Norman Farrell, Law’86, and Christopher Waters, Law’94, have each been awarded a Law Society Medal, the Law Society of Ontario’s (LSO) highest distinction. The medal recognizes outstanding service within the legal profession – whether in practice, academia, or public service – and upholding the highest ideals of the profession.

The LSO citation for Norman Farrell reads:

“Called to the Bar in 1988, Norman has worked tirelessly to bring justice to victims of mass atrocities across the world – prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and domestic terrorism cases at international tribunals.

“He has served in prominent positions including chief prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, deputy prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and senior prosecution counsel at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He also was legal advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva and Ethiopia and a delegate in Sarajevo. Prior to his international work, he was crown counsel at the Crown Law Office-Criminal in Toronto.

“Through his work, he has fought against impunity and worked to hold the highest civilian and military leaders to account and in doing so, he contributed to bringing justice to hundreds of thousands of victims and survivors of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He returned to Canada in 2022. In his new role as senior legal advisor in the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crime section of the Department of Justice, he is bringing a wealth of international experience home to serve Canadians. His contributions to the development of international criminal law have left an indelible mark and will continue to impact and assist in bringing justice to victims of serious international crimes in the years to come.”

For more than two decades each spring, Farrell has also been teaching international criminal law for Queen’s Law’s International Law Program.

The LSO citation for Christopher Waters reads:

“Called to the Bar in 1996, Dr. Waters is a professor at the University of Windsor, Faculty of Law. He is an international law scholar who focuses on international humanitarian law, or the law of armed conflict. His international law scholarship built on field experiences in post-conflict zones before coming to the academy.

“Dr. Waters spent nine years in leadership roles at Windsor Law. He was associate dean from 2009 to 2012 and dean from 2015 to 2021. During his years as dean, he led several transformative initiatives at the University of Windsor. Foremost among these was launching and fundraising for the multi-million-dollar renovation of the Windsor Law building which was completed in 2023.

“The renovation initiative, known as Transforming Windsor Law, was based on the guiding principles of improving accessibility, enhancing the student learning experience and connecting with local Indigenous communities. He led the law school through the challenging times of the pandemic and was also chair of the Ontario Law Deans during this period. In addition, as dean, he worked with colleagues to grow the law school’s clinical and experiential programs and expand student services.

“Dr. Waters has been the co-editor-in-chief of the Canadian Bar Review for the last decade and is involved in a broad range of legal and community organizations. He is a board member of the Essex Law Association, a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross, a founding board member of the Windsor Persian Cultural Centre and a guest curator of local history exhibits at Museum Windsor.

“Finally, a dedicated cycling advocate and author of Every Cyclist’s Guide to Canadian Law, Dr. Waters is dedicated to making streets safe for all. In 2024 he received a Wheels of Change Award from the Share the Road Coalition for his work on advancing cycling.”

Farrell and Waters, who first worked together as facilitators at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in the early 2000s, have remained in touch over the years – adding a personal connection to this shared honour.

Farrell and Waters will receive their medals on May 28 at the annual Law Society Awards ceremony, hosted by Treasurer Peter Wardle, Law’84. A live webcast will be available on the LSO website on the day of the event.