Earlier this month, the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association’s Women’s Legal Forum organized a 100th anniversary celebration of the first woman called to the bar in Alberta – Lillian Ruby Clements. LESA is proud to have been a sponsor of the event, providing a photo gallery depicting some of the Alberta legal community’s trailblazing women.
If you missed the event, today’s blog shares photos and a brief synopsis provided by LESA’s Karen McDougall, one of the Women’s Legal Forum Committee Members.
The majority of event attendees were female members of the bench and bar, including Alberta’s Chief Justice Catherine Fraser, and this sold-out crowd was treated to a truly inspirational evening. They came together to celebrate women in the legal profession generally and Lillian Ruby Clements specifically. Attendees heard from a number of incredible speakers: from the Honourable Madam Justice Joanne Veit, reminiscing on what it was like to practice law as a young woman in the 60s, to Corrie Flett, a lawyer raised in northern Alberta, describing how she was galvanized by issues facing aboriginals to set up her law practice in Fort McMurray. The keynote address was delivered by the Honourable Madam Justice Suzanne Côté of the Supreme Court of Canada, who shared her own experiences as a woman in the profession. The evening then ended on a high note for the event’s charity of choice, the iHuman Society, when the organizing committee presented it with a cheque for $30,000.
Photo Gallery
While we can’t share all the photos from the event, below are a few to give you a taste of the evening.
The LESA contingent: Craig Edhart, Holly Miller, Susan Paterson, Carolyn Bernardin, Karen McDougall
Photo credit: Myles Peterman
Special guests: The Honourable Marguerite Trussler QC, The Honourable Madam Justice Suzanne Côté, the Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Fraser
Photo credit: Myles Peterman
Guest speaker: The Honourable Madam Justice Joanne Veit
Photo credit: Myles Peterman
The event’s photo gallery included pictures of several female trailblazers coming after Lillian Ruby Clements. Some of those photos are featured below.
The Honourable Madam Justice Elizabeth McFadyen – first woman appointed to an Alberta court (1976)
Photo credit: Legal Archives Society of Alberta
The Honourable Madam Justice Mary Hetherington – first woman appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal (1985)
Photo credit: Legal Archives Society of Alberta
The first all-female Alberta Court of Appeal panel: the Honourable Madam Justice Mary Hetherington, the Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Fraser, and the Honourable Madam Justice Carole Conrad (1993)
Photo credit: Legal Archives Society of Alberta
