Monique Jilesen of Lenczner Slaght Awarded Laidlaw Medal

The Advocates’ Society honours Monique Jilesen with the 2017 Douglas K. Laidlaw Medal for Excellence in Advocacy.

Monique Jilesen has been named the recipient of the prestigious Laidlaw Medal which will be presented at the End of Term Dinner on Thursday, June 15, 2017.

The Laidlaw Medal winner is selected once every three years from a group of leading candidates from both the Bench and Bar. The medal was created to honour the legacy of Douglas K. Laidlaw, Q.C. and is awarded by a selection committee that includes judges and members of the Advocates’ Society.

“We are proud that Monique Jilesen has been awarded the Laidlaw Medal, as she exemplifies what made Douglas K. Laidlaw, Q.C. one of the greatest advocates of our time:  She is a skilled advocate, committed mentor to younger lawyers and enjoys the high esteem of both the Bar and the Bench”, said managing partner Peter Griffin.

Monique is recognized as an outstanding counsel and has led complex proceedings from inception through trial. She focuses on class actions, contract and shareholder disputes, civil fraud cases, injunctions, bankruptcy and insolvency matters, and securities and derivatives cases. She has an enviable record of success at trial in bet-the-company disputes. A past chair of the Gale Cup Moot, Monique also teaches regularly at the Advocates’ Society and in the Intensive Trial Advocacy Program and in other educational programs.

The Advocates Society and the Laidlaw Medal

The Advocates Society awards the Laidlaw Medal once every three years to a litigator in mid-career who has achieved distinction as an outstanding oral advocate in civil and/or criminal matters. The recipient must have actively participated in the training and mentoring of junior mentors of the Bar in the art and science of oral advocacy and be held in high regard by Members of the Bench and Bar.