Dear friends, colleagues and family members, thank you for joining me this afternoon to help me celebrate receiving this honour. I am grateful to Deborah Brewster and everyone at the OBA for organizing this event, and for all the stellar work they have been doing this year to support our profession.
It is bewildering to me that by having:
- thrown caution to the wind;
- put my head down and worked a lot;
- been motivated often by the fear of failure; and
- done a lot of drafting at my kitchen table after the little boys have been put to bed,
that I should some twenty years plus after starting my own firm, poke my head up one day to hear that I am excellent.
I am grateful to Barry for nominating me, and to the other lawyers who contributed supporting letters. I know this is a lot of work. It is typically generous and thoughtful of all of you. I also appreciate all the emails, other messages of congratulations and even flowers I have received. Our section of the bar prides itself on its collegiality for good reason.
For over thirty years, I have been the beneficiary of the unqualified faith, understanding, support and excellent sense of humour of my husband, Gordon Howe. He has been my sounding board countless times, so much so that secretly – or perhaps not so secretly – he is “of counsel” to Goddard Gamage LLP.
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