Lawyers occupy a unique place in society. They are loved by some, distrusted or hated by others. More often than not, our perception of lawyers is shaped by the way the profession is portrayed in popular literature, on television, and in film. Many people think that lawyers only serve to help the wealthy, while others view them either as protectors of the innocent or as amoral defenders of the guilty. But do we really know the many roles that lawyers may play, the aims and goals of the profession, and whether lawyers meet those goals?

Why Good Lawyers Matter endeavours to provide an accessible look at lawyers in modern society. With contributions by leading commentators, this informative, thought-provoking collection contends with the questions of what is a lawyer, and what role lawyers do—and should—play in society.

David L. Blaikie is Assistant Professor in the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University where he teaches Torts, Civil Procedure, Professional Responsibility, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He has a cross appointment with the Dalhousie University Faculty of Engineering where he lectures on tort law. He has also developed and taught courses in law at the University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Hue University, Hue City, Vietnam and the Atlantic School of Theology, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has undergraduate degrees in philosophy and law from Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts (B.A.) and Dalhousie Law School (LL.B.), and graduate degrees in theology and law from Harvard Divinity School (M.T.S.) and Harvard Law School (LL.M.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1993 and practised mainly insurance defence litigation. While in practice, he appeared before various administrative tribunals and courts in Nova Scotia, and wrote briefs for the Supreme Court of Canada. Before pursuing a legal career, he worked as an editor with World Vision Canada and as a correctional officer at a provincial jail.

David L. Blaikie's profile page

The Honourable Thomas Cromwell was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on December 22, 2008. He had previously been appointed to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in 1997.

He obtained a B. Mus. in 1973 and an LL.B. in 1976 from Queen’s University. He also obtained an A.R.C.T. diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1974 and attended Oxford University, where he earned a B.C.L. in 1977. He holds honorary doctorates in law from Dalhousie University, Queen’s University, and the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Cromwell practised law in Kingston and Toronto and taught in the Faculty of Law of Dalhousie University. He also served as Executive Legal Officer to Chief Justice Antonio Lamer from 1992 to 1995. He has held many other offices including Secretary, Board of Governors, National Judicial Institute, 1992-95; Vice-chair, Nova Scotia Labour Relations Board and Construction Industry Panel, 1991-92; President, Continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia; President, Canadian Association of Law Teachers, 1988-89; President, Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, 1999-2001; Chair, Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, 2007-8; Research Director, C.B.A. Court Reform Task Force, 1989-91; Chair, C.B.A. Interim Organizational Committee for the National Organization on Civil Justice Reform, 1996-97; and Commissioner, Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia, 2002-7.

Justice Cromwell is the author of numerous articles and has contributed to six books. He has served on the editorial boards for CRIMJI and the Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice. He is Chair of the Editorial Board of the Canadian Bar Review. He has received many awards including the C.B.A.’s Louis J. St. Laurent Award of Excellence, 1992; Her Majesty’s Jubilee Medal, 2002; the Dalhousie Law Students Society and Dalhousie Law Alumni Association Award of Teaching Excellence, 1992; He is an Honorary Director of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, an Honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College Oxford and of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Thomas A. Cromwell's profile page

Darrel Pink LLM (LSE, 1979), LLB (Dalhousie, 1978), BA (Acadia, 1975) is Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society (NSBS). Prior to his appointment as Executive Director, Mr. Pink was a partner in Patterson Kitz in Halifax where he practiced civil and criminal litigation and administrative law. He was a member of the NSBS Bar Council before his appointment as Executive Director.

Mr. Pink has lectured for many years at Dalhousie Law School in the professional responsibility course. He is Past President of the Continuing Legal Education Society of Nova Scotia and has been a frequent presenter on issues of regulation of the profession to other law societies in Canada and abroad. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Pink participated in four workshops on governance of the legal profession in Eastern Africa organized by the CBA along with its partners the Ethiopian Bar Association, the Uganda Law Society, the Law Society of Kenya, the Tanganyika Law Society and the Zanzibar Law Society.

Mr. Pink is the President of the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CANLII). He is also an active volunteer Board member for several non-profit community organizations.

Darrel Pink's profile page

"From the beautifully written foreword by George Elliot Clarke, a Canadian poet and playwright, to the final essay addressing “the fundamental ideals of the legal profession” authored by leading Canadian jurist, Justice Stephen T. Goudge, it is clear that this is no ordinary book on legal ethics. One of the major strengths of Why Good Lawyers Matter lies in its success in bringing together a wide range of perspectives on the legal profession. The book features an impressive list of Canadian legal ethics scholars as well as a number of practicing lawyers, judges, and a journalist."

Amy Salyzyn, Jotwell

“Ultimately, the basic ideal of the law must be that every person or cause merits an advocate who must advance well-informed, well-crafted, truthful, and persuasive arguments in aid of the client. That’s why good lawyers matter.”

George Elliott Clarke, OC, ONS, PhD, LLD (Hon) E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature, University of Toronto (from the Foreword)