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G. Patrick S. Riley Retiring After a Distinguished Legal Career

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After 33 years with the firm and 41 years since his Call to the Bar, Patrick Riley, partner at Taylor McCaffrey LLP, has hung up his robes and is retiring.  He looks forward to spending more time with his family, particularly his two grandchildren.

During his career, Patrick had the opportunity to represent individuals and corporations involved in a wide variety of disputes.  He found creative ways to solve problems and, when necessary, took their cases to the Manitoba Courts, Federal Courts and four appearances before the Supreme Court of Canada.

He was considered by his peers to be one of the leading civil litigators in Manitoba.

Patrick was admitted to the Manitoba Bar in 1977.  In 2004, he was appointed a Life Bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba, having served as its President.

Patrick particularly enjoyed representing the underdogs in his community.  Nowhere was this more evident than in his representation of James Finlay.  Mr. Finlay challenged a practice of reducing the amount of income assistance a person would receive to allow the Government to reclaim what were alleged to be over payments.  The Finlay case went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1986 on the issue of public interest standing.  The Finlay case was instrumental in establishing the right for individuals like Mr. Finlay to challenge legislation as a matter of public interest.  The case went back to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1996 and while Mr. Finlay was not successful in his challenge, the dissenting Reasons of Justice Beverley McLachlin (as she then was) established the Adequacy Principle, which continues to be an important factor in the interpretation of social benefits legislation.

On the other end of the spectrum, Patrick led a team of litigators in the epic battle between Apotex Fermentation Inc. and Novopharm, which involved industrial espionage and the misappropriation of trade secrets where he obtained an injunction that lasted for eight years and a damage award of $6.9 million.

Among many of his contributions to the legal profession, Patrick co-chaired the Pitblado lectures in 2006 which focused on Appellate Advocacy.  He also participated on numerous panels at continuing legal education events during the course of his career.  He also served on the Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Folk Festival.  In 1992 he was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation by the Governor General of Canada in recognition of his “significant contribution to compatriots, community and to Canada”.

Rod Roy, Kevin Williams, and John A. Myers, as senior partners of our litigation group, supported by a dedicated team of lawyers, paralegals and legal assistants, will continue to provide exceptional service to all of Patrick’s clients.

For more information please contact either:

Rod Roy
Phone: 204-988-0324
Email: rcroy@tmlawyers.com

Kevin Williams
Phone: 204-988-0309
Email: kwilliams@tmlawyers.com

John A. Myers
Phone: 204-988-0308
Email: jamyers@tmlawyers.com

 


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