Sinziana Gutiu (JD ’12), Hugh Fraser (LLB ’77) among Canadian Bar Association award recipients

By Common Law

Communication, Faculty of Law

Awards and recognition
Sinziana_Gutiu
The 2020 Canadian Bar Association Awards ceremony took place on February 19, 2020 at the Château Laurier in Ottawa during the annual President’s Dinner, as part of the CBA annual general meeting. The event was hosted by uOttawa Common Law alumna Vivene Salmon (LLB ’09), CBA president.

The Canadian Bar Association Awards honour legal professionals who have contributed not only to the association but also to the justice system and legal profession. The CBA considers the award recipients to be the brightest lights of the legal profession.

Many University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, Common Law Section, alumni and friends were among this year’s  Canadian Bar Association Awards recipients:

Sinziana Gutiu (JD ’12) received the Douglas Miller Rising Star Award. Gutiu works as a senior program manager, GDPR  compliance (Data & Trust Office), with Telus. She is a lawyer and CBA member who is  an expert in privacy law and law surrounding roboticization. The award recognizes developing talent and honours members of the Canadian Bar Association who, early in their careers, are already establishing themselves as leaders in the legal profession.

The Hon. Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré (who recieved an honorary doctorate from uOttawa in 1993) and the Hon. Hugh Fraser (LLB ’77) received  the  President’s Award, recognizing significant contributions of a Canadian jurist to the CBA, the legal profession or public life in Canada.

Now retired, Westmoreland-Traoré is a former judge of the Court of Quebec. She was the first black female dean of a Canadian law school and the first black judge appointed in Quebec.

Also retired, Fraser is a former judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and Olympic athlete who was a member of the Dubin Commission of Inquiry on the use of banned substances in sports. His legal career involved extensive work in sports arbitration.

Vivene Salmon became CBA president in September 2019. She is the first person of colour to serve in this role. She was named among  the 2020 Top 25 Women of Influence. As president, she intends to focus on diversity, student debt, technology, mentorship and how to be a healthy lawyer.

Learn more about the CBA 2020 award recipients.

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