TORONTO, February 17, 2003 -- Osgoode Hall Law School of York University will honour three distinguished Osgoode alumni with its highest award – The Award of Excellence – at a gala dinner on Thursday, February 20, 2003 in downtown Toronto.
Austin M. Cooper Q.C. ’53, the Honourable Hilda M. McKinlay ’66, and Arthur R. A. Scace Q.C. ’65 will each be presented with the Robinette Medal in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the legal profession.
"The Award of Excellence is the highest honour that Osgoode Hall Law School can give to alumni," said Osgoode Dean Peter Hogg. "It is our way of recognizing exceptional alumni who have brought distinction to the profession of law and the Law School. Austin Cooper, Hilda McKinlay and Arthur Scace are highly respected professionals whose accomplishments in the field of law are truly extraordinary."
Austin Cooper Q.C., a defence counsel in the field of criminal law since 1953, has extensive experience as both a trial and appellate counsel. He has also written and lectured widely in the areas of advocacy, evidence and substantive criminal law. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he was the 1992 recipient of the prestigious Douglas K. Laidlaw Medal for Excellence in Advocacy. Cooper is a founding member and former director of the Advocates Society in Ontario, former Chair of the Civil Liberties subsection of the Canadian Bar Association, and served as a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1971 to 1987, at which time he was made an ex-officio Bencher for life. For 16 years, he was a director of Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of Mount Sinai Hospital.
The Honourable Hilda M. McKinlay is a member of ADR Chambers, a Toronto-based alternative dispute resolution group. After completing her articles of clerkship at the law firm of Fraser & Beatty in 1968, McKinlay was engaged as a teaching fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School. From 1969 through 1973, she was assistant professor and then associate professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. From 1973 to 1983, McKinlay was an associate and subsequently a partner with the law firm of Fasken & Calvin, practising originally in the estate planning and administration field and subsequently in the commercial law field with emphasis on banking, bankruptcy and receivership matters. She was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario (now the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario) in 1983. Four years later, she was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. McKinlay retired from the Court on April 1, 1999.
Arthur R.A. Scace Q.C. is a partner in the Tax Law Section of the Toronto office of McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Scace is the former national chairman of the firm, and former managing partner of the Toronto office. In the 33 years he has been with the firm, it has grown into the largest law firm in Canada. As well as his stewardship of the firm, Scace has provided tax advice and general advice in innumerable domestic and international commercial transactions. He is the co-author of The Income Tax Law of Canada, and has been head of the Income Tax Section of the Bar Admission Course, a lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto, and a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
The Robinette Medal is named after the late John J. Robinette Q.C. ’29 who received the first Award of Excellence in 1983.
Other Robinette medal recipients are:
1984 The Hon. Mr. Justice John D. Arnup ’35
1986 The Hon. Mr. Justice G. Arthur Martin ’38
1988 Brendan O’Brien Q.C. ’32
1993 The Hon. William G.C. Howland Q.C. ’39
1997 Col. The Hon. Lincoln M. Alexander Q.C. ’53
1997 Laura Legge Q.C. ’48
1997 The Hon. Mr. Justice Samuel G. Grange Q.C. ’48
The Award of Excellence Dinner will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 20 at The Arcadian Court, Hudson’s Bay Queen Street Store, 8th floor, Simpson Tower, 401 Bay Street.
-30-
For further information including photographs of the three Award of Excellence honourees, please contact:
Virginia Corner
Communications Manager
Osgoode Hall Law School of York University
416-736-5820
vcorner@osgoode.yorku.ca
YU/012/03
YU/012/03
