David Melnik

Julia:Hi, David. Great to see you again here in St. Augustine, Florida. You picked a nice spot from which to carry on your international consulting practice! Let’s start with you explaining to our mostly U.S. Members what the “Q.C.” means after your name. David:Well, it’s a special lawyer designation in Ontario, awarded to lawyers from time to time. Theoretically it means you are a special kind of lawyer, but in fact it’s more of a political designation now. When we go to court, we are entitled to wear a silk gown as a special designation. We get this from the English court system. The Q.C. stands for “Queen’s Counsel.” I received mine in 1971. The Canadian litigation system is more Americanized now. People don’t seek out a Q.C. It’s still operative in Australia. I’m on the international committee of a large global company with operations in 18 countries. The company’s chairman is an Australian barrister who is also a Q.C. David:What amazes me is that our dearest friend, our biggest trading partner, the country that I love the most, is the United States of America. Yet I find so few Americans know anything about us Canadians. It really amazes me. If I’m talking to people in the United States who know anything about Canada, it’s really quite incredible.