Late co-founder of Cox and Palmer was a ‘mentor to countless’ lawyers

Thomas O’Reilly had a distinguished career litigating in insurance and corporate/commercial law, among other areas. He was a founding partner of the firm O’Reilly Noseworthy, which became Cox Hanson O'Reilly Matheson and merged with Patterson Palmer in 2007. The merger created Cox & Palmer, which is now a leading firm in Atlantic Canada.

In a statement the firm released following his death on Nov. 16, the firm said O’Reilly was “mentor to countless partners and associates at Cox & Palmer.”

Kathleen O’Neill is a partner at Cox & Palmer, practising in labour and employment and civil litigation in St. John’s. O’Reilly was her principal and mentor. Mark Evans is practice lead in Dentons litigation and dispute resolution group in Toronto and summered under O’Reilly back in the mid-90s. O’Neill and Evans spoke with Canadian Lawyer about O’Reilly’s impact on their professional growth.

What was Mr. O’Reilly’s mentoring style?

O’Neill
While his personal achievements are too numerous to count off, his greatest successes — or those that he revelled in the most, I think — were seeing others around him succeed. He was very supportive. And he shared his passion for the law.

He was a great storyteller. So that was how he taught. He brought you in and told you the story, and I think probably his success in life — and success in the courtroom — came out of being a great storyteller. He’d bring you into the story and bring you along by fitting the pieces of the evidence and the law all together. And before you knew it, you arrived at the place he wanted you to arrive. He encouraged you, so you rose to the occasion. He challenged us and pushed us outside our comfort zone a little bit. And just enough to show you how great you could be.

Evans
He has literally been the mentor or a mentor for generations of lawyers, both in Newfoundland and, as time goes on, lawyers who practice across the country.

Where in your practice can you see his effect?

O’Neill
He was a marvelous storyteller. That for sure is one of the places where I strive to be like him. And as a storyteller, I'll never get there. But I know that you have to lift yourself out of the minutiae of the law and the evidence and really relate to a person or relate to the court or opposing counsel or the mediator or whoever it is, through your communication.

Evans
Treat others like you'd like to be treated. Confrontation is one thing, but there are ways to conduct oneself and doing it in a respectful, courteous manner is something that, in my experience, Mr. O'Reilly always did.

Can you name a couple of his career achievements or significant events that stood out in his career?

O’Neill
His name would be sprinkled throughout the case law in this jurisdiction.

Building Cox & Palmer, as a regional firm, he would probably rank that highly as an achievement because he brought together firms that were former competitors.

There's a number of people who once carried his bags but are now sitting behind a bench. I know that he took great pride in knowing that he played a role in getting them where they are in their careers.

I'm sure that they, too, would provide a tip of the hat to him, saying that they had really benefited from their time with him. He had great community involvement. His client relationships were very strong. And the personal relationships I think that he developed with his clients within the legal community and within the firm, I know that that that's what kept him coming back, day after day after day.

Who was Tom O'Reilly as a person and as a lawyer?

Evans
Tom was the first lawyer to give me an opportunity and then ultimately became my first mentor as a summer student back in the mid-1990s.

And then, when my wife and I made the decision to move to what was then Fraser and Beattie – before it became Dentons – and obviously relocate to Toronto.            

Having provided the opportunities to summer with the firm for two years, I was somewhat trepidatious about letting Tom know that we were moving to Toronto. And my clearest recollection of that is that how supportive he was of the decision. And I think that it's fair to say that Tom was like that with all of his colleagues — didn't matter how senior or junior they were, he was a consummate gentleman, always more interested in opportunities and the success of others than he was of his own.

So he took a circumstance that to me was going to be a difficult conversation, and turned into one that 20-plus years later, was one that I look back fondly on. Because I think it was a real description of who he was as – certainly as a professional – and as a person.

My experiences with Tom, he was one of those rare lawyers who could foster both confidence but also a calmness and a clarity in his clients. Whenever, over the years, a client needed advice in St. John's or in Atlantic Canada, Tom and his team would always be the first call.

*answers have been shortened