Annie MacDonald Langstaff admitted posthumously to the Bar

Through the efforts of alumna Julie Latour, BCL/LLB'86, Bâtonnier of Montreal, the late Annie MacDonald Langstaff, BCL'14, was awarded the Medal of the Bar at the opening of the courts ceremony at the Court House on September 7, 2006. Following a unanimous motion, the Bar of Quebec has decided to admit her posthumously to the Bar as a symbolic gesture in light of the Bar's refusal, in 1915 and in years following, to allow her to join the profession.

Me Latour spoke of how, as a McGill law student, she was inspired by the model of Annie MacDonald Langstaff to persevere in her own studies. She received a prolonged standing ovation following her account of the importance of Annie MacDonald Langstaff's struggle to women in the profession today.

The Medal was accepted by former Premier Lucien Bouchard on behalf of the successors to the law firm of Samuel Jacobs, BCL 1893 – the great civil libertarian of the early 1900s – who defended Annie MacDonald Langstaff's case before the courts and hired her as a paralegal. She worked for nearly 60 years in what is today Davies, Ward, Phillips & Vineberg. Active in women's rights organizations, she also wrote several articles on family law and authored a French-English/English-French dictionary that was published in 1937. In 1939, she was lead aviatrix in an air show given in honour of the visit to Montreal by King George VI and princess Elizabeth.

We are pleased to report that the firm has decided to remit the medal for permanent display in the Faculty of Law at McGill.

Since 1988, the Faculty has held the Annie MacDonald Langstaff workshop series, a forum for academics, judges, lawyers and community activists to present scholarly research and practical insights on issues relating to women and the law.

An extended report was featured on the September 7 edition of Radio-Canada's Le Point.

» Quebec Bar: Admission des femmes à la profession
» Radio-Canada report (video, Windows Media player format)
» Journal du Barreau du Québec – Vol. 39, no. 9 (Oct. 2006) (PDF)