Law Society presents honorary doctorate to human rights and social justice activist Dr. Emily Carasco

20 July 2006

The Law Society of Upper Canada presented an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) to Dr. Emily Carasco, LL.B., LL.M., S.J.D., LLD, Professor of Law at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law, at a ceremony to welcome 75 of the province's 1,000 new lawyers.

Each year, as part of its call to the bar ceremony, the Law Society awards an honorary doctorate to a distinguished person who exemplifies the values held in esteem by the legal profession. Recipients serve as keynote speakers to inspire the graduating class as the new lawyers begin their careers.

Law Society Treasurer Gavin MacKenzie first congratulated the graduates and offered some advice: "The practice of law is neither a trade nor a business. It is a profession based on foundations of service and it comes with implicit professional obligations - one of which is to protect the legal rights of people who cannot afford legal services. As lawyers you will play a critical role in making legal services more accessible by choosing to take on legal aid work, providing pro bono services and being involved in your communities. You will find that some of your most rewarding hours as a lawyer will be those for which you never render an account."

Treasurer MacKenzie then presented an honorary doctorate to Dr. Carasco for her dedicated professional and volunteer efforts to promote access to justice, particularly for minority women and children.

"Dr. Emily Carasco's deep commitment and solid contributions to improving race and gender equity issues make her an outstanding role model for today's graduates," said Treasurer MacKenzie. "Her passion for social justice has made her a shining example of what can be achieved in this profession."

Dr. Carasco is a Professor of Law at the University of Windsor where she teaches family law, immigration law and public international law. She also writes and speaks extensively on these subjects and race/gender equity issues, with a particular focus on children's rights.

Dr. Carasco received her LL.B. from Makerere University in Uganda in 1971, and then fled Uganda the following year when Idi Amin began his dictatorship. She then obtained LL.M. and S.J.D degrees from Harvard Law School.

A former Human Rights Commissioner for the University of Windsor, Dr. Carasco has helped the university shape its policies in this area through her service as a member or chair of several of the university's committees, including its Social Justice Steering Committee, Status of Women Committee, Employment and Educational Equity Advisory Committee, Presidential Commission on Prejudice and Discrimination, and Human Rights Panel.

As president of the Faculty Association of the University of Windsor, she led the movement to make the university the first in Canada to divest its funds from apartheid era South Africa. She also developed employment and educational equity policy that served as a model for many universities and worked with various organizations to develop equity and human rights workplace policies.

For the province of Ontario, Dr. Carasco has served as a Commissioner for the Hearings on Apartheid for Lawyers Against Apartheid, as a member of the Gender Issues Committee, Canadian Bar Association for Ontario, and as a member of the Human Rights Code Review Advisory Committee for Ontario. She has also been both a member and the appointed chair of the Ontario Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee for the Ontario government.

The London ceremony, held at the London Convention Centre, is the second of five the Law Society is conducting in July to call 1,000 new lawyers to the Ontario bar. The first call was held in Ottawa on July 12 and the remaining three will be held in Toronto on July 20 and 21.

As part of the Law Society's mandate to govern the legal profession in the public interest, the Law Society is responsible for the licensing, admission and regulation of the almost 37,000 lawyers in Ontario. For more information about the Law Society, visit us online at: www.lsuc.on.ca.

For further information: Lisa Hall, (416) 947-7625, lhall@lsuc.on.ca; or Denise McCourtie, (416) 947-3362, dmccourt@lsuc.on.ca

Source: newswire

All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.