Tuesday 5 February 2008

Eddie Greenspan

Congratulations to the Toronto Sun for landing celebrated Canadian criminal lawyer Edward Greenspan as a columnist, beginning next Monday.

If Greenspan can capture the attention of readers in the same persuasive way he holds the attention of judges, juries and courtroom spectators, Sun readers are in for a big treat.

But with all due respect to Editor Rob Granatstein, Greenspan is a natural for the Sunday Sun, not the Monday Sun. He would give the Sunday paper a much-needed boost in its bid to regain the No. 1 Sunday newspaper title.

Greenspan, who celebrates his 64th birthday on Feb. 28 and has been a Toronto-based lawyer since 1970, would certainly rev the Sunday Sun interest meter.

He is known and respected across North America and has numerous high-profile defendants on his resume - from Peter Demeter to Conrad Black.

And he's not big on big words, which bodes well for Sun readers. In a revealing 2005 profile for Canadian Business, Greenspan wrote:

"I don't use lawyer's words. Lawyers actually get up in court and use the word 'purport.' What the hell does that mean? I try to teach people that nobody in a bar or a beer hall uses the word, purport, you talk like an ordinary, regular person and people will like you a lot better. I never use the word vexatious in a courtroom. I don't even know how to spell it."

When this blogger was a Toronto Sun court reporter in the 1970s, it was always a brighter day when Eddie Greenspan entered a courtroom. Watching him at work left you in awe, a witness to perfection in the courtroom.

Always approachable, always a gentleman.

And always good for a quote.

Beginning next week, the man of a thousand cases will hold court in the Sun every other Monday and Rob Granatstein says Greenspan's column will cover a "wide range of issues and not restricted to law."

Great catch, but Greenspan should definitely be served up in the deflated Sunday Sun.

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