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Adam’s Journey: a struggle for survival in a hostile land!

Dec 5, 2023 | variable BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by Adam William Germain

A poor boy raised in a single parent home, on the wrong side of the tracks, would seem to have the dice loaded against him. But Adam’s Journey shows how determination, intelligence, and a gift for the gab, combined with a rare understanding of ordinary people and compassion for them, can take you a long, long way in today’s Canada.

"Adam’s Journey is almost as interesting and entertaining as its author. A fun and informative intertwining of personal circumstances with important Alberta history." - Justice Eric Macklin

People Principles Progress: The Alberta Court of Appeal’s First Century 1914-2014

May 25, 2015 | simple outofstock BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by David Mittelstadt

Spread over 10 Chapters, representing 10 eras of leadership, a reader will perhaps be surprised to see the remarkable consistency of the Court in asserting and protecting what Sir William Blackstone called the “outworks” of freedom, democracy and equal justice under the rule of law. The Court attempted to erect what James Madison called the “parchment barriers” to protect those things. At the same time, the Court was a Court of the people. It dealt with property disputes, tort claims, wills and estates, land law, employment law, criminal justice, and laws of family. In retrospect, some might say that the Court did not always get the balance right.

But this is a real Alberta story – a compilation of many narratives – about real people, who were imbued with and devoted to principles, and who, anonymously and unknown to most of their contemporaries and their descendants, contributed to progress in Alberta society.

Lords of the Western Bench

May 25, 2015 | simple outofstock BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

Awaiting new edition release: “Lords and Ladies of the Western Bench”

by Louis Knafla and Richard Klumpenhouwer

By The Honourable Mr. Justice J.W. McClung
Court of Appeal of Alberta, Edmonton, February 1997

Alberta’s substantial contribution to the development of Canadian law has been unique and colourful. Beginning with the first summary trials by NWMP Justice of the Peace James F. Macleod in 1874, the region’s courts would witness an ongoing accommodation between the ponderous, yet adaptable British traditions of jurisprudence and the uneven demands of a new and rapidly expanding frontier. The Stipendiary Magistrates, followed by the Supreme and District Court judges, would take the lead in establishing and protecting the authority of la in Alberta by their collective intelligence and resourcefulness. They met this immense challenge, not in spite of, but by their passion and humanity. In this way, the lives and careers of Alberta’s judiciary chronicled here help us to gain a greater appreciation of and to celebrate the rule of law in Alberta’s rich history. The authors, Louis Knafla and Richard Klumpenhouwer, are to be congratulated on their conception and development of this remarkable collection.

Milt Harradence: The Western Flair

May 25, 2015 | simple outofstock BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by C.D. Evans

“I was always of the view that Alberta (and maybe Canada) was too small a stop to do credit to his remarkable talents.” ~ Honourable J.C. Major, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

“Harradence had style. Even his enemies have had to admit that his performances were riveting.” ~ Suzanne Zwarun, Calgary Herald

“When he strides into a courtroom, Calgary’s Milt Harradence goes to war.” ~ Canadian Magazine

Northern Justice: The Memoirs of Mr. Justice William G. Morrow

May 25, 2015 | simple outofstock BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

Edited by W.H. Morrow

One of the first Canadians to champion the legal and cultural cause of the North's indigenous peoples, William George Morrow, the senior partner in an eminent Edmonton law firm, seized the opportunity to go to the North in 1960 and act as a volunteer defence counsel for $10 a day. Morrow took on the quest for greater justice of behalf of the northern Natives long before this had become part of the national conscience. In these memoirs, he describes his daily struggles first as a lawyer, and later as a judge with the question of how an alien law should be applied to Aboriginal culture.

At the height of his career, Morrow was travelling more than 50,000 kilometres a year over bleak, snow-swept terrain to set up makeshift courtrooms in remote communities. He once had to interview a client in the only room where he could be assured privacy an outhouse. A zealous reformer and a brilliant legal strategist, he fought and won many difficult legal battles with the government. He succeeded in brining about sentencing that took into account the shorter life expectancy of northern peoples, the provision of local penitentiaries enabling prisoners the serve sentences in their own communities, greater tolerance of Native and Inuit cultural values in interpretations of the law, and the creation of juries made up of men and women from the community of the accused.

By the time of he death in 1980, Morrow had not only altered the legal landscape of Canada's North but had instilled in Canadians a greater sensitivity to Native issues. These memoirs by a pioneer of legal reform tell the story of early legal batted against institutionalized racism.

A joint publication of the Osgoode Society of Canadian Legal History and the Legal Archives Society of Alberta.

Copies of this publication are also available through the Osgoode Society of Canadian Legal History.

In the Name of Justice

May 25, 2015 | simple BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by Azmina Suleman

In the Name of Justice is the story of James Valentine Hogarth Milvain. Alberta's first native born Chief Justice, set against a backdrop of the time and legal era in which he lived. Born in 1904 on a ranch I Southern Alberta ? in the days of the pioneers, the legendary cowboy, whip-buggy and itinerant country doctor ? he brought the twentieth century a character and personality that never lost sight of the law or justice for the common man. His career spanned several decades in the law in Alberta, including 20 years as a Judge and over 30 years as a leading counsel in Calgary. His life's story, therefore, also becomes the story of Alberta ? from his early pioneer farm beginnings to his slow rise in the legal profession in a city that was just starting to emerge, to his no-nonsense brand of 'western' justice and landmark decisions which often marked dramatic social and economic changes in the province, as well as changes to the administration of justice in the 'wild and woolly West.' More recently, he also chaired the Investment Contract holders Committee in the Principal Inquiry in 1987.

Known for his ready wit, wisdom and innate 'horse sense,' Milvain was popularly dubbed the 'Cowboy Judge.' His ranching background kept him close to people and ethics and morality guided him in everything he did. His judgments were often delivered orally and spontaneously from the bench, and rarely were they overturned by a higher court. But what made him an outstanding trial judge, was his deep understanding of the real intent and purpose of the law that enabled him to render decisions that were more than legalistic in nature. His famous 'Chief to Chief' case that soon became part of Alberta's legal folklore, was a prime illustration of Milvain's typically compassionate and practical approach to the law as well as his ability to go beyond the mere letter of the law to invoke its true spirit.

Affectionately known as 'Uncle Val' in his retirement, Milvain remained a private yet warm and humble individual who never lost touch with the common man. Brimming full of anecdotes, his own words and the memories of those who knew him best intertwine to show that there, indeed, can be a lot of funny moments associated with the practice of law! They also help to describe a man whose name is synonymous with justice in Alberta, as well as a man of honour, principle and great personal integrity tirelessly dedicated to upholding the law of the land.

Law West of the Bay

May 25, 2015 | variable BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by J.W. McClung

From 1670 to 1869 the maintenance of a system of laws and administration lay upon the Hudson's Bay Company. It was part of the Company's Rupertsland responsibilities.

By today's standards the HBC legal system was crude and undisciplined as it was geared mainly to the preservation of the Company's commercial interests. Crime (and those who saw private profit in it) as well as gratuitous violence was not hard to find because there was little law enforcement in the Canadian West until 1873 when the North West Mounted Police arrived.

This book relates vignettes about HBC law and 19th century crime along the Saskatchewan River watershed. Tales about some distinctive members of the early Edmonton legal community are also told.

Foundations of Justice

May 25, 2015 | simple BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by David Mittelstadt

The courthouse has always stood as a symbol of law, order, and civic pride, and has played an important role in reflecting and upholding society's cultural ideals. With Foundations of Justice, author David Mittelstadt, along with the Legal Archives Society of Alberta, has created a striking work about the history of the courthouses built in Alberta between 1874 and 1950. Based on the author's extensive research, this volume is generously illustrated with architectural drawings, maps, and photographs, and is rich in both anecdotal detail and informed analysis. Using the historical backdrop of Alberta's major political periods, Foundations of Justice is an impressive tribute to the buildings in which the province's early legal history unfolded.

David Mittelstadt has captured the flavour of life in the early communities of Alberta. He describes the efforts of Albertans to lobby politicians to move court proceedings from schoolhouses, opera houses and from hotels where trials competed with noise from the local barroom. Citizens saw the courthouse as the tangible demonstration that their community was going to be a permanent habitation in western Canada. Incidents of local history and political lore spring from these pages to bring alive the early days of Alberta's past. This is a superbly researched and readable book of interest to lawyers and lay people alike. It will fill a gap in the previously recorded history of Alberta.
~ from the Foreward by Hon. James H. Laycraft, Chief Justice of Alberta (Retired)

Just Works: Lawyers in Alberta 1907-2007

May 25, 2015 | simple BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

As the Law Society of Alberta celebrates its centennial, it salutes the pioneers, philosophers, soldiers, educators and raconteurs who helped shape the province through a common bond - love of the law. Alberta lawyers have lived it all in pursuit of their craft, from frontier privations, to the heady days of the oil boom. With the birth in 1907 of the Law Society of Alberta (LSA), lawyers became members of an extended family often quarrelsome and jealous, yet equally embracing and nurturing.

Leafing through the pages of this family album you'll notice that values haven't much changed; integrity, discipline, diligence and honesty are as important today as they were 100 years ago. So is humour, in liberal (small!) doses. What is remarkable in these stories about lawyers and the legal institutions they serve are the threads that connect the past to the present, and will most certainly continue into the future.

The volunteers who assembled this book came together in 2005. Every member experienced major career or life transitions during the months it took to put this book together, but we prevailed. We are (alphabetically): Everett Bunnell, Shelagh R. Creagh, Adam Germain, Stacy Kaufeld, Michael Payne, Laura Stevens, and Jack Watson. We are also grateful for the participation of Kirsten Olson and Graham Price, and the generous participation of contributing writers, acknowledged at the end of the book, notably eminent professors Lou Knafla and Peter W. Hogg, and legendary commentator C.D. Evans.

We invite you to treat the contents of this book as representative, and sometime symbolic, of the contributions made by the law, lawyers and legal institutions to Alberta and our nation. This is merely an overview of a grand sweep of time and space. We hope you enjoy the product of our collective efforts.

A Painful Duty

May 25, 2015 | simple outofstock BOOK Regular Shipping | 0 min read

by Chris D. Evans

With a mirthful flourish of his pen, and top gallant sails flying, C.D. Evans guides us through myriad shoals of madness, mayhem, and folly encountered over four decades at the Criminal Bar. Chock full of character and characters, this is a classic of the first water.

Burn this book! It is far too provocative and seditious to circulate freely amongst the masses. But before you burn it, read it and laugh until your eyes water and your belly hurts. - Cameron Gunn, Crown Prosecutor, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Author of Ben & Me: From Temperance to Humility

A highly recommended romp through the career of one of this country's pre-eminent? Criminal lawyers and his willingness to share his insights into the characters and practices of our criminal courts. - The Honourable Mr. Justice John Z. Vertes, Senior Judge, The Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories

For forty years I moiled at the Criminal Bar, which is sort of the tar sands of the legal industry. My approach to the practice of criminal law for those four decades was that of a strip miner: twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no holiday, no time off. As a sure-fire way to success, it was a winner; as a formula for living, it was a flop.

My calling has been to stand in the shoes of those who are not equipped to speak for themselves. I had to ensure that the accused had a fair trial, and that all that could possibly be said on his/her behalf was urged upon the tribunal. I had no license to judge my client. Nor did I endorse my clients' calumnies. And if you did your job right, Milt Harradence, as always, said it best: "Every time you finish the case and walk out, you've left a bit of yourself in the courtroom."

My professional philosophy was objective detachment from the client but engagement in his cause, that is, it was relatively psychopathic and mercenary. I did my most prominent work in the "white collar crime" area, and the metaphysic was simple: it took the client four years to steal the money, it took me four weeks to get it from him, he went to jail, I did not. Ergo, the system works.

As to my calling, I was a mercenary, and I made no bones about it. There was no "higher purpose" to my practice. I was never motivated by pity, disgust, anger, or a cause to right wrongs. I seldom if ever refused a brief, barring a conflict. The retainer was the locus classicus: the client retained me to act for him and not to act against him.

In my book I provide sketches of a number of Judges and Barristers - think Aubrey's "Brief Lives". - and compendia of some of my more interesting cases. I strove to avoid tedium or prolixity. I have documented an array of boon companions - illuminati of the Alberta Bar - and have stayed away from some other "learned friends" who are neither learned nor friendly. I strove to provide insights into the practice and the characters of the Criminal Bar, with special tributes to the no-nonsense judges of the early days. Noteworthy cases include police officers moonlighting as bank robbers, North of 60 escapades, the defense of famous hockey players, First Nations clients, and away-from-home games in Toronto and Bermuda. I meant what I said in the conclusion to the Law Society 100th Anniversary book Foreword about the valediction of Robert Emmet and the admonition of Thomas Erskine, KC: I believe that the best ideals of our great profession will survive, because "the strength of the Bar" will survive. The "strength of the Bar" is found in every new and nervous young criminal lawyer who struggles to her/his feet in the courtroom to perform our painful duty.

I conclude my Introduction to my book by stating that I entertain the hope that my Memoir might encourage young counsel to join the ranks of criminal lawyers, a fiercely independent and admirable subculture. A Painful Duty: 40 Years at the Criminal Bar celebrates my forty year journey that brought challenge, combat, exhilaration, exhaustion, and often, high humour, for if irony is going to strike, it will be in the courtroom. I should be honoured to have the reader join me on this voyage.

Richard C.C. Peck, QC, FACTL, Peck & Co., Barristers, Vancouver
Co-Chair, Federation of Law Societies' National Criminal Law Program