1920 Letter Signed by Canadian Lawyer and Author, Eugene Lafleur of Montreal Law Firm Lafleur, MacDougall, Macfarlane & Barclay

On offer is a typed letter on letterhead from the firm of Lafleur MacDougall Macfarlane & Barclay in Montreal.

Dated November 23, 1920 it is addressed to an E.L. Newcombe Esq. in which Eugene Lafleur politely declined a suggestion of contributing to a volume of the British Book of International Law. Signed E. Lafleur. This letter also bears a date stamp of the Canadian Department of Justice, for Nov 24, 1920.

Eugene Lafleur was a distinguished lawyer and author. He received his education at McGill University (B.A., 1877; B.C.L., 1877; D.C.L., 1900) and was called to the Quebec bar in 1881, becoming a Queen's Counsel (Q.C.) in 1899. From 1890 to 1909, he served as a professor of international law at McGill University, where he became an outstanding jurist. In addition to numerous papers on legal subjects, he authored The Conflict of Laws in the Province of Quebec (Montreal, 1898).

Quoting following from the Ontario Bar Association newsletter:

Lafleur was a renowned lawyer of the Quebec Bar remembered for his integrity. It has been said that he would never present a frivolous or unsure argument before a court . He was also known to decline to accept cases that  had no merit. In one instance while arguing before the Supreme Court of Canada , one of the Justices asked a question that could have been understood to suggest that Lafleur had presented a meritless argument . In response, Lafleur bowed to the Court and he replied that under the circumstances it would not be appropriate for him to continue his argument and he should withdraw. Lafleur put away his brief , bowed to the Court again , and he walked out  without further comment . Perplexed, the Justices adjourned the matter. Several hours later, Lafleur received a visitor at his room at the Château Laurier hotel . It was the Chief Justice of Canada, who came to apologize.

This 8 x 10 inch page shows aging and browning at the edges, more prominent on the right side, with some additional chipping and thinning of the paper. There are full span creases centred both horizontally and vertically. The typed text is slight faded along the right age and there is minor bleeding of the signature. Condition is Fair.