LogoutMr. John J. Robinette
This oral history interview provides a comprehensive look at the life and career of John Josiah Robinette, a prominent Canadian lawyer. The interview begins with his family’s French Huguenot ancestry dating back to the 1685 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and discusses his father’s career as a criminal lawyer and political activities. Robinette describes his childhood at 60 Spadina Road in Toronto, his education at Huron Street School and UTS, and the impact of his father’s death in 1920 when he was just 14 years old.
The interview extensively covers Robinette’s legal career development, including his early work at various law firms such as Rowan and Robinette, and later partnerships with firms like Lawson, Stratton, Green and Ongley. He discusses his involvement in various legal matters including criminal law, civil work, and automobile accident cases. The narrative also explores his family life, detailing his children’s careers and education, including daughters who pursued law or married lawyers. The interview concludes with discussion of professional recognition he received later in his career, including medals from legal organizations around his 80th birthday, highlighting his significant contributions to Canadian legal practice.
This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.
References
The following are a selection of topics discussed in this oral history.
- High Courts
- Magistrates Court
- Ontario Courts
- Police Courts
- Provincial Courts
- Supreme Court
- Dalhousie Law School
- Osgoode Hall Law School
- House of Commons
- Ontario Police Commission
- Parliament
- Armistice November 1918
- Boyd Gang
- First World War
- McCullough escape from Don Jail
- Reciprocity treaty
- Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
- War of 1812
- England
- Forest Hill
- France
- Nova Scotia
- Ohio
- Ontario
- Ottawa
- Pennsylvania
- Peterborough
- South Carolina
- Toronto
- United States
- Upper Canada
- Woodstock
- Donald, Mason, White and Foulds
- Fasken Calvin
- Lawson, Stratton, Greene & Ongley
- McCarthy & McCarthy
- Phelan & Richardson
- Robinette, Godfrey, Phelan and Lawson
- Rowan and Robinette
- Greenless v. A.G. Canada (1946) O.R. 90
- Hebb v. Mulock & Newmarket Era and Express Limited (1945) O.R. 727
- Heil v. Heil S.C.C. (1942) S.C.R. 160
- Mowder v. Roy (1946) O.R. 154
- Re: Martello and Sons Ltd. (1945) O.R. 453
- Rex v. Dick (1947) O.R. 105
- Rex v. Gross (1946) O.R. 1
- Robinet against Lewis
- Schoeni et al. v. King et al (1944) O.R. 38
- Lawyer
- Civil Litigators
- Criminal Defence
- Arthur Meighen
- Arthur Slaght
- Caesar Wright
- Chief Justice Duff
- David Ongley
- Dean Falconbridge
- Dick Sadlier
- Don Rowan
- Dr. Sidney Smith
- Earl Lawson
- Edith May Lindsay
- Harry Green
- John Diefenbaker
- John Godfrey
- John Josiah Robinette Sr.
- Justice Laidlaw
- Justice McRuer
- Justice Riddell
- Ken Stratton
- Mackenzie King
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier
- Thomas Lindsay Robinette
- Tom Phelan
- W.N. Tilley
- Advocate Society
- Law Society
- National Club
- Railway Committee
- Round Table
- 1680s
- 1906
- 1914-1918
- 1920s
- 1930s
- agency business
- automobile accident work
- civil work
- Criminal Law
- Dower Rights
- firm partnerships
- Legal Education
- Legal Practice Rules
- motions
- murder cases
- Negligence Law
- Real Property
- title searching
- Workmen's Compensation Act
Some of these references were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Archive Details
Files consist of oral history records documenting the life and career of John J. Robinette (b. 1906), former senior partner of McCarthy & McCarthy. Interview topics include: University of Toronto; Osgoode Hall Law School; articling; lecturer, Osgoode Hall Law School; editor, Ontario Law Reports; Court of Appeal, Ontario; select cases; Law Society of Upper Canada; Constitutional Cases. Interviews conducted by Christine J.N. Kates. File includes 26 audio cassette recordings from a series of nine interviews, one videocassette recording, and two volumes of transcript with indexes (738 p.).