Nominations are now OPEN

                                                 To download nomination form click here.


The Award for Excellence in Trusts and Estates was created to recognize exceptional contributions and/or achievements by members of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) to the area of wills, trusts and estates.

The number of award(s) to be presented annually will not normally exceed one.  If in the opinion of the Nominating Committee, there is no appropriate candidate in a given year, no award will be presented.

Eligibility

Any Trusts and Estates Section member of OBA in good standing, as well as former members of the section who have retired or been appointed to the bench, but not including current officers of the Executive of the Trusts and Estates Section or the Executive of the OBA.

Nominations

Any member of the Trusts and Estates Section of OBA in good standing is eligible to nominate a candidate by submission in writing, together with a curriculum vitae outlining the nominee's qualifications. The nominator must indicate that the candidate has been advised of the nomination prior to the nomination deadline and has consented thereto. The Award will be presented at the Section’s Annual Awards dinner in the late Spring of each year.  Nominations will be sought commencing in the Fall of each calendar year in at least one issue of the Section newsletter and by posting on the OBA website. Nominations shall be open for a period of not less than 45 days, with the nominating period to end at least 10 days prior to the date when the award will be presented.

Nominations shall be solicited:

• by request for nominations in at least one issue of the Section newsletter
• by request for nomination posted on the OBA website
• through members of the Executive of the Trusts and Estates Section
• through members of the trusts and estates bar throughout Ontario

Nominating Committee

A Committee consisting of the Past Chair, the Chair and one member of the Executive of the Trust and Estates Section (that member to be selected by the Executive of the Trusts and Estates Section, with a vote to be taken if there is more than one candidate) shall be formed each year at the Executive’s first meeting following its election.  At least one member of the Nominating Committee must practice outside of Toronto.  The Nomination committee’s responsibilities will include:

• Soliciting Nominations from Section members including members outside of Toronto.
• Obtaining information about any candidate including letters of support and curriculum vitae
• Reviewing the nominations, consulting with the Section Executive, and deciding whether and to whom the award should be presented
• Co-ordinating with the sponsor
• Otherwise co-ordinating all matters relating to the Award.

Conflicts of Interest

If any member of the Nominating Committee practices at the same firm as any of the nominees, that member must declare a conflict and will be replaced by another member of the Executive of the Trusts and Estates Section to be selected by Chair of the Section.  For greater certainty, a member of the Section Executive who practices at the same firm as any of the nominees is not prevented from participating in the consultation process referred to above.

Criteria for Selection

The recipient shall demonstrate leadership in the trusts and estates bar through knowledge, experience skill, commitment, passion and strength of character, plus all or some of the following:

• Academic excellence through lecturing at a law school, participation in continuing legal education and/or academic writing
• Participation in OBA Trusts and Estates Section, including as a past member of the Section’s Executive, or the Law Society of Upper Canada on wills, trust and estates matters
• Contribution as counsel or as a judge to the development of wills, trusts and estates law, and wills, trusts and estates legislative framework

Award

The Recipient will receive a plaque and a donation will be made on the recipient’s behalf to a charity of his or her choice.  The permanent trophy is to be displayed at OBA.