What began as strategy board games played with fellow law students and professors has grown into an esteemed career in public and private international law for one Queen’s alumnus. Scott Fairley, Law’77 (Artsci’74), has now been honoured for his leadership and expertise in the field. On June 16, the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) presented him with the 2015 Award of Excellence in International Law.

Fairley, a partner at WeirFoulds LLP, is a litigator and strategic advisor specializing in public and private international law, international trade and commercial arbitration. He has appeared before the Ontario and Federal appeal courts, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), and has advised U.S. counsel and expert witnesses in U.S. federal courts. Among his notable mandates, he brought the first case interpreting the State Immunity Act, 1982 in a reference on appeal to the SCC, represented the U.S. Government in enforcing environmental damages claims in Canada, and successfully argued a clarified standard for Crown immunity in the context of transnational evidence gathering.  Martindale-Hubbell gives him their highest “AV” rating as a lawyer with “very high to preeminent legal ability.”

For Fairley, working in international law is rewarding because of the novelty of the issues. “Questions of first impression are much more exciting to argue than legal ground that had been trod before; international practice in Canada typically yields more of the former than the latter.”

In addition to his LLB and BA in history from Queens, Fairley holds an LLM from New York University School of Law and an SJD from Harvard University. His interest in international law was “acquired earlier at Queen’s from studies in comparative federalism and international relations” under the tutelage of former Queen’s Principal Ron Watts.

While at Queen’s Law, he credits Professors George Alexandrowicz and John Claydon who provided him with “the basic grounding in public international law, together with [the first Dean of Queen’s Faculty of Law] Bill Lederman on the private international law side of things.”

However, not all of his lessons in international law were learned in the classroom. With Alexandrowicz, Claydon and friends in law school, Fairley says he learned “valuable lessons in global strategy and world domination through a then-fashionable board game called RISK.” Fairley maintains close ties to Queen’s, and recently completed a term on the University Council.

Michael Statham, managing partner at WeirFoulds LLP says that Fairley is an ideal candidate for the award. “Scott’s fine reputation as an advocate and his many contributions to the practice and scholarship of international law make him a most deserving recipient of the OBA’s Award of Excellence in International Law.”