TORONTO, July 20 /CNW/ - The Law Society of Upper Canada presented honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws (LLD) to three distinguished members of the profession: Clayton C. Ruby, CM, LLD; Diana Margaret Majury, LLD; and The Hon. Patrick J. LeSage, Q.C., LLD respectively at three separate ceremonies to welcome 833 of the province's 1,000 new lawyers at Roy Thomson Hall on July 20 and 21. Every year, as part of its call ceremony, the Law Society awards an honorary doctorate to a distinguished person who exemplifies the values held in esteem by the legal profession. Recipients serve as inspirational keynote speakers for the graduating classes as they begin their careers. At each ceremony, Law Society Treasurer Gavin MacKenzie congratulated the graduates and offered some words of advice: "The practice of law is neither a trade nor a business. It is a profession based on foundations of service and it comes with implicit professional obligations -- one of which is to protect the legal rights of people who cannot afford legal services. As lawyers you will play a critical role in making legal services more accessible by choosing to take on legal aid work, providing pro bono services and being involved in your communities. You will find that some of your most rewarding hours as a lawyer will be those for which you never render an account." Treasurer MacKenzie also presented an honorary doctorate to the ceremony's keynote speaker: On July 20, 2006 at 9:00 a.m., Toronto lawyer Clayton C. Ruby, CM, received an LLD "for devoting his career to ensuring that those who are underprivileged and those who face discrimination are given equal access to the legal system of this country"; On July 20 at 2:30 p.m., Carleton University Department of Law associate professor Diana Margaret Majury received an LLD "for her dedication to achieving her vision of women's rights, equity and health"; and On July 21 at 9:00 a.m., The Hon. Patrick J. LeSage, Q.C., received an LLD "for his lifelong commitment to justice and public service through his distinguished career, which includes 28 years' service as a Superior Court judge." (Please see attached biographical information for all LLD recipients.) The Law Society also held two other ceremonies -- in Ottawa and London on July 12 and 17 respectively -- to call this year's 1,000 new lawyers to the Ontario Bar. As part of the Law Society's mandate to govern the legal profession in the Ontario public's interest, the Law Society is responsible for the licensing, admission and regulation of the almost 37,000 Ontario lawyers. << Clayton C. Ruby, CM, LLD >> Clayton C. Ruby is one of Canada's leading defence lawyers, an outspoken proponent of freedom of the press, and a prominent member of the environmental community. Mr. Ruby received his LL.B. from the University of Toronto and his LL.M. from the University of California (Berkeley). Since then he has been a partner with the law firm of Ruby & Edwardh in Toronto. Mr. Ruby, who specializes in criminal, constitutional, administrative and civil rights law, has devoted his professional career to ensuring that those who are underprivileged and those who face discrimination are given equal access to the legal system of this country. Many of his cases have been high-profile: He represented Donald Marshall Jr., who spent 11 years in jail after being wrongly convicted of murder, at the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall Jr. Prosecution, which brought wrongful miscarriages of justice under new and more careful scrutiny. He negotiated a settlement for the three surviving Dionne quintuplets, who were removed from their parents by the provincial government in 1934 and put on display in Quintland, a commercial theme park designed to boost Ontario's depression-ravaged economy. He also obtained an acquittal for Guy Paul Morin, who was wrongfully accused of murdering a child, at Mr. Morin's first trial. In addition to his extensive legal practice and advocacy, Mr. Ruby is editor of Canadian Rights Reporter and a former director and current member of PEN Canada, both of which champion freedom of expression. His published legal writing includes: textbook for lawyers entitled Sentencing, 6th edition, 2004; Canadian Rights Reporter, comprehensive case reports on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and LawLawLaw, 1973. In the environmental arena, he is chair of Earthroots and was made an honorary director of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund after serving on its board for many years. He was also a director of the Greenpeace Canada Charitable Foundation. In late 2005, Mr. Ruby served as the acting Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada, for which he has served as a bencher since 1977. In 2006, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. For devoting his career to ensuring that those who are underprivileged and those who face discrimination are given equal access to the legal system of this country, Mr. Ruby was awarded the Doctor of Law (honoris causa) degree by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2006. << Diana Margaret Majury, LLD >> Diana Margaret Majury is an Associate Law Professor at Carleton University, Department of Law and an outspoken advocate for women's rights, equity and health issues. She is a frequent speaker on controversial subjects, some of which are: abortion, lesbian feminist perspectives, reproductive technologies, rape-shield laws and sexist bias in Canadian legislation and elsewhere. She has also written extensively on these subjects. Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1978, Ms. Majury received her LL.B. from Queen's University and her LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 2005, after many years as an activist, speaker and writer in the area of women's rights, equity and health, including writing a policy advice framework report entitled "Promoting Women's Health: Making Inroads Into Canadian Health Policy" for Health Canada, Ms. Majury was appointed by the Minister of Health and Long Term Care to lead the Women's Health Institute Project. As "vision lead" for this project, Ms. Majury oversees broad consultation and research and provides input on the vision, strategic role and governance model for a Women's Health Institute (WHI) that is scheduled to be in place in April 2007. The WHI is mandated to promote women's health throughout Ontario and to grow to become a national leader on women's health issues. At Carleton University, Ms. Majury has contributed to a number of enhancements to the university's feminist courses. She designed the first course to be taught at Carleton in the field of law and literature. In conjunction with a colleague, she developed two new graduate courses: Feminism, Law and Social Transformation, and Law and Gender Relations. She also developed new course materials for Civil Liberties and Human Rights that focus on understanding the sources and experience of discrimination as the basis for understanding anti-discrimination law. A founding member of the women's magazine Healthsharing, Ms. Majury is the author of numerous scholarly articles, reports and publications, including "The Charter, Equality Rights and Women: Equivocation and Celebration," and "Refashioning the Unfashionable: Claiming Lesbian Identities in the Legal Context," for the Osgoode Hall Law Journal and the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law respectively. Ms. Majury is also active in both the National Association of Women and the Law and the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund. She received the Augusta Stowe-Gullen Medal, awarded by the National Capital Committee for the Advancement of Learning Opportunities for Women, in 2003. For her dedicated efforts to achieve her vision of equity, rights and health of women, Ms. Majury was awarded the Doctor of Law (honoris causa) degree by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2006. << The Hon. Patrick J. LeSage, Q.C., LLD >> The Hon. Patrick J. LeSage, Q.C., LLD, is a former Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario. In February 2004 Mr. LeSage retired from the bench and joined the Toronto office of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP as counsel in their advocacy department. Mr. LeSage received a B.Comm from the University of Ottawa, an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School, and LLDs (H.C.) from both the University of Windsor and Laurentian University. Appointed by the Government of Ontario to conduct an extensive review of Ontario's police complaints system, Mr. LeSage presented his final report to the Attorney General in 2005. It contained 27 recommendations aimed at creating a new and independent police review body that would be both equitable and effective for all. The Independent Police Review Act, 2006, if passed, will entrench a transparent public complaints system, centered around a new civilian organization and led by a police review director. In December 2005, the Attorney General of Manitoba appointed Mr. LeSage to conduct an inquiry into certain aspects of the trial and conviction of James Driskell, who spent 13 years in a Manitoba prison before his conviction was quashed. Hearings began July 2006. Before becoming Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario in 1996, Mr. LeSage was Associate Chief Justice of what is now the Superior Court of Justice, a County and District Court Judge and Associate Chief Judge of the District Court of Ontario, an Assistant Crown Attorney in Toronto, and the Director of Crown Attorneys for Ontario. During his more than 28 years on the Bench, Mr. LeSage was active in education programs with judicial and legal organizations, including gender and racial equality issues. He presided over many high-profile cases, including Regina v. Paul Bernardo and Conrad Black v. Prime Minister Chrétien et al. Mr. LeSage, who describes himself as a "public servant," says that the most rewarding part of his job has been serving the public in his various roles. He is a past vice-president of the John Howard Society and a past member of the Board of the United Way, as well as a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Advocates' Society, the Osgoode Society and the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice. He also serves on the Board of Governors for York University and is a Commissioner of the Ontario Securities Commission. In 2005, Mr. LeSage was elected a Senior Fellow of Massey College, University of Toronto. For his lifelong commitment to justice and public service through his distinguished career, including 28 years' service as a judge, Mr. LeSage was awarded the Doctor of Law (honoris causa) degree by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2006. For further information: visit us online at www.lsuc.on.ca, or contact Lisa Hall, (416) 947-7625, lhall@lsuc.on.ca