On June 18, 2010, Omar Ha-Redeye officially graduated from law school, awarded with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.

An honourary doctorate was provided to Arkadi Kuhlmann of ING Direct, who spoke at the ceremony.

UWO Law June18 Convocation

To augment his legal education, Omar Ha-Redeye registered in a bar prep course with CanBarPrep.

Instructors for the course included Professor Stephanie Ben-Ishai of Osgoode Hall Law School, Howard Black of Minden Gross, Craig Carter of Fasken Martineau, Kim Crosbie of the Crown Law Office – Criminal, Professor Trevor Farrow of Osgoode Hall Law School, Lorne Wolfson of Torkin Manes, Professor Benjamin Alarie of University of Toronto, Professor Poonam Puri of Osgoode Hall Law School, Reuben Rosenblatt of Minden Gross, Freya Kristjansen of Cavalluzzo, Hayes, Shilton, McIntyre & Cornish, and Sid Troister of Torkin Manes.

After opening the Toronto Stock Exchange in the morning, Western Law celebrated its 50th Anniversary with its Golden Anniversary Reception at the Fairmont Royal York in the evening.

From the TMX website:

Thursday, April 29, 2010 – University of Western Ontario Law 50th Anniversary Opens the Market
Ian Holloway QC, Dean of Law at the University of Western Ontario joined Gary Knight, Vice President, Trading, TMX Group to open the market to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Western Law school. Founded in 1959, Western Law has grown, with a base of more than 6,000 alumni who occupy positions in the practice of law, business, and in community and public service. Western Law is commemorating their golden anniversary with a Grand Reception at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto tonight.

Photos from the event are available on Flickr.

The Minister of Justice, the Honourable Rob Nicholson, held a question and answer period for law students.

The Chief Justice of Ontario, Warren Winkler, gave  a lecture on “Judicial Mediation – Reality vs. Fantasy.”

Justice Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, spoke on the challenges facing the Commission

The event was hosted by Western’s Center for Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction.

See more on Slaw.

After a new initiation ceremony, the Phi Delta Phi chapter at UWO Law, Rand Inn, is back.

From the Phi Delta Phi website:

The University of Western Ontario has had a chapter since 1978, called Rand Inn after the founding dean of the law school. But Rand Inn has been defunct in recent years due to lack of participation.

In celebration of UWO Law’s 50th anniversary this year, Phi Delta Phi decided to reinvigorate its local chapter by hosting a membership drive. On March 3, 2010, Rand Inn initiated 7 new members at UWO. Al Burton, the Province President for Phi Delta Phi and a partner at Thomson Rogers, came from Toronto to administer the ceremony.

“The principles of Phi Delta Phi stand for professionalism and legal ethics, said Omar Ha-Redeye, a third-year law student, and Magister of the Inn. “It’s a perfect match for our school, which is considered a pioneer in this field.”

Over 400 members of Rand Inn are listed in the fraternity’s directory, all graduates of UWO Law since 1978.

Current members of Rand Inn at the University of Western Ontario Law; (From Left) Kristopher Manitius, Joel Welch, Matthew Wilson, Omar Ha-Redeye, Benjamin Tinholt, Stephanie Lafrance, John Magyar, Chris Berrigan, Province President Al Burton

Omar Ha-Redeye finished as a finalist in the Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP Labour Law Advocacy Competition.  The winners were Eric Grigg and Ben Howard.

The case was an appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Fraser v. Ontario, which is currently pending judgment at the Supreme Court of Canada.

The moot was judged by Paul Broad, Barry Brown, Aida Gattfield, Bob Atkinson, and Margaret Szilassy.

David Cruickshank of Kerma Partners spoke on “The Business of Law: Hot Topics and Emerging Trends in the Legal Profession.”

See notes from the talk on Slaw.