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opinions
yers that had the name Eugene Meehan Q.C.
highlighted in yellow (not that Eugene, or
anyone else working with him, is an egg-head).
If there is such a thing as contacting someone
cold-turkey – and not just anyone, but someone
who works at a big-time, mahogany-lined law
firm – this was it. I still have his response:
Dear Dr. Meehan, [Mr. Meehan has a Ph.D.,
as does his colleague Marie-France]
After having been advised against it by
a number of relatives (all lawyers), I have
decided to pursue a career in law. Would you
be willing to meet with me to share your
advice about your practice area?
Yours very truly,
Dylan
Eugene’s response?
Dylan,
1. Not sure if we have met, so not sure why
you are writing to me and no one else but maybe you’re writing to a whole ton of
other people.
2. I don’t give advice (outside of a legal context). People don’t want advice, they want
corroboration.
3. But if you want to have a quick café latte,
I can tell you some of my own experiences
and give you some pros and cons, happy to
do so as a courtesy.
Yours very truly,
EUGENE MEEHAN, Q.C.
Yikes! Almost made an ass of myself. I wasn’t
exactly home safe though, because making an
ass of myself would follow in due course. The
day we met I wore my only suit and good pair
of shoes. The pant legs were a little high, but I
chanced it anyway. I remember it being a very
hot day. I was sweating. And nervous. And
when I finally walked into Eugene’s office (at
his prior firm – he’s since set up his own firm),
he was wearing an Adidas tracksuit. “I go the
gym in the morning before work, and I just
got here – haven’t got the tie on yet.” I could
use one of those tracksuits right about now, I
thought, to slow the sweat glands. “Now tell me
how I know you. Who are you and who is your
father who sent you here.”
The question came out less like a question
and more like a statement you aren’t sure how
to answer. I hate this question. I’ve been asked
it countless times since I was a child. I am
proud of my family, but you’ll have to understand that given the realities of public life I have
been shouted at by strangers often enough at
doorsteps, shopping malls and bus stops – even
outside of election time – to know not to wear
a name tag. And it never gets any less jarring.
The Obiter Dicta
DYLAN’S SATURDAY AFTERNOONS, GROWING UP.
So, confronted with this question by someone
you are trying to impress is like being one step
away from incriminating yourself – and knowing it too. Besides, I wanted to meet Eugene
on my own merits. So I twisted and stuttered
painfully with many “um’s” and “uh’s.” Finally I
replied, “oh, my father is a small-time lawyer in
Ottawa, you wouldn’t know him.”
I’m pretty sure I heard storm clouds close
over me. And then a pin drop. Eugene, staring at me sharply from across his desk, got up
off his chair, walked deliberately around his
desk and past me towards the door, and closed
it slowly until it clicked shut. Then he slowly
walked back to his chair, sat down and looked
at me severely from his large office suite. “It’s
not small-time law, it’s front-line law, and don’t
you forget it! It’s real law, for real people.” Now
I really needed the tracksuit.
Throughout my legal studies Eugene and I
have stayed in touch so he can provide his “corroboration”. But when I phoned him in January
of 2012 from my campus apartment, the lovely
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