The Rosenberg Mentorship Moot finally happened on Saturday, January 28, 2023 capping off an entire year of concerted effort to plan and organize a complicated day that relied on the volunteer contributions of probably about 100 people, ultimately. Everyone from organizers, to mooters, mentors, Judges but also and especially the court’s administration and staff. What an incredible, large-scale team achievement!

You can read more about it all on the Court’s News page here:

https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/about-the-court/rosenberg-mentorship-moot/

Everyone involved was acutely aware that we were honouring the memory of one of the greatest Jurists of our time – someone to whom mentorship and collegiality were foundational aspects of being a lawyer and a Judge. I was incredibly lucky to have worked with the late Justice Rosenberg from 2000-2014 in the context of facilitating the amicus curiae program for mental disorder appeals in the Court of Appeal. I have no doubt that this symposium of sorts in his honour would have found favour with him – it was everything he would have loved to see unfold in the noblest traditions of the bar. And I am so, so glad.

It’s really difficult to sum up a day like this and do it justice.

It was a whirlwind of activity for those of us on the organizing end of it, putting out little logistical fires, running about making sure everything and everyone was OK!.

But I did get to float around from courtroom to courtroom and observe the mooters knocking it out of the park. It was heart-warming to see the effort they put into the exercise and the fabulous results of the work their mentor coaches did to get them to this point of accomplished advocacy.

The Judges of the Court of Appeal and from the SCJ / OCJ who presided over the hearings gave our mooters amazing tips and feedback that will assist them in their careers a great deal. It was actually very useful to hear that feedback for counsel of any vintage, myself included. Wonderfully generous of the Justices to give the program so much attention, time and effort.

Unfortunately, whatever few photos I took at the event turned out kind of fuzzy and grey and really aren’t suitable for posting, but I look forward to seeing amazing photos taken by a wonderful professional who also donated her time.

I am grateful to the mooters who took this program seriously and worked so diligently to make moot day a huge success. We are buoyed by their enthusiasm and all the positive feedback on various aspects of the program, including in particular how accessible and barrier-free it was – certainly one of the priorities in the design of the program, which aimed to be as inclusive as possible, and truly reflective of the diversity of the bar.

Our 27 mentor coaches (and mentors in training!!) were exceptionally professional and approachable – we could never have done this without them. They deserve all the credit in the world. Thank you to all of them – these fantastic accomplished advocates:

1. Maija Martin
2. Amanda Ross
3. Amy Ohler
4. Breana Vandebeek
5. Gerald Chan
6. Carter Martell
7. Danielle Robitaille
8. Megan Stephens
9. ​​Naomi Lutes
10. Paul Alexander
11. Howard Krongold
12. Anil Kapoor
13. Marianne Salih
14. Ian Kasper
15. Chris Rudnicki
16. Jennifer Conroy – PPSC
17. Diane Lumba – PPSC
18. Amber Pashuk -PPSC
19. Rick Visca – PPSC
20. Susan Reid – CLOC
21. Matt Asma – CLOC
22. Benita Wassenaar – CLOC
23. Lisa Fineberg – CLOC
24. Michelle Campbell – CLOC
25. Elena Middelkamp – CLOC
26. Katie Doherty – CLOC
27. Michael Dunn – CLOC

My profound personal thanks to Anna Trbovich of the Court of Apppeal, Dena Bonnet of CLOC and the Associate Chief Justice of Ontario, Justice Michal Fairburn, for their astounding leadership and incredible hard work in making this kernel of an idea a reality in just one year’s time.

HERE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE PHOTOS TAKEN BY THE AMAZING VITA COOPER, A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WHOSE WORK IS JUST STUNNING – CHECK HER OUT AT VITACOOPER.COM HERE: https://www.vitacooper.com/

This last photo accompanies the Court’s Announcement regarding the Program on its website here and reproduced below:

https://www.ontariocourts.ca/coa/about-the-court/rosenberg-mentorship-moot/

The Court of Appeal’s About the Court Page contains this News Release regarding the Rosenberg Moot

February 23, 2023

On Saturday, January 28, 2023, the Court of Appeal for Ontario hosted the first-ever Rosenberg Mentorship Moot. Twenty-four lawyers (called to the Bar in 2015 or later) had the opportunity to deliver oral argument in a mock criminal appeal before judges of the Court of Appeal, as well as some special guest judges from the Superior Court of Justice and Ontario Court of Justice. It was like a real day in court, only it was Saturday and court was followed by meaningful advocacy tips from the judges.

To prepare for their day in court, the volunteer mooters were mentored by volunteer teams of accomplished members of the criminal appellate bar. The mooters were selected by a diverse number of professional organizations: the Round Table of Diversity Associations, Law and Mental Disorder Association, Women in Canadian Criminal Defence, the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association Recent Call Committee, Crown Law Office – Criminal, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The mentors were intentionally placed into pairs that crossed the appellate Bar: Crown-Defence pairs. Accordingly, not only did this event provide junior counsel with a welcoming and inclusive criminal appellate advocacy development opportunity, it also had an eye to civility, helping to forge and strengthen friendships between junior and senior counsel and between Crown and defence colleagues. In short, the last few months have been a shining example of the Bench and Bar at its very best.

This was a most fitting tribute to the memory of the Honourable Marc Rosenberg who was a wonderful and dedicated jurist, educator, mentor and friend.

None of it could have happened without the tremendous vision and hard work of the organizing committee, Anita Szigeti, Anna Trbovich and Dena Bonnet, all of whom gave so selflessly of their time. We extend our deep thanks to them, as well as to the judges, the mooters, the mentors, the mentors-in-training, and the court staff who made the event possible. We also extend a special thanks to our photographer, Vita Cooper, who so capably and completely captured the energy of the day.

Associate Chief Justice Michal Fairburn

REVIEWS OF THE PROGRAM

The program was incredibly favourably received by participants and the legal community.

Recently mooter Sam Puchala of London, Ontario, published a lovely narrative piece about her experience of participating in this inaugural year of the Rosenberg Moot in this edition of the Middlesex Law Association’s Newsletter, March 2023.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xS7OYDWtMx1-o5YvjHV5oaEOFP64uWhP/view?usp=share_link