May 6, 2019
‘No one thought this would happen’: outgoing benchers react to turnover at LSO
William C. McDowell is quoted in the article ‘No one thought this would happen’: outgoing benchers react to turnover at LSO published on The Lawyer's Daily. In this article, he comments on the results of the Bencher Election.
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William McDowell, a partner at Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP and an outgoing bencher for Toronto, said the amount of benchers not re-elected is “stunning.”
“It’s a remarkable achievement on their [StopSOP] part because, frankly, many of them don’t have a profile in the profession, so they have to be congratulated for their determination and organization,” he added.
McDowell noted that if he has to get “thrown out of office for something and the something is standing up for equality,” then he can live with that.
“The Statement of Principles wasn’t perfect. I think it was poorly explained at the front end, but it formed part of a package that seeks to improve the problem of barriers into the profession,” he said, adding that the population he sees at the call to the bar is “dramatically different” than the population at law firms at King and Bay.
“It’s a remarkable achievement on their [StopSOP] part because, frankly, many of them don’t have a profile in the profession, so they have to be congratulated for their determination and organization,” he added.
McDowell noted that if he has to get “thrown out of office for something and the something is standing up for equality,” then he can live with that.
“The Statement of Principles wasn’t perfect. I think it was poorly explained at the front end, but it formed part of a package that seeks to improve the problem of barriers into the profession,” he said, adding that the population he sees at the call to the bar is “dramatically different” than the population at law firms at King and Bay.