Lifetime Achievement Award
A Justice of the Supreme Court until his retirement in 2004, Frank Iacobucci has shared his professional insight broadly. More specifically, he has used his breadth of legal knowledge to provide guidance to private practice, academia and government as well as the judiciary. He has stated that the noblest attribute of membership in a profession is service to both clients and the public, and in this he has been exemplary.
Mr. Iacobucci’s career began in New York, where he worked as a corporate lawyer. He returned to Canada in 1967 and joined the Faculty of Law of the University of Toronto. There, he contributed to both the academic and administrative side of university life – holding senior positions in both spheres. He was professor and dean of the university’s Law faculty, then moved up an administrative notch to become Vice-President and Provost.
Mr. Iacobucci’s high-ranking legal appointments include his time as Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of Canada during the 1980s. He was Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada from 1988 until 1991, when he was appointed to the Supreme Court. After his retirement he returned to Toronto to take on the interim presidency of the University of Toronto, at the same time returning to his professorial duties. At UBC, he is current holder of the Walter S. Owen (visiting) Chair, the first endowed chair in the Faculty of Law at UBC.
The list of his past and current directorships and advisory roles – most of them in a voluntary capacity – is extensive. Present involvements include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Tim Hortons, the Trudeau Foundation (he’s a mentor) and Torstar, owners of the Toronto Star and numerous other publications. On July 1, 2005, he became counsel with Torys LLP, advising government, business and colleagues on all things legal and policy-related. In 2006, Mr. Iacobucci was appointed chair of the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.
He has often acted in an advisory capacity to government and during the 1980s was a member of the Ontario Securities Commission. He was counsel to the 1974 Estey Commission’s inquiry into the steel industry, and in 2005 represented the federal government in spearheading moves to resolve the legacy of Indian Residential Schools. His professional knowledge can also be gleaned from the many articles and books he has authored or edited.
Mr. Iaccobucci is the son of Italian immigrants, who instilled in their son a strong pride in his heritage. Among the many tokens of esteem he has received, the honorary citizenships bestowed on him by the Italian towns of Mangone and Cepegatti – his parents’ birthplaces – are accolades he holds particularly dear. He has been a strong supporter of the Italian-Canadian community for many years, having been VP of the National Congress of Italian Canadians and active as a board member in its Toronto branch. He has received a number of related awards from Italo-Canadian communities in Canada, including the Canadian-Italian National Award in 2000 that acknowledged his positive influence on Canada’s society, culture and economy, and the Valigia d’Oro Award in 2002, which recognizes the contributions and sacrifices made by Italian Immigrants to Canada. And one of his legacies at Toronto University is The Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian Studies.
He is appreciated in other countries, too. In 1993, he was appointed Commendatore dell’Ordine Al Merito by the Republic of Italy. In 1999 he became an Honorary Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge University (where he completed his Masters and a diploma in International Law), and also of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has received eleven honorary doctorates, including one from UBC, and received the UBC Law Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.
For more information about the awards or the dinner, please contact Jana Schiff at (604) 822-1407.
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