NOTED LAW PROFS DIE
Daniel Soberman, the last surviving founding faculty member at the Queen’s University Faculty of Law, died last week at age 80.

In 1957, the constitutional and corporate law expert left Dalhousie University to team up with Alex Corry and Stuart Ryan at the new law school.

He later became the faculty’s second dean and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws at its 2008 spring convocation.

During a 42-year academic career at Queen’s, Soberman served as president of the Canadian Association of Law Teachers and conducted influential studies examining academic freedom. Flags on campus were lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect.

At the same time, University of Windsor law professor John Whiteside died last week, nearly 50 years after helping establish the university.

He was on the original board of directors in the early 1960s before joining the law faculty in 1975 after a long career in private practice. In 1990, he was named professor emeritus while continuing to teach after his retirement.

In 1999, the Law Society of Upper Canada awarded Whiteside the Law Society Medal for his contribution to the profession.

Windsor lawyer Peter Hrastovec, a former student of Whiteside’s, described his memories of his colleague to the Windsor Star. “[He], to put it very simply, was a giant among lawyers,” he said.

OBA MAKES TOUGH DECISION
The Ontario Bar Association has named Bonnie Tough as the recipient of its 2010 Award for Excellence in Civil Litigation.