The Hon. Robert Reid

Robert Reid provides a comprehensive account of his role in founding The Advocates’ Society in 1963, beginning with the early conceptual origins traced to Joseph Sedgwick’s idea for an “Advocate’s Library” and Isadore Levinter’s inspiration from the American Trial Lawyers’ Association. Reid describes how the founding group, including Bob Montgomery, Charlie McKeon, and others, recruited prominent legal figures as official founders to lend credibility to the organization, including John Robinette, John Arnup, Arthur Martin, and other leading advocates of the Ontario bar.

The interview details the Society’s ambitious acquisition and relocation of Campbell House, Toronto’s historic Chief Justice residence. Reid explains his central role in discovering the deteriorating building, negotiating its donation from Hallmark Cards through the William Campbell Foundation, and arranging its dramatic physical move to the current University Avenue location with assistance from Canada Life Insurance. The project required extensive fundraising, including member pledges collected during a strategic Irish conference organized by Walter Williston, and major donations from foundations and government sources.

Reid reflects on the Society’s evolution from his original vision of an Inn of Court-style social organization to its current status as a major force in legal education and law reform. He notes how the organization successfully expanded beyond Toronto to become a provincial body that government regularly consults on administration of justice matters, far exceeding the founders’ initial expectations for what began as a modest attempt to create a professional association specifically for courtroom advocates.

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