Law Times

lAw times • July 27/August 3, 2009 NEWS PAGE 3 service with a commitment to improving the lot of visible mi- norities in the legal profession, and will soon be recognized by the Law Society of Upper Can- ada for her work. Th omas credits her father, Sandra Thomas: passion for community service T BY ROBERT TODD Law Times oronto lawyer Sandra Th omas has fostered her passion for community This is the fourth in our series focusing on recipients of the LSUC awards honouring the best of the profession. Dr. Ferdinand Th omas, for sparking her interest in giv- ing back to the community. Dr. Th omas developed a suc- cessful medical practice in Scarborough after arriving in Canada in 1955 from Trini- dad and Tobago. He also had a keen interest in community service and was a mentor for many, she adds. "He was always helping people in one way or another, whether it be to recommend somebody for a job or to put in a good word for somebody, or whatever," says Th omas. "Th at's how I was raised, pretty much." Th omas began following her father's example while re- ceiving her undergraduate de- gree at York University, when she put on cultural shows to raise funds for charity. More recently, Th omas has become involved with the York-Westview Partnership at York's faculty of education. Th e co-operative project in- volves the Toronto District School Board's Westview fam- ily of schools and the educa- tion faculty, along with other smaller contributors. Th e partnership off ers a variety of programs, such as a weekend literacy and leader- ship program. She also donates her time to the Youth Association for Aca- demics Athletics and Character Education, which also assists young persons in the Jane-Finch area. Th at group encourages children in the community to continue their education, and includes both tutorial and ath- letic components. Th omas combined her "abid- ing love for music" with her ded- ication to those organizations by organizing a recent fundraiser at Toronto's Drake Hotel. Jazz at the Drake featured a long list of local and interna- tional musicians, a photogra- phy exhibit by Th omas' lawyer colleague at the Public Prose- cution Service of Canada, Nick Devlin, and silent auction, rais- ing $4,200 along the way. It's this kind of work in community service that has prompted the LSUC to honour Th omas with the Lincoln M. Alexander Award, which goes to a lawyer who has shown a com- mitment to the public through community service. It's also, she says, the underlying reason she got into the profession. "I wanted to do law because I saw an opportunity for me to continue on in some way with community service, regardless of what area I happen to end up in," she says. She ended up receiving her law degree from Rutgers Uni- versity in New Jersey. Th omas went on to spend three years working at the Governor's Of- fi ce of the Council of the Gov- ernor of New Jersey, acting as an assistant counsel. She returned to Toronto in 1989 and received her accredi- tation from the law society to Crown loses charge bid BY ROBERT TODD Law Times C rown lawyer Roger Shallow has lost his bid to have sexual assault charges laid against two Toronto police offi cers who subjected him to a strip search while in custody on allegations of causing a disturbance and assault to resist arrest. Shallow, 37, attempted to lay the sexual assault charges pri- vately last year, but was turned down by Justice of the Peace Da- vid Hunt. In a ruling released last week, Superior Court Justice Ian Nordheimer rejected Shallow's application for mandamus for Hunt to reconsider. "I note that there was no direct touching of the applicant's body by either of the police offi cers," wrote Nordheimer. "Th e strip search took place in a private room within a police station. While the ap- plicant was ordered to manipulate various parts of his body, there is no suggestion that either the commands, or any gestures that may have accompanied them, had any sexual content to them. "Lastly, there is nothing on the evidence that would suggest that the intent of either of the offi cers in conducting this strip search was for their own sexual gratifi cation." Nordheimer said Shallow "hinted at in his factum, that there is a practice within the Toronto Police Service of offi cers abus- ing their authority and undertaking strip searches when there are no legitimate reasons for doing so." He recommended Shallow take such concerns to the Police Services Board or seek a civil remedy. "Th e criminal law is a blunt tool not well-suited, I suggest, to the applicant's stated purpose," wrote Nordheimer. LT collar fraud prosecutions. Aside from her work on the Sandra Thomas practise here, and articled at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. She then spent a year in insurance defence work, before spending a year working as a duty counsel. She eventually ended up where she'd hoped to be, work- ing for the government at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada's Toronto offi ce. She's been there ever since. She currently works on the prosecution service's rev- enue prosecutions team, which involves tax prosecutions under the Income Tax Act, Excise Tax Act, along with some white- job, Th omas has made her mark on the profession as founding president of the Canadian Asso- ciation of Black Lawyers, which was created in 1996. She says the organization came about because black lawyers felt the need for an organization that combined the promotion of excellence within the profession with the establishment of sup- port systems for lawyers, law students, and others interested in becoming a lawyer. "We thought that would be a way to encourage those who are currently practising, as well as those who would like to practise law," she says. Th e group also wanted to highlight positive role models for youths, and honour the contribu- tions of successful black lawyers. "We felt that there was a need for a national organiza- tion," she says. She notes that the govern- ment, law society, and various institutions and organizations have sought CABL's advice on public policy issues. "It provides another voice, for instance, in terms of diversi- fying the legal profession," says Th omas. "It allows for others to contribute to the legal profes- sion, and also to contribute not only their talent but also their opinions, where it counts." Th omas was involved with the Justice Department's adviso- ry committee on visible minori- ties in the late 1990s. Th at group aimed to give advice to the depu- ty minister on issues that are im- portant to visible minorities in the department. It also sought to encourage the hiring, retention, and promotion of visible minor- ities within the department. Th e experience allowed Th omas to travel to Ottawa, where she says she got a new perspective on the various poli- cy issues the government faced. "We felt that we had a con- tribution to make," she says. Th omas says she is extremely honoured to receive the award for her community service, and hopes she serves as an example for others with ambitions of making similar contributions. "I hope that my doing com- munity work would inspire oth- ers to do similar things," she says. "One person can aff ect a lot of people — you may not think that you really have an impact, but you'd be surprised." LT No, we don't really think of ourselves as superheroes (although, we do regularly appear just in time to save the day) E-discovery requires expertise, strategic understanding, diligence and a uniquely collaborative approach. Fortunately, we have access to the most talented litigation support experts through our broad network of industry leaders and our ever-expanding database of over 30,000 legal professionals. Keep your e-discovery requirements in-house by recruiting our e-discovery experts. For seamless integration with the shortest possible search time – whatever your needs … whether it be one expert, a team, direct hire, temporary or contract. Just call us. We'll be there! • Phone: (416) 363-7227 • Fax: (416) 363-6125 • kentlegal.com • www.lawtimesnews.com Photo: Robert Todd

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• LSUC Honours
• The Associate
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