Toronto: September 11th, 2008 – Canadian Defence Lawyers (CDL) is thrilled to announce that we are the 2008 recipient of the Rudolf A. Janata Award. This award is presented annually by DRI � Voice of the Defence Bar, to an outstanding defence bar association. The winner of this award must have undertaken an innovative or unique programme contributing to the goals and objectives of the organized defense bar. All State and Local Defence Organizations of DRI are eligible and the final selection is made by the DRI award committee.
The award will be presented at the Awards Luncheon, Thursday October 23rd at the 2008 DRI Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The luncheon will feature keynote speaker Eleanor Clift who is a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group, writes for Newsweek and is a political analyst for Fox News. DRI Annual Meeting in New Orleans at the Awards Luncheon on Thursday October 23rd . We encourage CDL members attending the DRI AGM to purchase tickets for this lunch to witness the first non-American organization to receive this honour.
CDL was selected not only for our explosive growth and development but also in recognition of our innovative Boot Camp programme. Boot Camp is the brainchild of CDL founding President Lee Samis who recognized the need to provide entry level insurance defence education for new and young lawyers entering defence practice. Boot Camp is run nationally every year and has expanded to serve the entire defence team including legal assistants, law clerks and paralegals.
Sandra Corbett, CDL President, comments: “My view is that this award is a credit to the efforts of all our Past Presidents, and our past and present board members who had the vision and the energy to move CDL forward. It is also a reflection of the talent and drive of CDL’s Executive Director Clare Samworth and her staff. This award could not have happened without everyone’s leadership, vision, support and hard work.”
CDL was founded in 1996 by a small group of lawyers to address the growing needs of the defence bar. CDL’s activities now include: CLE delivered locally coast to coast in classroom, audio and DVD formats; e-comm encrypted website with online registration, experts area and materials index; national list server; employment postings, Roundtable discussions with insurers; legislative consultation; and networking. www.cdlawyers.org.
