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Lawyer, 97, goes out 'with boots on'
A sad but inspiring story comes from Canada, where the oldest working lawyer in Canada has died, at age 97.
The New Lawyer
A sad but inspiring story comes from Canada, where the oldest working lawyer in Canada has died, at age 97.
Harry Walsh, who was called to the Manitoba bar in 1937, worked as a lawyer until his death, The Winnipeg Free Press reports.
UK legal site Roll on Friday alerted us to the new this week, reporting that Walsh was "a bit of a good egg".
Even though he was at an age when most of his contemporaries were long retired, in nursing homes or dead, Walsh continued to handle hundreds of active files right up until the end. He was usually the first one in the doors of the Portage Avenue offices of Walsh & Co. each morning.
"I shall never retire. I shall go out with my boots on," he said.
"I love the profession that I'm in and I've loved every minute of every day that I've been in it."
He recently attributed his longevity to abstaining from alcohol and tobacco. And luck.
Walsh said his proudest professional achievement was his central role in having the death penalty abolished in 1976.
"I was responsible for that and I want to take the credit for that … I never had a hanging in any case where I was the senior lawyer. We have no right to take the life of anybody," he said several months ago.
