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education I got at the Manitoba Law School because,
in those days, we went to law school in the morning,
articled in the afternoon, and then, after we graduated,
we had to do a fifth year of articling. By the time I
was admitted in 1961, I’d had five years where I was
actually doing lawyer stuff. “
Froomkin, along with close friend and colleague,
Professor Barry Rider, founded the annual event,
which celebrates its 30 th year this September.
Froomkin concedes that the symposium may
well be his legacy project in a legal career
spanning a half century.
“It was great to get real, practical
experience and I’m very pleased with
the education and support I got, not
only from the law school, but also
from my colleagues at the bar. It was
a great experience.”
Froomkin spent nine years practising in Winnipeg
before moving to Ottawa. “At the time, John Turner
had decided when he was Minister of Justice that
he was going to build the best law firm in Canada.
He sent the Deputy Minister around to all kinds of
people across the country, trying to entice them to
join. I’d never lived outside of Winnipeg and when
they suggested the Department of Justice in Ottawa, I
was thrilled. I went in 1969, initially as Senior Advisory
Counsel in the Civil Litigation section, and then as
Director of Criminal Law. I loved it!”
But in 1978, the opportunity not only to serve as
Bermuda’s Solicitor General, but also to fish year round
seduced Froomkin away from Ottawa, and the rest, as
they say, is history.
Even though Bermuda is his home base, Froomkin’s
interest in the area of international economic crime,
including money laundering, narcotics prosecution,
and extraditions, has led him to all parts of the globe.
For the last 29 years, he has chaired the Cambridge
International Symposium on Economic Crime
(CIDOEC), held at Jesus College in Cambridge, England.
The Symposium has become an annual event for
hundreds of international delegates—academics,
diplomats, regulators, police, lawyers, prosecutors,
defense counsel, bankers, and insurance people,
among others. Says Froomkin, “It includes the whole
realm of the international business community
interested in international economic crimes,
including University of Manitoba law professor
Dr. Michelle Gallant who has been attending the
symposium for several years.”
The origins of what is considered the most
prestigious event of its kind in the world started
out with little fanfare. “Professor Rider came up with
the idea. We decided at the time that international
economic crime was a serious problem that nobody
seemed to know much about. The first symposium
drew maybe 50 to 60 delegates from half a dozen
jurisdictions. It was quite successful and we thought
we’d do it again, and if we were lucky, we’d continue
to do it for two or three years, but it kept getting
bigger and more popular.”
The symposium now draws between 800 and
1000 delegates from more than 90 countries. This
year’s program, which runs from September 2 to
September 9, is entitled Surviving the Fall - The
Myths and Realities. “It’s all about what’s happened
in the international community with the economy
going down the sewer, the role of regulatory
and enforcement agencies, and how to prevent
problems. We get about 200 speakers during the
symposium, nothing compares to it.”
39 ROBSON HALL ALUMNI REPORT