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Login to watch this video if you have a subscription. Learn more about subscriptions.Join the TLA for this premiere dialogue on advocacy. Former Supreme Court Justice, The Honourable Thomas Cromwell and former Ontario Court of Appeal Associate Chief Justice, The Honourable Dennis O’Connor will share their opinions on:
Moderated by mediator Christine Fotopoulos, guests will have an opportunity to ask questions, connect, and mingle with colleagues during a celebratory soiree following the fireside chat.
This discussion offers a unique opportunity to hear from two of Canada’s paragons of legal excellence. A must-attend event for lawyers of every vintage!
The Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell is counsel in our Ottawa and Vancouver offices. As a member of the judiciary, Thomas sat on the Supreme Court of Canada ("SCC") from December 2008 to September 2016 and on the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal from 1997 to 2008. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Mr. Cromwell was executive legal officer to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer from 1992 to 1995. He began his career practising law in Kingston and Toronto, and has taught in the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University.
During his time at Dalhousie, he was active as a labour arbitrator and served as Vicechair of the Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board. He was the first recipient of the Louis St Laurent Award of Excellence from the Canadian Bar Association, is the recipient of four honorary doctorates in law and is an honorary fellow of Exeter College Oxford and the American College of Trial Lawyers. An award in his name, The Honourable Thomas Cromwell Award for Public Service, has been established by the Queen's law faculty. He retired from the Supreme Court of Canada on September 1, 2016. He serves as the Chair of the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters and is a Trudeau Foundation mentor.
Christine Fotopoulos joins Global Resolutions after a successful career as a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP litigating complex, multi-party insurance, real estate and corporate disputes. She has practiced law for over 27 years developing strong relationships within the legal and insurance communities.
Christine is uniquely qualified to mediate in a host of areas as she brings a wealth of legal knowledge and years of practical experience resolving difficult disputes in a fair, reasonable and creative manner.
She has appeared at all levels of trial and appellate Courts in Ontario and at the Supreme Court of Canada as well as having been involved in numerous mediations and arbitrations. This experience has reinforced her commitment to alternative dispute resolution.
Christine was selected by peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in Canada (Insurance) each year since 2010 and for Personal Injury in 2016. Christine was also recognized in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Litigation-Commercial Insurance and Professional Liability as well as for Personal Injury in 2015.
She has written and lectured extensively in various areas including professional negligence, financial regulation, professional indemnity and host liability. Christine received her B.A. from the University of Toronto and her LL.B from the University of Western Ontario and was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1989. Christine holds a Certificate from Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation: Mediating Disputes.
The Honourable Dennis O’Connor, OC, QC, is senior counsel in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He sat on the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 1998 to 2012. He served as the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario from 2001 until he retired at the end of 2012. He also served as a deputy judge of the Yukon Supreme Court. While on the bench he wrote numerous reported judgments dealing with a wide variety of issues including commercial, securities and insurance law. He also conducted two successful public inquiries: the Walkerton Inquiry (2000-02) and the Maher Arar Inquiry (2004-06).
For the 18 years before his appointment to the Court of Appeal, Dennis was a senior counsel with the law firm of Borden & Elliot (a predecessor firm of Borden Ladner Gervais). His practice focused on commercial and public law litigation. He appeared as lead counsel on many major cases in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada during that time.