Grads based in ‘Canada’s Cultural Capital’ have more to celebrate this spring than their city’s 375th anniversary. On April 24, they flocked to the historic district for good company and to cheer on own of their own at a cocktail reception in la Palais de justice’s exclusive Juriclub. 

At the second event within six months in Montréal, where there is a growing number of grads, Justice Thomas Cromwell, Law’76, LLD’10, presented the alumni award named in his honour to Justice Mark Peacock, Law’74, of the Quebec Superior Court. 

“The fact that we were honouring Justice Peacock, a great ambassador for our university and a man I admire tremendously, just made the event that much more special for me,” says Karim Renno, Law’00, co-founder of Renno Vathilakis Inc. 

“It was wonderful to be reunited with so many Queen’s graduates in Montréal and see first-hand how vibrant the Queen’s Law community is in our city,” he adds.

Expanding this community are graduates of the school’s very successful Civil Law/Common Law Joint Degree Program, which Dean Bill Flanagan spoke about in his address to the enthusiastic crowd. In the program, students with civil law degrees from the University of Sherbrooke and other Quebec law schools can earn a common law degree after one year of studies at Queen’s.

Sam Altman, Law’82, President of Joddes Limited (a Montréal-based Family Office), says that in addition to hearing Justice Peacock speak, it was a pleasure to meet these young alumni. “Queen’s is contributing in a meaningful way to building bridges across Canada.” 

Besides Renno, another joint program grad in attendance was Estelle Savoie-Dufresne, Law’07. “As an in-house lawyer and mediator for a financial institution, I felt privileged to visit the courthouse and the select Juriclub,” she says, referring to social center and dining room for judges. “The celebrated nominee, the venue and the level of professionalism among the participants exemplified the integrity of Queen’s Law.” 

Guests were also interested to hear Dean Flanagan talk about the latest school news: the popular new Certificate in Law for undergraduate students, the recently established Stephen Sigurdson Professorship in Corporate Law and Finance, and the upcoming awarding of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree to renowned defence lawyer Don Bayne, Law’66, at Spring Convocation.  

“Contributing to the evolution of the path of justice with intellectual curiosity, avant-garde, collaborative spirit, and creativity; these were values taught to me at Queen’s,” says Savoie-Dufresne, “and they are always a pleasure to revisit while reconnecting with fellow alumni.”

Watch for an upcoming story on award winner Justice Mark Peacock, Law’74. 

By Lisa Graham