involved in CBA at the National level, the Advocates Society, the Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers’ Association and since 1999 has been a Senior Chair on the University of Toronto Academic Discipline Tribunal. His community leadership is extremely extensive through his roles as past Director of the Shadow Lakes Association, Toronto Racquet Club, Yonge-Bloor-Bay Business Association, and the Canadian Children’s Opera Chorus among many others. Mr. Keith is without a doubt another well-deserving candidate of the 2003 Award for Distinguished Service.

James Leal most definitely deserves the OBA Award for Distinguished Service. He was President of the County of Carlton Law Association (CCLA) in 2002 and was also the founding organizer of the CCLA Montebello Solicitors Conference. He has also served on the Executive of OBA’s Real Property Section. Mr. Leal’s volunteer work is not limited to working with professional legal associations; in fact he has made a significant difference with respect to homeless people in Ottawa through his involvement in Dinner Unlimited, an organization that arranges special dinners for those in need. He has been an integral member of the Ottawa Bluefest and has helped to make it a truly dynamic music festival. The combination of excellent service James Leal has contributed to both the legal profession and his community at large is extremely admirable and no doubt worthy of recognition.

The Award for Distinguished Service was created to recognize exceptional contributions and achievements by members of the Ontario Bar Association made to the legal profession as well as to the communities in which they serve. The true privilege of this Award lies in the fact that the honor is given by the candidates’ own colleagues who consider them worthy of recognition.

Since being called to the Bar in 1963, Chief Justice Patrick Lesage has carried a distinguished career as both a Crown Attorney and as a Judge. During his work as a Crown Attorney for Metropolitan Toronto, Chief Justice Lesage prosecuted a wide range of cases from minor theft to murder to sophisticated white-collar cases. In 1972, he took charge of 140 Crown Attorneys and Assistant Crown Attorney when he was appointed Director of Crown Attorney. The youngest County Court Judge appointed in Ontario, Chief Justice Lesage presented himself as a highly skilled and competent judge in the field of criminal law. The many years on the Bench have brought to him, numerous high-profile cases of every kind and nature. Alongside his work within the Judiciary, he has served on various committees and panels, spoken at education seminars for Judges in eight provinces, and, as early as fifteen years ago, was involved in introducing gender and racial equality seminars for Judges. In 30 years of service, he has made an exceptional contribution to the legal profession and the community both through his leadership on the Bench as well as in the administration of justice.

Mr. Stephen Cameron has been in the business for 34 years, 28 of which he has been partner at the law firm of Miller Thompson, where he has engaged in corporate and commercial law practice. Mr. Cameron has served as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice-President, and President of then Canadian Bar Association of Ontario. Still an active member of the Ontario Bar Association and a member of Council since 1978, Mr. Cameron has served on numerous committees, many of which he Chaired. A leader within the OBA, Mr. Cameron has also made enormous contributions to his Kitchener-Waterloo community. He has been described by his colleagues as “the consummate patient, willing and knowledgeable volunteer,” “the model of the committed, concerned and effective legal professional,” and as “a person of notable integrity in his dealing with others, competency in his profession, congeniality toward his fellow practitioners and one who has provided outstanding service to his profession and his community.”

In 14 years of practice, Ms. Joan MacDonald, has continually been recognized for her dedication to the legal profession as well as to the Hamilton community. Described as “a catalyst and a force of nature,” not only does she practice in many areas of law, but the very impressive list of her community services, volunteering, and committee involvement with the Ontario Bar Association speaks volumes of her character. As such, it comes as no surprise that she has been recognized by various organizations within the community for her outstanding contributions and service. Aside from her dedication to the disadvantaged of society, her commitment to the legal profession is exemplary. She has brought Continuing Legal Education to Hamilton’s legal community and remains actively involved in the Ontario Bar Association. Tremendously talented, Ms. MacDonald is a true credit to the profession.  

The four recipients of the 2001 Ontario Bar Association Award for Distinguished Service were recently announced to recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to the legal profession in Ontario. The winners of the OBA's premier award this year include Larry Banack, Arthur B. James, The Honourable Justice John W. Morden and John F. Evans Q.C. Vignettes of each winner have been provided below for background information.
 
John F. Evans Q.C. was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1965 after receiving his Bachelor of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School and later named to Queen’s Counsel in 1979. He has been an active member of the OBA for thirty-eight years throughout his career, articled with Fasken Martineau, then began practice at Evans, Philp in Hamilton, Ontario from 1965-1991, and then established a civil litigation law firm John F. Evans & Associates in Hamilton in 1991 where he continues to practice. He was extensively involved in the founding of the Sopinka Cup and its present stature in the Canadian legal community.

Mr. Larry Banack was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1977, after having received his Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Toronto. Mr. Banack is an elected Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and has been an active member of the OBA since 1977 serving for three years as Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Annual Institute of Continuing Legal Education. He currently sits on the OBA’s governing council and is a past Chair of the Civil Litigation Section.

The Honourable Justice John W. Morden was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1961 and obtained his Bachelor of Law from the University of Toronto. He has been an active member of the Ontario Bar Association for forty-one years. He served as a Judge in the High Court of Justice, Supreme Court of Ontario from 1973-1978, was appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1978, and was named Associate Chief Justice of Ontario serving from 1990-1999. Justice Morden also served as Chairman, Special Sub-Committee of the Rules Committee from 1980-1984, which prepared the Rules of Civil Procedure for Ontario and then served again as Chairman, Civil Rules Committee (Ont.) from 1990 to 1999.

Arthur B. James was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1968 and received his Bachelor of Law from the University of Toronto. Considered one of Canada’s most distinguished corporate counsel following a thirty-two year career with IBM Canada Ltd., Mr. James recently retiring as Vice President, Law and Corporate Relations. Mr. James has been an active member of the Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association for over 18 years, was a founding executive member of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and is a past Chair of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.