Law Times

LAW TIMES / APRIL 28, 2008 NEWS PAGE 3 Private practice laid groundwork for legal thrillers A BY ROBERT TODD Law Times series of award-winning legal thrillers. Mary Martin, who was born and raised former trusts and estates lawyer says her years of private prac- tice laid the groundwork for her in Toronto and practised in the city from 1973 to 1999, credits her experience in a small firm for inspiring many of the char- acters and issues in her novels, one of which recently landed her the Best Fiction Award in the Reader Views Awards, which honour the best in North America's independent, English-language publishing industry. "Much as the major satisfaction comes to get her law degree from Queen's University in Kingston, credits the late Toronto lawyer Bob Gray for laying the foundation for her legal career. Gray, then 60 years old, hired her at a time when few women were in the profession, and she says he ensured she wasn't stuck in the back room in her early years of practice. Martin says she modeled her from the writing and creating, you really want to get published, you really want to get recognized," says Martin. "Otherwise, you sort of feel like you're talking to yourself in a vacuum. I think that's the gratification aspect [of getting the award] — somebody's hearing you." Martin drew the award for her third book in her Osgoode Trilogy series (www. theosgoodetrilogy.com), A Trial of One. The book follows the series' protagonist, Henry Jenkins, as he tries to recover lost shares — sold to raise money to fund research into memory loss — owned by an elderly client. The book also received honourable mentions both at the London Book Festi- val and the Do It Yourself Convention, and also has been listed as a finalist in the Fore- Word magazine Book of the Year Awards. Martin, who earned a history degree at the University of Toronto before moving on protagonist in the Osgoode Trilogy, Henry Jenkins, after Gray, whom she describes as "a man ahead of his times," in terms of welcoming women into the profession, and "a terrific gentleman." "The attitudes toward the prac- tice of law, toward the clients, to- ward the profession," says Martin when asked to describe her former partner's traits that have been trans- ferred to her fictional character. "Re- ally viewing the profession as — I hesitate to use the term — one of the helping professions." Martin says that, while Gray was a superb practitioner, he was not much of a businessman. She says he showed her how to develop a love of helping people. Martin says this outlook on the profes- Former Toronto lawyer Mary Martin has won the Best Fiction Award in the Reader Views Awards for her third book in her Osgoode Trilogy series. face in making ends meet, she decided to pursue a legal career on the urging of a university professor. It wasn't until Martin was in her 40s that sion showed her that lawyers have a "win- dow on humanity," as they deal each day with their clients' sensitive — often bizarre — personal matters. Martin says many of her experiences with clients have ended up in her writ- ing, which is a vocation she says she was interested in from the age of 18. But af- ter learning of the struggles many writers she returned to writing with the intention of publishing a book. One day while va- cationing at a northern Ontario ski lodge, she pulled out a yellow legal notepad and began developing the adventures of Henry Jenkins. She says that first book, Conduct in Question, slowly progressed over several years, as she was hard pressed for time be- tween raising three children and keeping her law practice afloat. io lawyers, and particularly those practising in Toronto, an opportunity to reflect. "Anybody who practises law hope- fully has a few minutes sometimes to sit down and think about what they're doing and what effect they're having on their clients, their profession, their world around them, the people they love and care for. In a sense, the trilogy really provokes that kind of thinking." in Toronto with her husband, says she feared her family's reaction to her plans to write The Great Ca- nadian Novel. But she was pleased to see them perk up when she add- ed that the books would be crime thrillers. She says she learned from that feedback that she could use the genre as a plot driver while including the social issues she was inspired to delve into upon read- ing some of her own favourite au- thors, such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann, Charles Dickens, and Robertson Davies. While Martin's relationship with the law has ended — she has no involvement in any legal organiza- tions or initiatives, but up to 2006 continued to do small legal tasks for some of her elderly clients — she says she has nothing but good memories of her time in the profes- sion. She says her decision to turn to writing is much like a lawyer who branches out into the business world after many years in practice. And she believes the book offers Ontar- Martin, who continues to live LT Canadian parole provisions will apply to woman Continued from page 1 is serving prison time in the U.S. Martin had worked as a chef and house manager for Waage, but insisted following her arrest she knew nothing of his illegal scheme. Waage and Martin have told friends and journalists he fired her before his arrest and paid her $23,000 in severance after 10 months on his payroll. She invest- ed $10,000 of that money in his business after the severance, but Waage agreed to refund the money following his arrest. Mexican officials cited bank records showing the $10,000 re- turned to Martin came from an offshore account and filed that as evidence she knew of his inter- net scheme. Martin said she did not know where the money came from, and was thrown into prison with women who had already been convicted of crimes, contrary to international agreements. She eventually went on a hunger strike and was placed on a suicide watch, telling friends she was afraid she would remain in the Guadalajara jail until she died. Waage signed an affidavit say- ing Martin had not been involved in his criminal operations, but the Mexican judge refused to accept it as evidence. The Harper government was the Mexican sentence to a Cana- dian sentence," Day's communica- tions director, Mélisa Leclerc, said in an e-mail response to e-mailed questions from Law Times. "Unless the maximum allowable Canadian sentence is lower than the Mexican sentence, the Mexican sentence will become her Canadian sentence," she added. "Canadian parole provisions will apply once she is in Canada." The response made no men- tion of whether the two years Martin served in the Guadala- jara jail will be deducted from the time she will have to serve in Canada, and the Mexican judge who issued a written ruling and sentence in the case also did not mention time served, according to news reports. Martin's lawyer, Guillermo Cruz, tells Law Times his client would have to serve no more than two years and 10 months in Mexico under federal law that automatically rolls time served into the sentence. "If there's no consideration given for dead time, that flies in the face of Canadian judicial principles," says Greenspon. Greenspon points out if the the [offence] conversion." Mark Ertel, president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa cites other troubling as- pects of Martin's conviction and sentencing — including the small amount of money involved, and the Mexican judge's reliance on circumstantial evidence. "That is really the more inter- esting question, whether she could ever be convicted on that evidence in Canada. I don't think she would ever have been convicted on that evidence in Canada." LT VISIT OUR REDESIGNED WEBSITE WWW.LAWFOUNDATION.ON.CA slow to respond to growing pres- sure to intervene with Mexican authorities, and a statement from Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's office to Law Times suggests she may have to serve almost two years in prison in Canada before being eligible for full parole. "We first have to determine what the equivalent offence is in Canada, then we have to convert government decides the equivalent offence in Canada is laundering proceeds of crime, s. 462.31 of the Criminal Code, prosecution on a summary conviction in Canada would be possible. Even so, the maximum pris- on sentence allowed under that section is 10 years. "With this kind of a section, the kind of proceeds that would be considered, at least in Canada, $10,000 would not be large, that would be considered a small sum. It depends on what's done on See our Grants Program section to view new information on granting application processes The Law Foundation of Ontario is committed to the advancement of legal knowledge, excellence within the legal profession and community participation in the legal system. The LFO funds programs and initiatives that promote and enhance access to justice for all Ontarians. www.lawtimesnews.com

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