In conversation with Louise Arbour
In conjunction with the Toronto Lawyers’ Association Award of Distinction presentation on May 10, 2022 in Toronto , writer Evan Thompson spoke with the Honourable Louise Arbour, Senior Counsel at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and this year’s Award recipient..
T.L.A.: What attracted you to the legal profession?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: My decision to apply to law school was frankly a casual one. I applied to only one law school and felt that if didn’t get in maybe I would travel or find work. In those days, going to law school was seen as the door through which you could enter journalism, politics or public affairs, so I went there by default, not really knowing what I wanted to do.
Within the first three months of entering law school at the Université de Montréal, I felt I had hit the jackpot. Maybe it was the excitement of being let out of the convent school. “This is for me”, I said.
I was interested in public law from the beginning. The work was complex enough but not beyond my ability. It was also grounded in ethical, moral and social issues – the things that I like.
T.LA. Can you share some of the recognitions you received that brought you great satisfaction?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: I have felt every job I had was the best I could ever hope for. Strangely, I never contemplated success in any of them when I began since I had little idea what to expect. After completing the Quebec bar admission course I went to clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada. Nobody knew of the existence of law clerk positions, at least in Quebec as it was a relatively new role within the Supreme Court. I saw an ad in the bar admission course and I applied. I had never set foot in Ottawa before. I borrowed a car, drove to Ottawa had the interview and got the job. “How much better can it get?” I asked myself. “I am working in the Supreme Court of Canada.”
I then went to teach at Osgoode Hall Law School, which was seen in Quebec as the “Harvard of Canada”. I had never thought of becoming an academic. I wanted to stay in Ontario for personal reasons, and although I had been called to the bar in Quebec I had not yet been called to the Ontario bar, didn’t have a common law degree and didn’t want to go back to school. I was offered a part time teaching position, and after a year I entered the tenure stream.
Osgoode gave me 12 years fantastic years and I became Associate Dean of Law. It was a happy time, and I loved the work. One day I came back from class to a phone message from someone I didn’t know. I put the message at the bottom of the pile and called him back the next day. He seemed surprised that I had taken so long calling him back and said, ” You obviously have no idea who I am. I am the judicial appointment secretary to the minister of justice.” I thought he wanted a reference. I said,” Okay, how may I help you?” He asked, “Would you consider a judicial appointment?” I became a trial judge, which involved circuit court work and travel. The only regret I have was not stayed longer in that position. It presented me with a steep learning curve, which is the kind of challenge I crave. Two years later, I was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal - another wonderful environment that gave me a great work/life balance and many lasting friendships. I thought it was the perfect fit for me, and would be my “forever” job.
T.L.A. How did your 1996 appointment to the role of Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda influence you then and in later years?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: My experience as Chief Prosecutor was surreal and one I never contemplated. It was like a complex laboratory that combined criminal and international law. My role involved expanding the reach of criminal accountability onto the world scene. As an academic with a focus on criminal law, I initially viewed my job as theoretical but quickly plunged into an operations role in a highly strategic, political, complex framework.
International work is very exciting. After three years, I was invited to come back to Canada to sit on the Supreme Court. I could not have hoped for a better way to return to the judicial work that I loved. I still feel that every job I’ve had was my best job. But my role as Chief Prosecutor stands out. It was very operational, and much was at stake . There were no templates or blueprints to follow. My personal life was also affected like it had never been before. I had 24-hour close protection and the work was very stressful.
Despite the scope of my role, I would be lying if I said it was all about me as a savior who singlehandedly saw that justice was done. We were a team of some 800 people at that time, including judges, diplomats, lawyers, investigators and interpreters. Our focus was on the Nuremberg philosophy that would bring political and military leaders to personally account for mass atrocities . My tasks ranged from overseeing investigations, arrests, and trials , and it remains to this day very difficult to reach people at the top of the leadership. The doctrine of command responsibility is confronted with the reality of meeting the criminal burden of proof. This is particularly challenging in an international environment where heads of state, and other powerful people, have the means to shelter themselves from scrutiny.
I am not a hostage to this stage of my career, even with all its sadness. Some of it is buried somewhere but I am a positive person and play to my strengths. I have come to reconcile myself with the fact that humanity is high maintenance. Despite the fact that the international human rights agenda has lost some ground, I believe that things are cyclical, and there is no reason to despair. We have also made spectacular progress in advancing equality and the next generation is better equipped than we were to meet the challenges ahead.
T.L.A. What changes in the legal profession have you seen since you were called to the Bar of Ontario in 1977?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: The passage of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was a game changer. I have tremendous respect for the early implementers of the Charter. These include the more visible ones in the Supreme Court of Canada as well as judges in all Canadian courts. None had been legally trained under a constitutionally entrenched bill of rights. Judges had to determine the validity of legislation and its compliance with a constitutional text that was not always self-explanatory. The early days of Charter Cases in Supreme Court showed the remarkable transformation of the judiciary (with the help of sophisticated arguments presented by lawyers and academics), in the face of some political circles who were pushing back against what they liked to call judicial activism. The path was well designed from the beginning and the Charter impacts virtually every aspect of Canadian life. That’s pretty amazing.
The advent of technology and the resulting access to information is also revolutionary and has transformed the practice of law Women attending law school and gaining ground in this and in other professions is also transforming the way we work and think. This is a work in progress as we learn to manage the complexities, as well as the benefits, of inclusive, more egalitarian societies.
T.L.A. Do you have any advice for aspiring lawyers based on your career experiences?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: Let yourself be surprised. I could never have imagined how much fun this career would be. Some lawyers thrive in the mastery of one field of work. Others, like me, seek exposure to lots of different things. There is no recipe that fits everyone. I approached my legal career without a formula, but rather based on who I am and how I wanted to live my life. I don’t think of myself as a risk-taker but I do have a sense of adventure. I have moved a lot and met lots of very different people. This is not for everyone. In the best of all worlds, people would have choices. I feel very lucky to have had so many opportunities. Maybe, in retrospect, my career choices were a reaction to having spent so much time in a homogeneous, sheltered environment. Until I was 20 years old, I wore a uniform and was a boarder for many of those years in all-girl, Catholic environment. I guess when they let me loose, I realized there were a lot of things out there to be discovered. And I’m still looking. I always see the glass as half-full. Upon reflection, how you see the glass really depends on how thirsty you are.
T.L.A. Do you have any additional thoughts on this occasion?
The Honourable Louise Arbour: A lot in life is about timing. Had I entered the profession in earlier times, I might not have had the opportunities I did because my contribution would not have been sought, seen or valued. Maybe I was a product of tokenism. Sometimes tokenism works, as a first step.. I’ve had a cartoon on my fridge for a long time that read: “Behind every great man there is a woman, and behind every great woman there is a cat.” I thought that was very funny. Years later, I scratched out the last part and replaced it with: “Behind every great woman of my generation, there is man who appointed her.” I guess it had to start somewhere. What’s next in my career? I’m at BLG, where there is no shortage of work. And I’m working with a great team of lawyers. What could be better? My review of sexual misconduct within the Canadian Armed Forces ends in May 2022, but after that I’m done. Like I’ve said so many times before.
Read the TLA announcement
Join us to celebrate Louise Arbour's outstanding contribution to the legal profession!