2008-2009 L’Association de droit Lord Reading

The Medal of the Montreal Bar is awarded to the Lord Reading Law Society (LRLS) for its 60 years of contribution to legal excellence and social justice in Quebec society. The LRLS was created in 1948, at a time when anti-Semitic sentiment was prevalent in Quebec and Canadian society. In 1948, the Quebec Bar unknowingly organized its annual convention at a hotel that had an official “No Jews” policy.

In response, the LRLS was created to lobby for Jewish representation at the Bar and on the Judiciary. It is named in honour of Rufus Daniel Isaacs, a British lawyer who became the first Jew in the English Cabinet and subsequently, Lord Chief Justice of England under the name Lord Reading in 1913.

The LRLS has a core value of legal excellence and makes a significant contribution annually to the Bar by its conferences. The LRLS is a tireless advocate of social justice and pluralism and is dedicated to upholding our democratic values. As a result of the LRLS’s constant efforts to fight discrimination based on religion, Quebec society as a whole is more secure in the exercise of its fundamental rights.

The Montreal Bar is privileged to have had the Lord Reading Law Society operate within its midst for the last 60 years.