Associate Chief Justice Frank N. Marrocco was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in 2005, following a distinguished law career spanning 33 years. He is well-known for his professionalism and his analytical skills and quiet contemplation. These have served him well as a lawyer and have ensured his effectiveness as a judge. Associate Chief Justice Marrocco received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto and was called to the Ontario bar in 1972. He practised criminal law and civil litigation law and later developed a subspecialty in immigration law. He is a Queen’s Counsel and a Judicial Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Prior to his appointment in 2005, he was a partner at Gowling Lafleur Henderson.
Over the years, he worked on many high profile cases, which included defending Lawrencia Bembenek whose struggles to resist deportation or extradition to the United States attracted much media interest. He was the lead counsel for the province of Ontario in the Walkerton inquiry and also was the lead prosecutor in the Bre-X securities prosecution. Associate Chief Justice Marrocco is an accomplished legal author whose credits include the Annotated Immigration Act of Canada and the Annotated Citizenship Act of Canada. He has also served as Vice Chair of the University of Toronto Academic Disciplinary Tribunal.
He was elected as a Law Society Bencher (Director) in 1995 and chaired several committees. He also served as Chair of the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO) from 2002 to 2003.
Recognized for his leadership skills, he was elected to lead the Law Society in 2003. In this role he endeavoured to strengthen the profession and protect its independence by promoting access to justice and by fortifying the Law Society’s relationship with government and stakeholders.
