NEWSLETTER – January 2017
Larry Markowitz, President
Allen Mendelsohn and Doree Levine, Editor(s)
President’s Message
Larry Markowitz
Welcome to the 2017 edition of Lord Reading!
We’ve got some great programs planned for this year, while others are in the works.
Indeed the planning of our events – and the effective execution on those plans – depends entirely on our team of dedicated volunteers. Although lawyers are busy people who spend most of their work days focused on generating billable hours, many of you still find the occasion to put your legal skills at the service of your profession and society at large. The selflessness of those of you who give of your time without expectation of remuneration sets an example for the next generation of lawyers coming up the ranks.
“Volunteerism builds communities, but it also builds community members”
Lawyers possess analytical skills and a level of intellectual rigour that are sorely lacking in today’s world. It is our duty as legal professionals to give back and to bring sense of justice and organization to our communities.
To cite several examples:
- Many Lord Reading members are – or have been – active in the Barreau de Montréal. Some have even served as Bâtonniers in the past.
- Other Lord Reading members play an integral role on the boards of hospitals and other community organizations.
- Still others focus their volunteer hours on advancing the interests of the Lord Reading Law Society.
Probably the quintessential example of this last category of volunteerism was our longtime Treasurer Larry Glazer, who passed away last week. Larry’s selfless dedication to the Society over most of his half-century of practicing law will never be forgotten, nor will his personification of the spirit of congeniality that characterizes Lord Reading. At every dinner meeting, it was Larry who greeted each and every one of you upon your check-in at the door of the Shaar – and before that, the Montefiore Club – with a smile and a friendly quip. He made us all feel welcome. He will be sorely missed.
The concept of lawyers giving back to society at large is also exemplified by our next guest speaker, philanthropist, lawyer and businessman Mitch Garber. Mitch certainly gives back to his community: Of recent note, he served as co-chair of the 2016 Centraide campaign.
Mitch has had a fascinating and unique career path: He progressed from the law firm world of billable hours to the world of entrepreneurship by way of sports radio, Las Vegas, Israel and a starring role in TV’s Dans l’oeil du dragon. He now serves as Chairman of the Cirque du soleil and CEO of Caesars Acquisition Company.
As a fellow lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, I look forward to hearing Mitch’s inspiring words and to being entertained by the anecdotes he will share with us on January 25th.
This will be our annual student dinner. Besides presenting our student scholarships to the deserving winners from several law faculties, we are offering special dinner ticket pricing incentives to afford our next generation of members an opportunity to sample the famous Lord Reading spirit of camaraderie.
Students and stagiaires MUST email youngbar@lordreading.org by this Friday, January 20th to benefit from these reduced dinner ticket prices.
For the rest of you: Please register at the link on the left of this page. For early bird rates, you must register by this Friday, January 20th.
We thank BLG, Peerless Clothing and Lazarus Charbonneau for their generous sponsorship of the evening. Because of their support, we will be able to host the maximum number of members of “la Relève” at our student dinner.
We look forward to seeing you all – both young and old, and everyone in-between, on the 25th!
Remembering Larry Glazer, 1936-2017
Allen Mendelsohn
Larry Glazer, Society Treasurer and Board member for more than 40 years, passed away last week in his 81st year. On behalf of the Society, we express our deepest condolences to his wife Doreen and his entire family. Words are insufficient to express the loss that the Society, the legal profession, and everyone who knew him are feeling at this time.
I personally feel woefully inadequate to write this piece, which I will not call a eulogy. I will call it a remembrance. And I think the only way to do this is to remember what Larry meant to me personally, because undoubtedly he touched you the same way.
I would have first met Larry when I walked into my first Lord Reading dinner meeting as a Barreau student in 2001. Larry was always at the welcoming table, checking people in. Larry was born to be at the welcoming table – the smile, the pleasant demeanour, the warm guffaw, the bon mot – he made everyone feel welcome – even a young Barreau student completely intimidated by what he was walking into for the first time. No doubt he made you feel the same when you walked in for the first time.
I am now in my 15th year on the Society’s Board. I distinctly recall my first Board meeting, and once again feeling completely intimidated by this imposing group of esteemed jurists around the table. But once again, it was Larry who made me feel welcome. It was Larry who made sure I understood that my opinions mattered, even though I was 20-40 years younger than just about everyone at that table.
I know my experience is shared by a lot of people. As Communications Director for the last 10 years, I have been a part of what can only be described as the “inner circle” of Lord Reading, a group of individuals who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth functioning of the Society on a day-to-day basis. The group has always included Larry. That group has also included more and more of my contemporaries (and younger) as the years have gone by. Every single one of these younger people has said to me at some point “I love Larry” or “Larry is the best” or some variation of that sentiment. Through his warmth and spirit, Larry helped Lord Reading span the generations.
I haven’t even discussed how hard he worked as Treasurer. I’ve seen it personally over the last 10 years. Being Treasurer of the Society can be a real challenge. But Larry did it for decades with nary a complaint, and only with good humour. The presentation of his Treasurer’s report was a highlight of every Board meeting, even during financially lean times. (“There’s money in the bank” was the catchphrase he used to begin each report). I don’t ever recall him being mad or angry or upset at a meeting (or anywhere else for that matter); I don’t even recall him being “perturbed” or “irked”. That’s a true testament to how he handled everything.
I’ll let you in on a secret. As Communications Director, I have overseen the development of various electronic communications over the years, all of which have required passwords that I had to create. All the Society’s passwords include variations on one name, and it’s not mine. I chose to include the name that to me was the Society, and will always be the Society. When I tell new Executive members the passwords, they smile. They know to whom the tribute is being paid.
Just about anyone with a computer these days can be treasurer. No one will ever be Larry.
The Society is looking to honour Larry’s memory in a concrete fashion. If you have any thoughts in that regard, please email info@lordreading.org. Currently, contributions in his memory may be made to the “Lawrence Glazer Memorial Fund”, c/o the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, (514) 340-8251, or online here.
Asa Kling Explains the IP Framework in Israel, the Start-up Nation
Allen Mendelsohn
On November 3rd, the Society was pleased to welcome Asa Kling, Director of the Israel Patent Office and Commissioner of Patents, Trademarks & Designs. This dinner was the culmination of a two-day international seminar entitled “The Social Costs of Innovation: Law, Society, and the Greater Good” (see the next story in this newsletter) and co-presented by the Lord Reading Law Society, the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy (CIPP) of McGill University’s Faculty of Law, the Consulate General of Israel in Montreal, the Centre de recherche en droit public de l’Université de Montréal and the Harvard Club of Quebec.
The evening began with Ziv Nevo-Kulman, Consul General of Israel in Montreal, who joked he saw “a lot of proud Jewish mothers” in the audience. Asa Kling was then introduced by Professor Pierre-Emmanuel Moyse, Director of the CIPP.
Mr. Kling began his talk with a quick introduction about Israel and Intellectual Property, and then presented a short film from the Israel Patent Office entitled “Supporting Innovation – Generating Progress”. The Society was honoured that we were the second group ever to have seen the video, after only the World Intellectual Property Office!
Mr. Kling was a dynamic and entertaining speaker throughout. He quoted Shimon Peres, who said, “Israel welcomes the wind of change.” Mr. Kling said IP is a bridge, and described innovation as “sexy”. He stated that the real problem with innovation is that it needs to be managed better.
He then let us in on a secret – that the Israeli Patent Office, which he leads, is not really responsible for Israel being the Startup Nation! He said that sometimes lawyers can get in the way; he personally had “run away” from the Justice Department as there were too many lawyers there. IP law is only one way to manage innovation; the key is to come at it from several different directions
He closed by quoting another Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, who said, “If an expert says it can’t be done, get another expert.” Wise words!
A full set of wonderful photos from the evening can found on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!
Exploring The Social Costs of Innovation
Allen Mendelsohn
As mentioned above, on November 2nd the Society was pleased to co-present “The Social Costs of Innovation: Law, Society, and the Greater Good”, a full-day conference exploring the relationship between innovation and social progress. A full house heard a distinguished panel from Canada, France and Israel consider how jurists can impact innovation while increasing social justice.
A full write-up can be found in the McGill Faculty of Law’s Focus Online.
Surviving the mean Tweets of Montreal: Lord Reading’s CLE breakfast
Allen Mendelsohn
Thanks to a wonderful venue, a very topical subject, and a dynamic, entertaining and informative speaker, the Society’s first-ever members-only CLE breakfast was a smashing success.
On December 7th, Me Allen Mendelsohn, the Society’s Communications Director and a well-known expert in internet law, presented “Surviving the Mean Tweets of Montreal: Defamation in the Internet Age”. Allen presented a detailed overview on the law of defamation and its application in the wired world. As he joked, “there will be more substantive law in this presentation than in the last ten Lord Reading dinner-meetings combined.”
And he wasn’t kidding. Allen presented case after case in a practical approach, working through a number of important preliminary matters like jurisdiction and identifying anonymous online individuals, all the way through getting a judgment enforced. He kept his humour intact throughout, and despite the early hour kept the crowd enraptured with his in-depth knowledge of internet legal matters.
The breakfast looks to be the first in a series of free events restricted to Lord Reading members.We would like to thank Jarred Paperman and WeWork L’Avenue for providing the perfect space across from the Bell Centre. With the bleu blanc rouge over his shoulder, Allen was certainly inspired.
Allen has made his presentation slides available online, and you can see more photos on our Facebook page.
AEJD Annual Shabbat Dinner
The Association des étudiants juifs en droit de l’Université de Montréal (AEJD) invites you to its annual Shabbat Dinner, Friday, January 27, 2017 at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. Professor Payam Akhavan, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and Associate Professor at McGill University, will deliver this year’s Keynote Address. The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Founder and Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, – and Lord Reading Human Rights Award honoree – will be delivering the introductory remarks.
The Lord Reading Law Society is proud to support this event, and we encourage our members and friends, both young and young at heart, to attend.
More information can be found on the AEJD event page on Facebook. Tickets can be purchased online. For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact AEJD Co-Presidents Sarah Ettedgui and Stephanie Perlis at aejd.udem@gmail.com.
Chabad CLE Trips and Events
Chabad of the Town is excited to announce their third biennual CLE trip for lawyers to Israel. The 10 day voyage is scheduled for October of 2017. Details and the full list of speakers can be found on their website.
Chabad of Westmount is presenting a six-week Lunch ‘n Learn series on Ethics & the Law starting February 1st. Details and registration are available at their website.
Society Humour
News from the Mishpuchah
Mazel Tov
- To Society Past President Suzanne Costom on being named a judge of the Cour du Québec
- To Society member and past winner of the Lord Reading Law Society Human Rights Award The Honourable Justice Morris J. Fish, Q.C. on his appointment to the Order of Canada
- To Board Member Morton S. Minc on being named President of the Conseil de la justice administrative by Quebec premier Philippe Couillard
- To Society Honourary Lifetime Member Justice Rosalie Abella on being named Global Jurist of the Year
- To Board Member David Franklin on the publication of his latest book, “Statute of limitations in international commercial claims”
- To Society Past President Ian M. Solloway on the engagement of his son Bryan
- To Society member Doris Larrivée on her 25 years of service to the Bar of Montreal
- To Society member Marc Gold on being named a Senator
Condolences
- To Leonard and Andrew Kliger on the loss of their mother and grandmother Edith
- To The Hon. Eva Petras on the loss of her husband Larry Eldridge
- To Roanne Bratz on the loss of her father Bernard (Buddy)
- To Evara David on the loss of her father Seymour
