About us History

History

The first meeting of our association took place on May 29, 2002, at the initiative of a group of lawyers of Italian origin. The response to this initiative to organize a meeting between these lawyers exceeded all expectations.

More than (100) hundred jurists expressed their desire to participate in the formation of our association. They believed that the time was right for the formation of an association bringing together lawyers, jurists, judges, notaries, professors and law students of Italian origin.

Following this first meeting, an association was formed under the name “Association of Falcone-Pateras Jurists” to recognize an eminent jurist from Italy, the Honorable Falcone, and another, Mtre. Pateras from Quebec.

The very first Board was composed of the following members:

Judge JF Buffoni (Retired Judge)

Mtre. Antonio Discepola (Retired Judge)

Mtre. Raffale Esposito, notary (deceased)

The Honourable Robert Marchi (Judge, Court of Quebec)

Mtre. Mario Spina

Mtre. Donato Centomo

Mtre. T. Discepola

Mtre. Joseph Laleggia

Mtre. Dino Mazzone

Mtre. Sergio Tucci (deceased)

The Association’s first member was the Honourable Frank Iacobucci, at the time, Supreme Court Of Canada Judge, you can consult the letter to our fledgling group here.

There was no doubt on where a meeting of this nature would be held, at the Casa d’Italia-Maison d’Italie, a building in the heart of Montreal’s Little Italy, a building holding so many fond memories of a special time and place in the life of our Italian Canadian community. The response exceeded the expectations of the founding group.

The driving motivation for the presence and active participation of everyone that evening was no doubt the pride we cherish in our Italian heritage, tribute to the immigrant experience of our parents and our respect for the rule of law, on which our society, which has been so good to us, has been founded. The spirit of that first meeting has guided the Association in all of the initiatives that have taken place since.

The Italian Canadian community of Quebec has grown over the years and today jurists of Italian origin pursue dynamic careers as Lawyers, Notaries, Judges, law professors, practicing across the spectrum of legal specializations, in public service, in elected political office, in Federal and Quebec administrative tribunals, and in our judiciary.

Everyone present at our first meeting expressed a desire to establish an organization which would provide a forum for members of our legal community to come together and meet with one another in a spirit of collegial camaraderie allowing us to share our experiences and concerns for the future and most importantly which would allow us to work together on projects and programs which would pay tribute to our Italian culture and our dedication to the legal profession.

Each and everyone present at the first meeting represented the realization of a dream of parents who came from a distant land, scourged by war, to the new world with a conviction of a better life for their children, that never again would their children suffer the deprivations of past generations.

We have been very fortunate to have had the active participation over the years of a core number of members who accept to work on the Board of Directors and have volunteered considerable time and effort in organizing a number of key events since this first founding meeting.

The realization of these events, which are well attended every year, is truly remarkable and an eloquent testimony to the dedication of the members of the Board to the mission of our Association. We are indebted to them for taking the time from their busy lives to give back to our community and make us all proud.

The Board of Directors has ambitious plans including the establishment of a mentoring and networking program, pursuing international contacts and exchanges with jurists of Italian heritage. With the support of our membership, we are sure that our projects will be realized. The Board of Directors welcomes and needs members to step up. We encourage you to get involved by contacting a Board member and discussing the various projects we are pursuing and how you can help.

For a thousand (1000) years the Romans developed a formidable body of law which has inspired many legal systems in the world. Let us not forget that the first codification of laws in the roman tablets was accomplished in 450 BC by Justinian.
The barbarian invasions destroyed the works erected by the Romans but the spirit and logic of Roman law, thanks in great part to Justinian, is still alive in all the courthouses in Europe and the New world.

We have set the standard high for ourselves but our parents would not have wanted it any other way. We keep close to our hearts in everything we do, the spirit of immigrant experience:
Somnium magnum opus durum.

I AM OF ITALIAN HERITAGE

I am of Italian origin where my roots are deeply anchored in the ancient soil, bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, and watered by pure streams coming from snow-capped mountains.

I am enriched by thousands of years of culture, my hands are those of the mason, of the artists, of the man of the land.

My thoughts have been recorded in the annals of Rome, in the poetry of Virgil, in the creations of Dante, and in the philosophy of Benedetto Croce.

I am in the Roman remains and monuments, from Scotland to Iraq, crossing more than 30 (thirty) nations, forming the basis of the civil and religious architecture of the Western world.

I am heir to the light of the Renaissance that illuminated the dark ages of the Middle Ages.

I am Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, father of modern painting.

I am the heir of those who invented the violin and the piano.

I am Galileo, the one who revolutionized the understanding of the universe and father of modern science.

I am Giovanni Battista Viotti, the composer in 1781 of La Marseillese, the national anthem of France.

I am Monteverdi, composer of opera and Rossini composer of 39 (thirty-nine) operas.

I am Antonio Meucci, Marconi, inventor of the first telephone and the radio.

I am Cristoforo Colombo, who crossed the seas to the New World.

I am Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first to explore the Atlantic coast of North America in 1524, from Florida to Nova Scotia. I named these lands Francisca, “New France.” Jacques Cartier was one of my sailors on my ship, “La Dauphine.”

I am Monte Reale, from whom Montreal gets its name.

My name is Giovanni Caboto, known to history as John Cabot, discoverer of the North American continent.

I am Americo Verpucci, whose name was given to the new world, America.

I am Enrico Tonti, the first to sail the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that would become the State of Illinois, colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas, deputy of La Salle in 1678.

I am Filippo Mazzei, a friend of Thomas Jefferson, and my thesis on the equality of man was included in the Declaration of Rights.

I am William Paca, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence.

I am Alessandro Malaspina, I mapped the Pacific, indicating the regions from Mexico to Alaska, and the Philippines.

My name is Giacamo Beltrama, who discovered the source of the Mississippi River in 1823.

I am Constantino Brumidi. I created the Dome of the United States Capitol. I have been called the Michelangelo of America.

I am AP Giannini. In 1904, I founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, now known as Bank of America, the largest financial institution in the world.

I am the builder of bridges, railways, skyscrapers and roads across Canada, the farmer in Napa Valley in Ontario, the textile designer in Montreal, the filmmaker, even in Hollywood, homemaker and breadwinner with roots in over (1000) thousand communities.

I am Enrico Fermi, father of nuclear science in America.

I am Francesco Giuseppe Bressani, a Jesuit and one of the first Europeans to set foot in North America.

I saw the beginning of the formation of the notarial profession in the North of Italy.

I am Italo Balbo who, in 1933, with (24) twenty-four seaplanes crossed the Atlantic Ocean, stopping in Longueuil, Montreal, Chicago and New York.

I am Nincheri who painted many Churches in Canada.
I am Giovanni Battista Ramusio, who, was the first to map the fortifications of Montreal in 1556.
I am Antonio Crisafi, commander of Fort Saint Louis and Govenor of Trois Rivières.

I am Colonel Franceso Carlo Burlamacchi who participated against the English in the battles of Oswego 1756, of Carlion 1758, and at Saint Foy, 1760.
I am one of those civilian prisoners of war interned on Île Sainte Hélène, Québec and Petawawa, Ontario during World War II.
And I am Justinian of 450 B.C, the spirit behind the codification of Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis.

Adapted from a poem by Angelo Bianchi, Esq