The Award of Excellence

The Robinette Medal

1983 John J. Robinette Q.C. ‘29
1984 The Hon. Mr. Justice John D. Arnup ‘35
1986 Hon. Mr. Justice G. Arthur Martin ‘38
1988 Brendan O’Brien Q.C. ‘32
1993 The Hon. William G.C. Howland Q.C. ‘39
1997 Col. The Hon. Lincoln M. Alexander Q.C. ‘53
1997 Laura Legge Q.C. ‘48
1997 The Hon. Mr. Justice Samuel G. McD. Grange Q.C. ‘48

2003 Austin M. Cooper Q.C. ‘53

2003 The Hon. Hilda M. McKinlay ‘66

2003 Arthur R.A. Scace Q.C. '65

On Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at the Dean's Alumni Reception, the Honourable R. Roy McMurtry '58, Chief Justice of Ontario will become the 12th recipient of the Robinette Medal.

After graduating from Osgood ein 1958, the Chief Justice of Ontario practiced law as a trial counsel for 17 years before being elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1975. Immediately upon his election, he was appointed to the Cabinet of the Premier, William G. Davis, as the Attorney General for Ontario, a position which he held until 1985. As Attorney General for Ontario, Mr. McMurtry played a major role in the patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982 and the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights. During that period he also served for 4 years as the Solicitor General for Ontario.

In 1985, Mr. McMurtry was appointed Canada’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Great Britain, a post which he held until late 1988. Upon his return to Canada, he re-entered the practice of law and in 1991 he was appointed Associate Chief Justice of the Superior Court, Trial Division and Chief Justice of that court in 1994. In February, 1996 he was appointed Chief Justice of Ontario.

2003 Award of Excellence

Dinner Photo Gallery

Austin M. Cooper Q.C. ‘53

Mr. Cooper, a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario in 1953 and has practised as defence counsel in the field of criminal law since that date. He was appointed Q.C. in 1964. He is Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Criminal Law and has extensive experience as both a trial and appellate counsel. From 1997-1998, he served as Commission Counsel to the Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the 1992 recipient of the prestigious Douglas K. Laidlaw Medal for Excellence in Advocacy.

Mr. Cooper has written and lectured widely in the areas of advocacy, evidence and substantive criminal law. He was a founding member of the Advocates Society in Ontario and served as a Director of that Society. He is a member in good standing of the Canadian Bar Association and was, for several years, the Chair of the Civil Liberties subsection. Mr. Cooper was elected by his peers as a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada (the governing body of the legal profession in Ontario), and after serving from 1971 to 1987, was appointed as ex-officio Bencher for his lifetime. For 16 years, he was a director of the Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto.

The Hon. Hilda M. McKinlay ‘66

Hilda McKinlay is a member of ADR Chambers, a Toronto-based Alternative Dispute Resolution group, which provides ADR services consisting of Mediations, Arbitrations, Early Neutral Evaluation, Mini-Trials, Med-Arb, and Private Appeals from Arbitral Awards and Trial Judgments.

After completing her articles of clerkship at the law firm of Fraser & Beatty in 1968, Mrs. McKinlay was engaged as a Teaching Fellow at Osgoode Hall Law School and from 1969 through 1973, Mrs. McKinlay was an Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

From 1973 to 1983, Hilda McKinlay was an associate and subsequently a partner with Fasken & Calvin law firm, practising originally in the estate planning and administration field and subsequently in the commercial law field with emphasis on banking, bankruptcy and receivership matters.

Mrs. McKinlay was appointed to the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1983. She was then appointed to the Appeal Division of the Supreme Court of Ontario (now the Ontario Court of Appeal) in 1987. Mrs. McKinlay retired April 1, 1999.

Arthur R.A. Scace Q.C. ‘65

Arthur Scace is a partner in the Tax Law Section in the Toronto office of McCarthy Tetrault LLP. Mr. Scace is the former national chairman of the firm, and former managing partner of the Toronto office. In the 33 years he has been with the firm, he has participated in innumerable domestic and international commercial transactions.

He is the co-author of The Income Tax Law of Canada, and has been the head of the Income Tax Section of the Bar Admission Course, a lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto, and a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada.