Osgoode alumna and criminal defence lawyer Marlys Edwardh (LLB ’74, LLD Hons. ’10) received the Advocates’ Society Medal at a tribute dinner held Sept. 5.
Marlys Edwardh
Edwardh, who was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree at Osgoode Convocation in 2010 and the Law School’s Dianne Martin Medal for Social Justice through Law in 2005, is a highly regarded advocate of civil liberties and human rights. She has been involved in numerous high-profile criminal and constitutional cases, including the wrongful conviction cases of Donald Marshall, Guy Paul Morin and Steven Truscott. She has also served as counsel to several commissions of inquiry, including the Krever Inquiry on the blood system in Canada and the Arar Inquiry into the actions of Canadian officials in connection with Maher Arar’s deportation from the United States to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured.
A member of the Order of Canada, Edwardh currently practices criminal, constitutional and administrative/regulatory law, with an emphasis on civil and human rights and national security litigation, at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP.
The Advocates’ Society Medal is the highest expression of esteem that the society can convey to one of its members. It is intended to honour those who have demonstrated clearly their preeminence as counsel and who are acknowledged unequivocally as leaders of the bar, who have been dedicated and active members of The Advocates’ Society and who have made a significant contribution to the profession of law and to the well-being of the community at large.