For Immediate Release
August 17, 2004
WINNIPEG – Shane Brady of Georgetown, Ont., has been selected as the winner of the 2004 Young Lawyers Conference Pro Bono Service Award.
“The jury chose Shane Brady because it agreed Mr. Brady has truly delivered pro bono services,” said Donald MacKenzie of Charlottetown, chair of the YLC. “He is a prime example of dedication above and beyond the call of duty, and is representative of exactly the characteristics the award recipient is supposed to embody.”
Despite his relatively-recent call to the Bar in March 2001, Mr. Brady helped shape Canadian case law dealing with the rights of mature minors in two landmark cases. He represented, in separate cases, two 16-year-olds who were seeking to make their own medical treatment decisions independently of their parents. In one of the cases, Mr. Brady traveled to Calgary from Toronto on short notice and worked through the night in order to file motions in court the following morning. He then represented his client pro bono in 21 court appearances over the next five months, from the Alberta Provincial Court of appeal to the Court of Queen’s Bench to the Supreme Court of Canada, facing as many as nine counsel during the litigation. The case drew national media attention and public discussion of the young woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.
Mr. Brady has successfully represented young mothers pro bono in custody disputes in both Alberta and B.C., going up against more experienced counsel. Mr. Brady also provides pro bono legal advice to a national religious charity. As well, the decision in one of his cases lead to the Supreme Court clarifying s.27(2), dealing with the role of retired judges, of the Supreme Court Act for the first time.
Mr. Brady received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 2000, after making the transition from a career as a baker. He was called to the Ontario Bar in March 2001.
The Young Lawyers Pro Bono Award recognizes outstanding pro bono publico (“for the public good”) legal services to the community by a Canadian lawyer who is less than 40 years old or with fewer than 10 years of practice. It takes the form of a $1,500 cash prize.
The award will be presented to Shane Brady at the Young Lawyers Luncheon on Tuesday, Aug. 17 in the Winnipeg Convention Centre, Room 2 E-F, during the Canadian Legal Conference in Winnipeg, Aug. 14-17. The event is open to accredited media who have registered with the CBA Media Centre.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 38,000 lawyers, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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CONTACT: Hannah Bernstein, Canadian Bar Association, Aug. 13-17, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Meeting Room 16, (204) 957-4375.
