NEWSLETTER: May 2026

Editors – Allen Mendelsohn, Larry Markowitz and Stephanie Perlis

President’s Message

Alyssa Yufe, President

(cliquez ici pour lire le mot de la présidente en français)

Dear Colleagues, Honourable Judges, Members and Friends of the Society,

It has been quite the year! To close out our season, next week, on June 3, 2026, the Lord Reading Law Society is thrilled to host a historic Cross-Cultural Gala, organized in collaboration with the Armenian Bar Association (Quebec Chapter), the Association of Italian-Canadian Jurists of Quebec, the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (Quebec Chapter), and the Hellenic Jurists Association of Quebec.

On behalf of the Society, we are extremely excited to welcome our colleagues from across Montreal’s legal communities to celebrate excellence in the legal profession, while fostering new relationships, and strengthening community leadership. We have an incredible lineup of judges coming to speak. To find out more and to register, you can click here.

I would like to personally thank all our sponsors who have made this incredible evening possible; they are prominently featured on our registration page linked-to above. The Society’s special thanks go out to our Platinum Lead Sponsors Spiegel Ryan and Goldwater Droit.

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As my term as President of the Lord Reading Law Society comes to an end, I have been reflecting on what has been a deeply meaningful, challenging, and ultimately inspiring year for our Society.

Over the last few years, the Society, like so many Jewish institutions across Canada was navigating an extraordinarily difficult period marked by rising antisemitism and antizionism. The most recent RCMP reporting and other data shows that Jews are the targets of over 70% of hate motivated crimes based on religion in Canada, despite constituting less than 1% of the population. As such, it has become more important than ever for the Lord Reading Law Society to remain not only resilient, but also principled, relevant, and strong.

At the outset of my presidency, I established four principal goals for the year:

1. To deliver exceptional and substantive programming worthy of the Society’s longstanding reputation for legal excellence;
2. To engage in honest institutional reflection by examining where we could strengthen ourselves internally before expanding outward;
3. To support students on campus and ensure they feel connected, supportive and proud of who they are; and
4. To place the Society on the strongest and most sustainable financial footing possible for future generations

I am proud to say that, together, we made meaningful progress on all four fronts.

This year’s programming reflected the very best traditions of Lord Reading: intellectual rigor, thoughtful dialogue, human rights engagement, and meaningful community connection.

We opened our season in October with the Alan B. Gold Advocacy Lecture featuring retired Supreme Court Justice Marshall Rothstein, whose reflections on judicial life, humility, and public service in his talk In Camera, Out Loud: Recollections from a Retired Supreme Court Judge, set the tone for the year.

Our Human Rights Lecture featuring Mark Sandler reminded us of the Society’s enduring responsibility to confront hatred and defend democratic values through principled advocacy and education.

As the calendar turned to 2026, at our Annual Student Dinner, Montréal Bâtonnière and youth protection specialist Valérie Assouline inspired students and practitioners alike with a deeply human and compassionate reflection on youth protection law and the responsibilities of legal practice.

Also in January, the Society carried on the tradition of our young bar members and students gathering together at a local pub to watch the Montreal Canadiens at our annual Hockey Night. While the Habs lost that game against Buffalo, a wonderful time was had by all (and the Habs would get revenge in the Playoffs!).

In February, we were honoured to host an extraordinary panel entitled Inside the Federal Courts: Perspectives from Trial, Appeal and Practice. The panel, featuring The Honourable Justice Peter Pamel of the Federal Court of Appeal, The Honourable Justice Alan Diner of the Federal Court, and Me Daniel Grodinsky, offered rare insight into the work of the Federal Courts and the administration of justice.

In addition to our formal dinner lectures, we expanded our programming in new and meaningful ways. In collaboration with StandWithUs Canada, we hosted international lawyer Natasha Hausdorff for a lunch-and-learn and evening lecture on international law and contemporary global issues. We also collaborated on a memorable Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner, featuring peace activist Rowan Osman, whose message of dialogue and coexistence fostered thoughtful and respectful discussion at a time when such conversations are often difficult. We also held a fundraiser, celebrating hip hop and advocacy.

This spring, in collaboration with the English-Speaking Lawyers of Quebec, we were excited to host a mediation-focused members-only CLE program featuring retired Court of Québec judge Suzanne Handman, at the offices of Borden Ladner Gervais, further reinforcing the Society’s commitment to continuing legal education and practical professional development.

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Of course, our grandest and most exciting collaboration is taking place next week at our inaugural Cross-Cultural Gala. I anticipate that the evening will become a defining tradition for the Society.

Behind the scenes, we also undertook difficult but necessary work internally. We asked ourselves the hard questions and emerged stronger and more focused.

Thanks in large part to the extraordinary efforts of Neil Hazan, the generosity of our Board and the support of donors and friends from both the legal and broader community, the Society’s financial position was significantly strengthened. Their commitment will ensure only the success of this season, but the continued vitality of the Society for years to come.

No president accomplishes anything alone. I am profoundly grateful to our Executive, Board members, Past Presidents, volunteers, sponsors, donors, and members whose dedication, wisdom, and support made this year possible. The Lord Reading Law Society remains entirely volunteer-driven, and its continued success is a testament to the remarkable people who care deeply about its mission and future.

It has been one of the greatest honours of my professional life to serve as President of this venerable institution, founded in 1948 during a period when Jewish lawyers in Quebec faced exclusion and discrimination, and which continues today as an important voice for legal excellence, human rights, education, and community.

May the Society continue to go from strength to strength.

Sincerely,

Alyssa Yufe, President 2025-26
The Lord Reading Law Society
president@lordreading.org

Casper Bloom, Society President, 1936-2026

Allen Mendelsohn

The Society deeply mourns the loss of Me. Casper Bloom, Q.C. Ad.E., who passed away on March 16. Casper served with distinction as President of the Society for the 1997-1998 season. Casper was a renowned Montreal lawyer whose career spanned decades in labour, public, and administrative law. He became a respected leader in the legal profession, serving as Bâtonnier of the Barreau de Montréal and holding numerous leadership roles within the Canadian and Quebec Bar associations.

Casper was only one of three individuals to ever receive the English-Speaking Section of the Bar of Montreal’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which you can read all about in our April 2016 newsletter. Even with his distinguished career, and his stature as a giant in the protection of linguistic and minority rights, Casper always had time to talk to and support young lawyers such as the Editor of this newsletter, who remembers him and the advice he gave fondly.

The Society expresses its deepest condolences to the Bloom family, and all of Casper’s friends and colleagues.

Society Humour

News from the Mishpocha

Condolences

• To the family of Society past member Judah Wolofsky