Name: Keith M. Landy Firm: Landy Marr LLP
City: Toronto
Age: 54
Current claim to fame: Landy received the Lincoln Alexander Award from the Law Society of Upper Canada in honour of his work championing human rights and religious tolerance throughout his longstanding career as a lawyer and community leader. The award recognizes a lawyer who has made a commitment to the public and community service and to the people of Ontario.
Q: What is the last book you read?
A: City of Dreams by Beverly Swerling — an intriguing historical novel dealing with the early days of the City of New York.
Q: Who's the smartest person you know?
A: My wife — after all, she married me, didn't she?
Q: What would constitute a "perfect" evening for you?
A: An evening of animated discussion with friends and family.
Q: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
A: Politics — a once noble profession.
Q: Whom do you admire most? Why does that person inspire you?
A: My parents. They made good lives for themselves and for their children on three different continents.
Q: What's your greatest strength?
A: Being able to persuade with equal amounts of tenacity and good humor.
Q: What quality do you admire most in others?
A: Honesty and loyalty.
Q: What was your first job?
A: Criminal law clerk in the Law Courts in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe).
Q: What's the funniest thing that has happened to you in your career?
A: The funniest events are protected by solicitor-client privilege. The stories will have to remain untold.
Q: What are five things you can't live without?
A: 1) My family; 2) my BlackBerry/cell phone; 3) the occasional squash game; 4) 3 p.m. tea time; and 5) my iPod.
Q: If someone made a movie of your life, who would you want to play you?
A: Some might suggest Brad
Pitt, but realistically, James Gandolfini.
Q: What area of law do you practise?
A: Civil litigation with emphasis on commercial litigation, professional negligence, and personal injury.
Q: Is it everything you thought it would be?
A: . . . and more!
Q: What is the greatest accomplishment of your life so far?
A: Aside from my family, having been given the honour and privilege to be a leader in the Canadian Jewish Community during the recent global upheaval, and the resurgence of global anti-Semitism.
Q: What has been your greatest challenge?
A: After practising law for almost 30 years, maintaining one's sense of perspective and one's sanity — all with a sense of humor.
Q: What kind of work do you hope to do as a governor of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews?
A: To educate new (and all Canadians, for that matter) that there is a fundamental social contract that involves the state eschewing a policy of assimilation, while minority communities pursue the path of full integration. Distinctiveness is encouraged with the understanding that there is an adoption of, and loyalty to, an overarching Canadianism.
