The Winter Term of 2025 saw numerous guest speakers, panel discussions and educational events including an actual Federal Court hearing pass through the recently renovated moot courtroom which can be divided into two separate classrooms. The space was named in honour of Harry Walsh, O.C., LL.D., Q.C., a Faculty of Law Class of 1937 alum, to acknowledge his legacy following the extensive renovations which were made possible thanks to a generous gift from Walsh’s nephew, Ron Stern.

Ron Stern, nephew of Harry Walsh, stands beside the plaque dedicating the Faculty of Law’s Moot Courtroom to his uncle. Photo by Adam Dolman.

Harry Walsh was a legendary criminal defence lawyer who practiced law into his 90’s and who passed away in 2011 after a lifetime of advocating for underserved populations, defending human rights, and fighting to abolish capital punishment in Canada. A comprehensive story about Walsh titled “Honouring Advocacy” can be found on UM Today.

To acknowledge and officially recognize the legacy of Harry Walsh, the Faculty of Law could find no more fitting a Canadian lawyer than Marie Henein, an extraordinary criminal defence lawyer herself, to deliver the Harry Walsh Lecture in his namesake moot courtroom.

Marie Henein is a founding partner of Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP and is recognized as one of the country’s top litigators. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, criminal litigation, commercial litigation, mediation, and arbitration. She has been interviewed repeatedly by the media written for the Globe and Mail, and is a sought after public speaker. In 2003 Ms. Henein was a recipient of the Laura Legge, award from the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the Law Society of Upper Canada Medal. In 2017 she received the Law Society Medal for outstanding service to the administration of justice.

In 2023 Ms. Henein was the chosen recipient of the G. Arthur Martin medal, most recently in 2024. She was awarded a doctorate of laws by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Marie Henein authored her best-selling memoir, Nothing but the Truth, and was co-editor of Martin’s Criminal Code, Martin’s Annual Criminal Practice, and Martin’s related Criminal Statute and the associate editor of the Canadian Criminal Cases.

The Harry Walsh Lecture began with Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law, sharing a word from former Dean and former University of Manitoba Chancellor, Harvey Secter, who had initially recognized the need for upgrades to be made to the law school’s Moot Courtroom. “With Ron Stern’s support the Faculty of Law was able to memorialize one of Manitoba’s most distinguished advocates and create a facility designed for the realities of the 21^st century,” he said in an email.

Next, the audience was treated to a special visit from Winnipeg criminal defence lawyer, Richard Wolson via Zoom (live from California), who had been mentored by Walsh and practiced law with him for 22 years after having intended to stay at his firm of Walsh Micay for only one year. “What made Harry so great?”, Wolson asked the nearly 100 guests filling the room. “He was gifted with the innate ability to question witnesses just far enough, and was gifted at cross-examination.”

“Anything that has gone well in court has been because of Harry,” Wolson said of his own successful career. “Anything that was a mistake was my own fault.”

Walsh’s son Paul Walsh, KC, who had practiced law for many years with his dad, shared a glimpse of his father with the audience and his own enthusiasm to see Walsh’s legacy so appropriately recognized. “Thank you, Ron, for your fabulous gift to Robson Hall,” he said addressing his cousin. “Your gift is regarded by all who all related, all of those who are acquainted, as well as those who retained my dad and your uncle Harry, as the perfect gift – it is the perfect gift – to memorialize both his career and his contributions to the legal community.”

Henein started her remarks by recognizing Walsh as “a lawyer’s lawyer” who valued the true nature of the legal profession. “Law is an inconvenient profession,” she acknowledged. “Over time, it changes the landscape of who you are.”

Henein unflinchingly addressed current issues the legal profession faces today with media and government constantly challenging the legitimacy of what lawyers and the judiciary do. “We know everyone’s entitled to a defence,” she said. “We know our own ethics and morals.”

She warned that an attack on the justice system was more of an attack on democracy itself, pointing to historical examples of times when politicians waged so-called wars on crime or drugs or other excuses to remove democratic rights from communities. “There is no greater obstruction to an autocracy than an independent bar and an independent judiciary,” she said.

Example after example of incidents in other countries illustrated her point that “democracies around the world have tolerated the erosion of civil liberties and embraced anti-democratic values.”

Henein cautioned against disparaging lawyers for doing their jobs, noting that democracy doesn’t die with a few large blows but with a series of small steps.

Henein noted that Harry Walsh took steps throughout his life that were fundamental to the protection of democracy including helping to found Legal Aid Manitoba and fighting for the abolishment of capital punishment in Canada. “Not once did he question his own ethics and integrity,” she said, concluding that lawyers are “defenders of democracy.”

Manitoba lawyer Stacey Soldier records an episode of the Robson Radio podcast with Marie Henein. Photo by Christine Mazur.

After speaking, Henein welcomed questions from the audience, at the end of which, Stern rose to especially thank her and express hope that all law students could follow in Harry Walsh’s and Marie Henein’s footsteps.

Earlier in the day, Henein spent some time in conversation with Manitoba lawyer Stacey Soldier, a senior associate lawyer at Cochrane Sinclair LLP, class of 2007 alum, and a practicing professional instructor at Robson Hall. Soldier, who hails from the Gaabiskigamaag community, (Swan Lake First Nation), practices criminal law and child protection law, and connected with Henein about the perceptions of criminal defence lawyers in Canadian society today, over-policing, capital punishment, mental health and the legal profession, practicing law as women, and the importance of mentorship and diversity in the legal profession. Their conversation was recorded and can be heard as an episode of the Robson Radio Podcast.

The event details are as follows:

Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Lecture featuring keynote speaker Marie Henein, K.C. speaking on “The Role of Defence Counsel in the Canadian Justice System”

Date: Monday, March 3, 2025
Doors open: 5:00 p.m.
Lecture start: 5:30 p.m., reception to follow.
Location: Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Moot Courtroom, Robson Hall, 224 Dysart Road, University of Manitoba Fort Garry Campus

The lecture is free, but seating is limited. Please register to secure your spot.

About the Keynote Speaker:

Marie Henein, K.C. is a Founding Partner of Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP, and is recognized as one of the country’s top litigators. Her practice focuses on civil litigation, criminal litigation, commercial litigation, mediation and arbitration. She has been interviewed repeatedly by the media, written for the Globe and Mail, and is a sought-after public speaker.

In 2013, Ms. Henein was a recipient of the Laura Legge Award from the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Law Society of Upper Canada Medal. In 2017, she received The Law Society Medal for outstanding service to the administration of justice. In 2023, Ms. Henein was the chosen recipient of the G. Arthur Martin Medal. Most recently in 2024, she was awarded a Doctorate of Laws by the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Marie Henein authored her best-selling memoir Nothing but The Truth, and is co-editor of Martin’s Criminal Code, Martin’s Annual Criminal Practice, and Martin’s Related Criminal Statutes; and the Associate Editor of the Canadian Criminal Cases.  Copies of Marie Henein’s book Nothing but the Truth will be available for sale on site, courtesy of the University of Manitoba Bookstore.

A fiercely dedicated criminal defence lawyer who went to his office daily, even well into his 90’s, Walsh was a proponent of the abolishment of the death penalty in Canada, and a founder of Legal Aid Manitoba. He was called to the bar in no less than five provinces and one territory, which allowed him to represent clients almost completely across Canada. These jurisdictions included Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.  All told, he practiced law for 74 years and was still a practicing lawyer at the time of his death at age 97.

According to those who knew him, although Walsh met many famous and illustrious individuals throughout his long life, the ones he considered to be the most important, and for whom he fought the hardest were his clients. 

Dedication

Harry Walsh, O.C., LL.D., Q.C.

In recognition of his contributions to the practice of law, Walsh was appointed Queen’s Counsel by the Province of Manitoba in 1954. In 2010, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of the role he played in the abolition of capital punishment in Canada, his advocacy of access to legal representation, and his work in the Manitoba Jewish Community. At the foundation of these honours lay Walsh’s humble beginnings, growing up in Winnipeg’s North End on Selkirk Avenue.

When his brother-in-law Sam Stern, owner of Winnipeg Motor Products died, Walsh took his sister Sally’s son Ron under his wing, becoming even more of a mentor and role model to the young man. Ron reflected, “In addition to greatly appreciating his influence in my decision to study and practise law, my larger memory is that the times spent with our beloved Uncle Harry were very special for me, my wife Janet and our children.”

To honour his uncle – a legend in the legal community across Canada –Ron Stern supported the transformation of Robson Hall’s moot courtroom into a bright, modern and professional learning space where students learn advocacy skills like those Walsh honed over his long career. Having been built in 1969, Robson Hall was showing its age in the 2010s, and by 2018, was in dire need of upgrades to accommodate computers and modern learning methods. Stern’s contributions brought the law building’s largest lecture hall that doubles as an actual courtroom, into the 21^stCentury. Today, it is used both for student moot court practice and real-life court hearings. The Federal Court of Canada continues to hold hearings there followed by educational question and answer sessions for law students. When all nine judges of the Supreme Court of Canada visited Robson Hall in 2019, the Faculty of Law was able to welcome them to a freshly-carpeted, beautifully re-modeled lecture hall and courtroom.

The old Moot Courtroom in 2014. Photo is a screenshot from a video recording of a lecture.

The Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Moot Courtroom when it was newly remodeled. Photo by David Lipnowski.

“The state of the Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Moot Courtroom now compared to when I first started teaching here in 2016 is undeniably state of the art,” said Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law. “When each first-year class walks through those doors on their first day of law school for orientation, they can see they are walking into a professional space that is welcoming, accessible with moveable tables at the front, modern desktops to plug in their laptops, with great sightlines and treated acoustics.”

Moot competition students and coaches have noted the difference in the space since the renovations with the room having been transformed from a sombre brick-walled cavern to being a professional, well-lit and functional space in which to practice advocacy. While it may or may not have been related to the renovation, Robson Hall’s Laskin moot team has won the “Spirit of the Laskin” award (for fair competition, commitment to bilingualism, and professional camaraderie) four times since 2017.

Ron Stern told us: “When Law School Dean Emeritus Harvey Secter raised with me the possibility of naming the Moot Courtroom after my Uncle, I realized how very appropriate this would be as a memoriam.  Harry Walsh believed passionately in the role of strong legal advocacy to defend individuals and build our society.  He was a lawyer’s lawyer!”

A charismatic personality

A new plaque just inside the Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Moot Courtroom doors dedicates the space to the legendary advocate.

Both of Walsh’s children, Paul Walsh, K.C., and Arlyne Walsh, remembered him as being fully dedicated to the pursuit of justice. Having seen their father in action at the downtown Law Courts Building, they witnessed what an incredible cross-examiner he was.

Paul, who practiced law for 46 years, including 10 years with his father at the Winnipeg law firm Walsh & Company (from 1999 until Harry’s passing), described his father’s uncanny abilities to see through witnesses: “It was like he knew the truth – it was like he knew what happened and was there at the time,” he explained.

When it came to jury selection, none could compare. “He was able to find any prejudice in a possible juror,” said Arlyne. “He was really good at reading people.”

The Best Advocate

Walsh put those deadly skills into practice in the defence of saving lives from the death penalty, which Parliament finally abolished in Canada – in part due to his work as co-chair of the Committee for the Abolition of Capital Punishment in Canada – in 1976.

A 2011 article in the Jewish Independent titled “Full Commitment to Justice” by Rebeca Kuropatwa quotes Walsh as saying that we cannot participate or stand by when a life is taken. “Are we gods?” he asked. “You don’t look up to God and say ‘Dayeinu’ [enough] […]. I’ve never turned anyone away on account of what they’ve committed.”

Ana Santos was Walsh’s assistant for the last 29 years of his life, and recalled his response to people who would ask how he could possibly represent the accused persons who came to him for help. “Because I’m a lawyer and because I have to work the law,” she remembered he would say. “I am their advocate to do the best I can.”

“I only have to work the law and represent my client to the best of my ability,” was his mantra.

Despite having been asked to be a judge, Walsh declined. “He wanted to be the best advocate for his clients,” Arlyne emphasized. “He didn’t want to be a judge. Judges loved him because he knew the procedures and was an excellent lawyer, and he respected them,” but his heart was devoted to advocating for the underdog. On this topic, he once had the opportunity to warmly converse with Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter during a chance meeting.

The new plaque shares Walsh’s legacy with future generations of lawyers.

For nearly 30 years, Santos watched Walsh in action – what she described as “his generous heart” as he worked pro bono for many clients. He would ask her to, “just send ‘this’ to the client” – with ‘this’ being an invoice for a minimal sum – “they may not be able to afford much but they have their pride and self-esteem.”

“He was respectful of them in their most vulnerable state,” she said.

Founding Legal Aid Manitoba was another act of Walsh’s dedication to advocacy and to “never turning anyone away” by ensuring that everyone should have legal representation. The 2011 article in the Jewish Independentdescribes how Walsh encouraged Manitoba lawyers to take cases up north, quoting him as saying, “I’ve represented communists, Jews, [Indigenous people] and others who’ve been discriminated against for one reason or another. I represented one [Indigenous person] who couldn’t afford his fees. He paid me with a work of art he painted, which I’ve hung behind my office desk. [Indigenous people], like everyone else, must have their fair rights respected as Canadians.”

The artist in question became one of the most famous Indigenous artists in Canada, whose work is highly regarded even today (but due to solicitor-client privilege, which extends even beyond the grave, his name cannot be revealed).

True to form, Walsh held firm to practicing what he preached, even into his 90’s. Santos recalled how Walsh would talk to anyone and everyone, including his Handi-Transit drivers who she would recognize coming into his office as clients. “He became friendly with all his drivers, she said. “He appreciated the care he got from them, and in return he offered his services pro-bono.”

Advocating for Manitoba’s Jewish Community and beyond

Even though he served Canada in the Second World War as a lance-bombardier in the Royal Canadian Artillery, obtained a BA in 1932 an LLB in 1937 and became a well-respected lawyer, Walsh still experienced antisemitism. He was once invited to be a guest speaker at Manitoba’s Blackstone Club, but upon learning that it did not allow Jewish membership, he formed the Jessel Club for Jewish lawyers (The Jewish Foundation Book of Life). He was also a founder of The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, having drafted the Foundation Agreement. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) was very important to him, and he went to Israel every year for 38 years for Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. According to The Jewish Foundation’s Book of Life, Walsh and his wife Irene’s visits to Israel were “primarily as founders of the Winnipeg based Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.” Winnipeg and the city of Be’er Sheva where the university is located, were named twin cities through Walsh’s connection with the BGU. It was through his many visits to Israel that Walsh met and befriended Gideon Hausner (chief prosecutor in the Eichmann Trial). Their friendship arose out of a mutual respect and admiration they had for each other.

A Mentor of Mentors

As close as Walsh was to his nephew Ron, he also mentored some of Winnipeg’s most notable criminal defence lawyers.

When Walsh died on February 24, 2011, Greg Brodsky told CBC, “He’s the reason I am what I am…. He was there for me every day.”

A 2021 article in Canadian Lawyer Magazine noted that Jeffrey Gindin, Richard Wolson, and Saul Simmonds, once all partners at the same firm, were each mentored by “legendary Winnipeg criminal defence lawyer Harry Walsh.” The article quoted Gindin as describing Walsh as “one of the top criminal lawyers in Canada.”

Mentoring was another indelible part of Walsh’s personality. He had an “open door policy” where he would make himself available to anyone at any time. If there wasn’t a client in his office, other lawyers in the firm would step in to consult with him about their cases.   

As those who knew him would emphasise, the lesson Walsh’s legacy leaves for law students today, is that when they are helped, they then have an obligation to help others in turn.

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A lecture in Walsh’s memory focused on advocacy, featuring prominent Toronto lawyer Marie Henein, will take place in the Harry Walsh O.C., Q.C. Moot Courtroom in Robson Hall, 224 Dysart Road on March 3, 2025 at 5:30 p.m., with doors opening at 5:00 p.m.. The lecture is free but seating is limited. Please register to secure your spot