Women Lawyers Forum - Celebrating Success

On Thursday, June 16, 2011, Manitoba’s WLF held a wine and cheese reception to honour the contributions of Justices Lea Duval and Sylvia Guertin-Riley of the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench and Judge Linda Giesbrecht of the Provincial Court of Manitoba who are retiring, and to celebrate the recent appointment Justice Diana Cameron. The event was sponsored by the Canadian Bar Insurance Association/Canadian Bar Association Financial, and attended by over 70 lawyers, judges, professors and articling and law students, as well as family and friends of the honourees. Madam Justice Freda Steel of the Manitoba Court of Appeal gave the toast to each of our four honourees highlighting their significant accomplishments. The event was sponsored by the Canadian Bar Insurance Association/Canadian Bar Association Financial.

After a welcome by Judge Carena Roller, Judicial Co-Chair of the Manitoba WLF, and a short presentation by Sandra Phillips and Sarah Lugtig providing insight into the new Legal Help Centre, Madam Justice Freda Steel gave a toast to each of our four honourees and presented them with Certificates congratulating them on their achievements.
The MBA Women Lawyer's Forum has made a donation to the new Legal Help Centre in their honour.

Here are some facts about the four honourees.

JUDGE LINDA GIESBRECHT
Linda Giesbrecht was raised on a farm in southern Manitoba near the Town of Plum Coulee and served as a very well-respected Crown Attorney in Dauphin, Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie from 1977 to 1988, at which time she was appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court. When appointed, nationally only about five percent of all judges were women.

JUSTICE LEA DUVAL
Lea Duval was appointed to the Manitoba Provincial Court in 1988 and elevated to the Court of Queen's Bench in 1992. At the time, of the twenty four judges of the General Division, there was only one other woman. At the time of her appointment she was one of the few superior court judges in Manitoba able to conduct a trial in French. She retires in September after 23 years of judicial service.

JUSTICE SYLVIA GUERTIN RILEY
Sylvia Guertin-Riley came to the study of law later than many and as a single mother of two young children. While a lawyer, she participated extensively in the life of the profession and served as President of the Manitoba Bar Association in 1991/1992. She was appointed to the Manitoba Queen's Bench (Family Division) in July of 1995 and will retire in September after having served 16 years on the bench.

JUSTICE DIANA CAMERON
Diana Cameron is the most recent female appointment to the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, bringing the percentage of women on that court to approximately one-third.

Madam Justice Freda Steel concluded her remarks with the following:

These four women span a period of time when the percentage of women on the bench rose from 5% to over 30%. Many people have asked why we should be concerned with appointing more women judges and whether it would make a difference to the law. Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dube answered that question this way:

"As I contemplate what we have learned about gender and other kinds of bias in the law, I become ever more convinced that our concern must not stop at forming a representative bench. Rather, we must extend our efforts to transform the approach to judging taken by all of its members. My preferred focus is thus not on the difference that women and other previously excluded groups will make in judging, but on how we can enable all judges, indeed all individuals in positions of authority and power, to make a difference, and to ensure that the law responds not only to the needs of those whose interests it has traditionally served, but to those of all members of society."

The speeches concluded with acknowledgments to those who helped with the organizing of the event, in particular Madam Justice Freda Steel, Nicole Merrick and Pat Lane, and with the introduction of the incoming executive of Manitoba’s Women Lawyers Forum for the coming year: Co-Chair Jennifer Goldenberg and the new judicial co-chair, Madam Justice Brenda Keyser; Vice-chair Nicole Merrick; Secretary Shannon Breckman; Past-co-chairs Judge Carena Roller and Baerbell Langner; Members at Large: Karen Dyck, Pat Lane, Kristin Gibson, Riva Richard, Kathryn Hordienko, Emily Kaplan and Colleen McDuff.

Manitoba’s WLF will be hosting its fourth annual Wine, Women & Song evening on October 18, 2011.

* Baerbel Langner is with Zaifman Immigration Lawyers and is the Chair of the Woman Lawyers' Forum.