The Canadian Defence Lawyers is an association of Canadian

civil defence Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency management: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, ...

lawyers. It provides specific education and a forum for information exchange within the membership.

History and function

Canadian Defence Lawyers (CDL) is the only national organization representing the interests of civil defence lawyers in Canada. Founded in 1995, the association now has over 1400 lawyer members from coast to coast. This

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

's mission is to be a voice and a resource for civil defence lawyers providing a national perspective, quality defence-specific education and networking opportunities. CDL offers defence lawyers access to defence-oriented

Continuing Legal Education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys ...

(CLE). It presents in-person programmes in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Halifax and

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

. It offers an education program annually in conjunction with its annual general meeting. Other educational programs are offered by

teleconference A teleconference or telecon is a live exchange of information among several people remote from one another but linked by a communications system. Terms such as audio conferencing, telephone conferencing, and phone conferencing are also someti ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, webca ...

. The association hosts a website for members to register for CLE, manage their membership profile, view employment postings throughout the profession, purchase educational materials, and search for other CDL members. Regional communities on the website are one of the most useful tools of this association, allowing members instant contact with other members for discussion about legal updates, experts retainer, and other issues for defence civil litigators. CDL is governed by a

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

which includes members from across Canada. The executive committee is made up of president, first vice-president, second vice president, secretary/treasurer and past president. A board member's term is three years. CDL has a staff of five, including an executive director, an education director, a membership coordinator, a technology specialist and a financial advisor. Canadian Defence Lawyers is a member organization within Defense Research Institute (DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar), a 22,000-strong group of insurance and corporate litigation lawyers based in Chicago, Illinois.

Association awards

The Lee Samis Canadian Defence Lawyers Award for distinguished service, named for the founding president of CDL, was created to recognize exceptional contributions and/or achievements by members of CDL to the legal profession in general, to jurisprudence in Canada on the law of insurance. An award dinner is held annually to honour the recipient of each year's award. Past winners of this award include: * 2021 – John Barry, ONB, QC * 2020 – Alison Murray QC * 2019 �
Eric Grossman
ref name=":0" /> * 2018 – Patricia Armstrong QC * 2017 �
Clarence Beckett QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2016 �
Paul Tushinski
ref name=":0" /> * 2015 �
Dennis Quinlan QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2014 �
Hon. Sandra L. Corbett QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2013 �

ref name=":0" /> * 2012 �

ref name=":0" /> * 2011 �
Jan Lindsay
Q.C. * 2010 �
David Hashey
Q.C. * 2009 �
Mary Helen Wright
ref name=":0" /> * 2008 – Rick Davison Q.C. * 2007 – Graham Dutton * 2006 – Richard Lindsay Q.C. * 2005 – Hon. Harrison Arrell * 2004 – Thomas McGrenere * 2003 �
David Mille
Q.C. * 2002 �
Philippa Samworth
ref name=":0" /> The Richard B. Lindsay, Q.C. Young Lawyer Award, named for a past president of CDL, was created in 2010 to recognize achievement and community service by a young lawyer member. 2019 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
Alison Hopkins
2018 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
John Lea
2017 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
Jason Frost
2016 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Andrea Lim
2015 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Laura Emmett
2012 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Stuart Zacharias
2010 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner: Kadey J. Schultz

External links

Official website www.cdlawyers.org

Defense Research Institute (DRI)

References

{{Reflist Professional associations based in Canada Legal organizations based in Ontario Thornhill, Ontario