Law classes welcome alumnus

David Fraser '89 (Ripley's)
Galen Loiselle’s Law 12 students were delighted to welcome alumnus David Fraser ’89 to their classes on Tuesday.

Mr. Fraser is one of Canada’s leading internet, technology and privacy lawyers. He regularly advises clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies on all aspects of technology and privacy laws and is often sought out by the media for informed commentary on these issues.

Growing up in a Canadian Foreign Service family, Mr. Fraser spent his youth living in a wide variety of countries including Ghana, India, Sri Lanka, the U.S., and Canada. It was when his family was stationed in Egypt that Mr. Fraser’s parents sought out a Canadian boarding school to give him a stable education back on home soil. With familial ties to the West Coast, Shawnigan Lake School was an obvious choice.

With recent business bringing him to the Island from his home in Nova Scotia, Mr. Fraser reached out to Shawnigan to organize a visit, marking only the second occasion he has been able to return to campus since graduating in 1989. His initial call to the School led to a connection with his former teacher Jay Connolly, who in turn put him to touch with law teacher Galen Loiselle and social studies teacher Paul Klassen to see if there would be an opportunity for Mr. Fraser to join them in the classroom. With two law classes coinciding with the time that Mr. Fraser was available on campus, Mr. Loiselle was quick to extend an invitation.

“David has done some amazing things,” says Mr. Loiselle. “We were very fortunate to be able to benefit from his visit to campus and hear more about the direction his life and career have taken since he graduated.”

Mr. Fraser spoke to two Law 12 classes about his Shawnigan experience and his fond memories and impressions of several Shawnigan teachers, past and present, including Jay Connolly (English), the late Dai Williams (English), Stephen Cox (Mathematics, retired), Stephen Lane (Physics, retired) and the late Graham Anderson (History). Mr. Fraser shared that Mr. Anderson had helped ignite in him a passion for history, which led to his completion of a MA in History at St. Mary’s University in Halifax prior to his legal studies at Dalhousie University.

He also touched on several of his cases revolving around privacy and the Internet, and noted that it was an early interest in computer science, combined with his legal training, that contributed to his decision to pursue this legal specialty.

A significant portion of Mr. Fraser’s current practice is now devoted to working with American and multi-national businesses, including Google Inc., on their management of Canadian privacy law issues. Students were able to ask questions, several of which focused on the difference in privacy laws between Canada and the U.S. and other related technological issues such as cyber bullying.

Mr. Fraser’s visit wrapped up with the students presenting him with a Ripley’s tie, followed by a trip down memory lane as he toured campus with Mr. Connolly.
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