Professor Nicholas Bala receives Law Society’s highest honour

Photo courtesy of the Law Society of Upper Canada

Professor Nicholas Bala receives the Law Society Medal from LSUC CEO Malcolm Heins at Osgoode Hall on September 23, 2009.

Professor Nicholas Bala, Law ’77, received the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) during a special ceremony at Osgoode Hall on September 23, 2009.

“Professor Bala is Canada’s foremost authority on legal issues related to children, including youth criminal justice and children’s evidence,” said LSUC treasurer W.A. Derry Millar at the presentation. “His work has helped to make the legal system and the professionals who work in it more sensitive to the needs of children and families in crisis. He is recognized by his peers as an exceptional legal scholar and teacher.”

Established in 1985, the Law Society Medal is given to outstanding Ontario lawyers whose service reflects the highest ideals of the profession. The award recognizes outstanding service, whether in a particular area of practice, in the academic sphere, or in some other professional capacity.

“This is a particular honour since (as a law professor), I am not a traditional member of the Law Society,” said Bala as he accepted the award. Pointing out the legal profession’s three branches – the practising bar, judiciary and academy – he noted that the academy shares a goal with the other two branches to improve the quality of justice and to ensure the future the legal profession. “By recognizing my contributions, you recognize all law professors and our contribution to the profession.”

Bala, who refers to himself as an “honorary member of the family law bar,” also commented on the important and challenging role of family justice professionals, especially practitioners. “They deal with the most intimate and emotionally significant of human relationships,” he said. “By recognizing my contributions, you recognize all of the family bar.”

Bala began his academic career at Queen’s Law in 1980 after graduating from Harvard with an LL.M. A legal scholar with a focus on issues relating to children, families and the justice system, his work has been published extensively in law, psychology, social work and medical journals. He has written or co-authored 15 books and more than 130 articles and book chapters, and has acted as legal consultant to numerous organizations and government departments. A frequent speaker at the Law Society Family Law Summit, he has also served as a co-chair and presenter since 2007. Earlier this year, he won the Ontario Bar Association’s 2009 Award for Excellence in Family Law.

“Nick Bala exemplifies the highest standards of excellence,” said Justice Harvey Brownstone, Law ’80, who was one of Bala’s nominators for the medal. “His prodigious writings are legendary throughout the Canadian and international legal communities. He is a beloved and highly respected professor who has inspired dozens of young lawyers, including myself, to pursue careers in family law, and has continued to mentor and motivate them for decades after graduation.”

Justice Brownstone added, “Nick has been such an invaluable resource to the legal community that it would actually be an understatement to say that he, more than anyone else in this country, has shaped and influenced the development and evolution of family and children’s law.”