the SOCIETY RECORD - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

Society’s successful initiative to found the first, short-lived Canadian
Bar Association, which held the second of its three annual meetings
in Halifax in 1897.
“Borden’s years as a member
of Council, Vice-President and
President encompassed a tense,
difficult and uncertain time in
the Society’s existence...”
Four months after becoming President of the Society in February
1896 (in those days the annual meeting was always held in
February), Borden was elected Conservative MP for Halifax. This
was a watershed moment in his career, inaugurating a shift from
professional to political concerns, which the decade would complete.
In 1901, Borden succeeded Sir Charles Tupper as leader of the federal
Conservative Party. Thereafter, he had less and less time to devote to
practising law, whether as President of the Society or head of his law
firm.
Re-elected President of the Society continuously from 1897 to 1903,
Borden was again re-elected in 1904 but declined to serve. His letter of
resignation to the secretary was deemed to be of such significance that it
was rendered verbatim in the minutes of the annual meeting. By then,
Borden’s onerous political responsibilities had not only put an end to
his service to the Society, they were also putting an end to his lucrative
law practice, which he was obliged to abandon within the year.
The historic achievement of Borden’s eight-year presidency of the
Society was passage of the modern Barristers and Solicitors Act, 1899,
which stood for a century plus. A landmark in self-regulation of the
legal profession, the Act was in large measure a personal triumph for
Borden. By then, he was sufficiently well known to be the subject of
a feature article in the Canada Law Journal.
Aside from being an outstanding litigator and appellate counsel,
Borden’s chief contribution to the Nova Scotia Bar was the
revolution in professional governance. He found the Nova Scotia
Barristers’ Society a glorified bar association with little or no reach
beyond Halifax, and left it a true law society comprising the entire
jurisdiction.
Under Borden, the union of Bar and Barristers’ Society was finally
consummated. Though not the longest presidency, Borden’s was
undoubtedly the most important in the Society’s entire history.
Barry Cahill, CAPP is writing the official history of the Nova Scotia
Barristers’ Society.
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Spring 2013 19