Macedonian Human Rights Movement International
Law Society of Upper Canada Honours Macedonian Lawyer Chris Paliare

TORONTO, June 17 /CNW/ -
The Law Society of Upper Canada will present a Law Society Medal - its highest honour - to three lawyers from Toronto, one from Barrie, and one from Kingston, at a special ceremony to be held Wednesday, June 23, at Osgoode Hall.

Established in 1985, the Law Society Medal recognizes outstanding Ontario lawyers whose service is in accordance with the highest ideals of the profession. The medal is awarded by the Law Society, which governs Ontario's legal profession in the public interest.

The third annual Lincoln Alexander Award will also be presented at the special ceremony. The Lincoln Alexander Award recognizes a lawyer who has demonstrated longstanding interest and commitment to public matters and to the pursuit of community service on behalf of residents of Ontario.

"This year's recipients are all to be commended for their dedicated, longstanding service to both the profession and the public," said Frank Marrocco, Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada. "All of the recipients have shown utmost commitment to and exceptional abilities in serving their clients and communities. They are truly an inspiration for the Ontario legal profession as a whole."

Law Society Medals Ceremony:

When: Wednesday, June 23, 2004, from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Where: Law Society of Upper Canada, in the Great Library
130 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON

Law Society Medal Recipients:
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- D. Kevin Carroll, Q.C., Barrie
- E. Susan Elliott, Kingston
- Wolfe D. Goodman, Q.C., Toronto
- Chris G. Paliare, Toronto
- Michelle Swenarchuk, Toronto

Lincoln Alexander Award Recipient:
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- Keith C. Norton, Q.C., Toronto

Media should contact the Law Society to confirm the attendance of recipients and to make any special arrangements for coverage.

Biographies
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Law Society Medal Winners

D. Kevin Carroll, Q.C., Barrie
D. Kevin Carroll will receive the Law Society Medal in recognition of his tireless community work and his continuous guidance on key issues facing the legal profession - including gender equality within the profession and the introduction in Ontario of no-fault auto insurance. In 1979, he founded the Barrie, Ontario firm Carroll Heyd Chown, which practises exclusively in the area of insurance law. Carroll provides legal advice and pro bono services to numerous community organizations: he is a founding director of the Big Sisters Association of Barrie, is a member of the board of directors for Scouts Canada - Shining Waters Council, and a member of Senate of Grey & Simcoe Foresters Regiment.

E. Susan Elliott, Kingston
E. Susan Elliott will receive the Law Society Medal in recognition of her contributions to the legal profession in the areas of continuing legal education and technology. Elliott is a partner in Good Elliott Hawkins LLP in Kingston. The current president of BAR-eX Communications Inc., she is credited with influencing the transition to computerized law practices. She chaired the committee that re-examined the long-term delivery of courthouse law library services, leading to the creation of a new system throughout the province. Most recently, she actively educated lawyers on the electronic registration of land titles, which the province first introduced in 1999. Elliott was instrumental in revitalizing the Frontenac Law Association in the early 1980s.

Wolfe D. Goodman, Q.C., Toronto
Wolfe D. Goodman is to receive the Law Society Medal in recognition of his invaluable work in the area of tax and estate planning law and for his contributions to legal education. A founding partner of Goodman and Carr LLP in Toronto, Goodman was called to the Bar in 1949. He served as a consultant to the Auditor General of Canada from 1989 to 1992 and was a Chairman of the Federal Sales Tax Review Committee in 1983. His numerous contributions to legal education include lecturing on accounting in law at the University of Toronto's law faculty from 1961 to 1969, and again on estate planning from 1969 to 1984.

Chris G. Paliare, Toronto
Chris G. Paliare will receive the Law Society Medal in recognition of his internationally-praised advocacy, his work in the area of legal education - including mentoring young lawyers and training new judges in administrative law - and his tireless pro bono activities. He is a founding partner of Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP in Toronto. A Certified Specialist in Civil Litigation, Paliare has appeared in more than 270 cases involving appeals, commercial litigation, administrative law, employment law, labour law, and pension litigation. He has contributed thousands of hours of pro bono work - including international cases involving the human rights of Macedonians principally in Greece.

Michelle Swenarchuk, Toronto
Michelle Swenarchuk is to receive the Law Society Medal in recognition of her outstanding contributions in the field of public policy law. She is currently counsel and director of International Programmes at the Canadian Environmental Law Association, where she was an executive director from 1991 to 1998. She is a senior practitioner in the fields of environmental protection, trade, aboriginal rights, labour, and administrative law. Specifically, she is an international leader in identifying the effects of trade agreements on environmental and health policies. In 2002, she was counsel for the intervenors in the Harvard Mouse case, in which the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on whether medical r esearchers can patent higher life forms.

Lincoln Alexander Award Winner

Keith C. Norton, Q.C., Toronto
Keith Norton, Q.C., will receive the 2004 Lincoln Alexander Award, which recognizes lawyers who have made a commitment to public and community service and to the people of Ontario. Norton is Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and was first appointed to the post in 1996, following a term as President of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. His work as commissioner in protecting and promoting the human rights of Ontarians has been described as "outstanding" and "exemplary." He studied law at Queen's University and practised criminal and family law in Kingston. He also received a diploma in education from the Ontario College of Education, and has taught at the secondary and post-secondary school levels. Norton has served as a government minister in various portfolios, including the ministries of education, health, environment, and community and social services.

For further information: David Gambrill, Law Society of Upper Canada, (416) 947-3317; Kayla Rice, Law Society of Upper Canada, (416) 947-3300, ext. 2420;