Our member Stephen Thiele was honoured to receive the Honsberger Award from the Toronto Lawyers Association (TLA) at their annual meeting in March. The Honsberger Award is named in honour of John D. Honsberger, President of the Toronto Lawyers Association in 1967-68, and is in recognition of a single unique accomplishment or ongoing contributions to the legal community and the community at large, exemplifying the TLA’s three pillars: Knowledge, Advocacy and Community.
 
Stephen was accompanied at the ceremony by 10 members of our Rotary Club to cheer him on. Stephen is the Director of Legal Research at Gardiner Roberts LLP and is an expert in elections law. Stephen produces many legal briefs which have been used in landmark cases won by his firm. He was honoured not only for his legal expertise, but also his work in the community, including Rotary volunteering, coaching kids’ sports teams, civic engagement and advocacy in education.
 
In his acceptance speech, Stephen said “We as lawyers can do so much to help our communities and help advance our society… My personal values are founded on tolerance, and inclusiveness, and, particularly in the political arena, transparency and accountability.” For more information, have a look at the nomination letter for Stephen here and the website of the TLA.