Mrs. Lil Sherizen Charon

This oral history interview with Lil Sherizen Charon provides a detailed account of her pioneering career as one of the early women lawyers in Ontario. Born in Toronto to Russian immigrant parents, Charon initially wanted to be a writer but was encouraged to pursue law in 1928. She articled with David B. Goodman at $2 per week, enduring significant discrimination and menial tasks while developing her legal skills.

Charon’s most significant contribution to Canadian legal history was her work in family law reform. Through her involvement with a case involving Mrs. Wilner and a runaway husband in Montreal, she developed a comprehensive brief calling for major reforms to the Family Court Act. Her advocacy led to two crucial changes: allowing Supreme Court orders to be enforceable in Family Court, and granting Family Court judges jurisdiction over custody matters when support orders were made. She presented this brief to the Attorney General, city council, and the Canadian Bar Association, with Justice McRuer specifically acknowledging her work.

The interview also covers Charon’s extensive involvement with professional organizations, particularly her presidency of the Women’s Law Association from 1950-1952, where she organized innovative hobby shows for the legal profession. She discusses the challenges faced by Jewish women in the legal profession, including exclusion from certain legal sororities and law firms, while also noting the supportive relationships she developed with many prominent lawyers and judges despite these barriers.

This description was written by AI and may contain some inaccuracies.