The Canadian Defence Lawyers is an association of Canadian civil defence lawyers. It provides specific education and a forum for information exchange within the membership.

History and function

Canadian Defence Lawyers (CDL) is the only national organization representing the interests of civil defence lawyers in Canada. Founded in 1995, the association now has over 1400 lawyer members from coast to coast. This non-profit organization's mission is to be a voice and a resource for civil defence lawyers providing a national perspective, quality defence-specific education and networking opportunities. CDL offers defence lawyers access to defence-oriented

Continuing Legal Education Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...

(CLE). It presents in-person programmes in Vancouver, Edmonton,

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Toronto,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Halifax and

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

. It offers an education program annually in conjunction with its annual general meeting. Other educational programs are offered by teleconference, DVD and

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

. The association hosts a website for members to register for CLE, manage their membership profile, view employment postings throughout the profession, purchase educational materials, and search for other CDL members. Regional communities on the website are one of the most useful tools of this association, allowing members instant contact with other members for discussion about legal updates, experts retainer, and other issues for defence civil litigators. CDL is governed by a

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

which includes members from across Canada. The executive committee is made up of president, first vice-president, second vice president, secretary/treasurer and past president. A board member's term is three years. CDL has a staff of five, including an executive director, an education director, a membership coordinator, a technology specialist and a financial advisor. Canadian Defence Lawyers is a member organization within Defense Research Institute (DRI – The Voice of the Defense Bar), a 22,000-strong group of insurance and corporate litigation lawyers based in Chicago, Illinois.

Association awards

The Lee Samis Canadian Defence Lawyers Award for distinguished service, named for the founding president of CDL, was created to recognize exceptional contributions and/or achievements by members of CDL to the legal profession in general, to jurisprudence in Canada on the law of insurance. An award dinner is held annually to honour the recipient of each year's award. Past winners of this award include: * 2021 – John Barry, ONB, QC * 2020 – Alison Murray QC * 2019 �
Eric Grossman
ref name=":0" /> * 2018 – Patricia Armstrong QC * 2017 �
Clarence Beckett QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2016 �
Paul Tushinski
ref name=":0" /> * 2015 �
Dennis Quinlan QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2014 �
Hon. Sandra L. Corbett QC
ref name=":0" /> * 2013 �

ref name=":0" /> * 2012 �

ref name=":0" /> * 2011 �
Jan Lindsay

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

* 2010 �
David Hashey

* 2009 �
Mary Helen Wright
ref name=":0" /> * 2008 – Rick Davison

* 2007 – Graham Dutton * 2006 �
Richard Lindsay

* 2005 – Hon. Harrison Arrell * 2004 – Thomas McGrenere * 2003 �
David Mille

* 2002 �
Philippa Samworth
ref name=":0" /> The Richard B. Lindsay, Q.C. Young Lawyer Award, named for a past president of CDL, was created in 2010 to recognize achievement and community service by a young lawyer member. 2019 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
Alison Hopkins
2018 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
John Lea
2017 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner
Jason Frost
2016 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Andrea Lim
2015 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Laura Emmett
2012 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Stuart Zacharias
2010 Exceptional Young Lawyer Award Winner:
Kadey J. Schultz

External links

Official website www.cdlawyers.org

Defense Research Institute (DRI)

References

{{Reflist Professional associations based in Canada Legal organizations based in Ontario Thornhill, Ontario