When Jeremy Butt, Law’16, begins 24 months of clerkship in the fall, he’s not only embarking on a rare opportunity for law grads – he’s part of a family tradition. Jeremy will first clerk at the Ontario Court of Appeal (OCA), and then next September he will move to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), where he will work with Justice Michael Moldaver. He’s starting his career with the same two clerkships as his father, David Butt, Law’86 – but Jeremy intends to make his own mark on the courts.

Each of these clerkships will give Jeremy a unique experience. “With a double clerkship, I am looking forward to working in both settings – with different judges at the Court of Appeal, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the appellate bench, and with a single judge of the Supreme Court of Canada,” says Jeremy. “I’m very excited about helping, together with the judges and my co-clerks, provide practical solutions to intellectually fascinating and complex legal and social policy questions.”

David, a Toronto-based barrister who has been lead counsel more than two dozen times in the SCC and hundreds of times in the OCA,  reflects on how his own clerkships provided an unparalleled opportunity to learn about both the law and its practical application on the lives of real people. “The training I got was second to none because I was at the two best courts in the country,” he says. “The diversity of legal issues that we handled covered every area of law and they were the most complex issues in each area of the law because they managed to make it so high up the appellate court ladder. Those lessons have stood me in good stead for the last 30 years.”

Having such a huge role model for a dad has been very helpful to Jeremy. “Dad’s advice and support were an integral part of my success,” he says. “It is great to follow his footsteps by clerking for both courts. At the same time, I am excited to forge my own path as I begin my own legal career.”

“I tried very hard to encourage Jeremy to choose whatever path he wanted and to be neutrally supportive, but I am thrilled beyond measure that he has earned both clerkships,” says David. “I’m deeply grateful to Queen’s for having provided both of us these opportunities. Perhaps like every parent I am far more excited about Jeremy’s accomplishments than I ever was about my own.”