Law Times

LAW TIMES / MAY 26, 2008 NEWS Passionate litigator in memorable cases Continued from page 4 the wrong address. In an incident that drew national attention, the police shot and killed Bastien. The family received a $2.3-million settlement. Paroian befriended the family and even played Santa Claus to their children. Paroian represented the pro- verbial little guy or a corporate client, what made him effective was that he "always tried to be on what he believed was the right side of an issue or what was the right thing to do from a jus- tice and fairness standpoint." Paroian's practical streak translated into politics. Al- Whelan says that, whether though he supported the Pro- gressive Conservative party, at least provincially, he threw his support behind Liberal Whel- an's candidacy in the 2004 federal election. After seeing a Windsor Star headline suggest- ing Whelan's campaign was fail- ing, he called her to ask what he could do. He became her chief fundraiser. "He believed that I was working on behalf of the area and that I was effective," Whelan says. When she lost the election Paroian offered her a job at his firm. Charles Harnick, On- tario's attorney general from 1995-1999, suggests Paroian was a point man in Windsor for making the legal community's views known. When Harnick made visits to Windsor, "Leon was always there to greet me . . . and to make sure that I heard what other members of the bar were saying." A big issue at the time was implementation of case management, tested widely in Windsor, and there were con- cerns about the disappearance of the office of the master. He says Paroian wasn't shy about letting "you know what you should be thinking and what you should be doing to solve problems." After graduating from Os- goode, Paroian was an assistant Crown attorney from 1963 to 1966. He was made Queen's Counsel in 1975 and received the Law Society Medal in 2006, a ci- tation that uncharacteristically left him mum. "I'm not often lost for words," he told the Windsor Star, "but I am by this." Paroian also had a strong re- lationship with the rank-and-file police. He was longtime coun- sel to the Windsor Police Asso- ciation as well as its provincial counterpart. Harry De Jong, former WPA vice president, credits Paroian's astuteness with helping tailor contracts and guiding relations with the local police board in a highly conciliatory way. "Our association has always been in the top, certainly across the province and most of the time across the country, as far as wages and benefits," De Jong says. And, unlike many other associations, Windsor has had next to no arbitration cases. "Leon spanned some 10 presidents and a whole bunch of directors and I don't know how many chiefs and how many members of the service board," De Jong says. "But his advice and counsel . . . you know, he often told us what we needed to hear as opposed to what we wanted to hear." LT PAGE 5 THINK BIG. WIN BIG. Think of what you can do with easy online access to thousands of actual pleadings, motions, and facta from leading cases. Get the power to create persuasive arguments and strengthen your case. www.litigatoronline.ca AUTHORITATIVE.INNOVATIVE.TRUSTED. Untitled-4 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 5/16/08 1:18:24 PM 11540(T1) MM2 04/08

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