Mr. Wright was appointed Chair of a Pro Bono Committee at McInnes Cooper in January, 2011. In that role, he assumed the task of creating a pro bono program that would channel the firm’s commitment to improving access to justice for marginalized people and groups. Under his direction, the committee spent 12 months researching models, learning best practices and setting up internal procedures for an effective pro bono program that credits time spent on approved pro bono matters. Mr. Wright and his colleagues launched a formal pro bono program at McInnes Cooper in January 2012. In the four years since, more than 180 McInnes Cooper lawyers and staff have provided free legal services on 145 pro bono matters to worthy individuals and community groups.
Under Mr. Wright’s leadership, the firm has also formalized pro bono partnerships with seven organizations. These partnerships include the IWK Health Centre and the Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia to establish the IWK Family Legal Health Program – a medical legal partnership to address legal problems that affect a patient’s health or a family’s ability to care for a child, and partnerships with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and immigrant serving agencies in Atlantic Canada. These agreements would not have been possible without Mr. Wright’s leadership.
Hugh is listed in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business and Lexpert in the area of pensions and benefits law. He has also been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada for his practice in Employee Benefits law since 2006. He is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Canadian Pension Management and is a director of the Canadian Bar Insurance Association. He is a past chair of the national Pension and Benefits Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
Mr. Wright’s commitment to improving access to justice is exceptional and of a depth that all lawyers should strive to reflect.