His practice areas will be focused on litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
According to the firm’s press release, in addition to his role as chief justice, MacDonald has long been a supporter of the legal community. He has chaired several Canadian Judicial Council committees, led the creation of the Nova Scotia Access to Justice Coordinating Committee and promoted several judicial outreach initiatives to engage the Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities. He also volunteered with Phoenix Youth to host justice day camps for youths from racialized communities.
MacDonald’s access to justice initiatives have been recognized by Cape Breton University with an honorary doctorate of laws degree. The Canadian Bar Association (Nova Scotia Branch) has renamed its annual access to justice award the “J. Michael MacDonald Access to Justice Award” to honour his work in this area.
He has presented at and participated in numerous legal conferences in Canada, the United States and Europe, and he has assisted the judiciaries in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. He is a regular guest speaker at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law and a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals.