About Us

The first meeting of our association was held on May 29, 2002 on the initiative of a group of respected Montreal jurists of Italian origin. Well over one hundred (100) jurists of Italian heritage were present and unanimously, enthusiastically, voiced their support for the worthiness and importance of setting the foundations of our association. This group of jurists believed that the time had more than come to create an association which would bring together Judges, jurists, Lawyers, Notaries, professors, and students of Italian origin. Following this meeting an association was formed and given the name of "Falcone-Pateras Association of Jurists" to honor an eminent jurist from Italy, Justice Falcone and one from Québec, Mtre Pateras.

The very first Board was composed of the following members:

• Judge J.F. Buffoni (retired Judge)

• Mtre. D. Centomo

• Mtre. A.Discepola (retired Judge)

• Mtre. T. Discepola

• Mtre. R. Esposito, notary (deceased)

• Mtre. J. Laleggia

• Mtre. R. Marchi (Cour du Québec Judge)

• Mtre. D. Mazzone

• Mtre. M. Spina

• Mtre. S. Tucci, (deceased).

The Association’s first member was the Honourable(at the time) Frank Iacobucci, Supreme Court Of Canada Judge, you can consult the letter to our fledgling group here.

There was no doubt on where a meeting of this nature would be held, at the Casa d’Italia-Maison d’Italie a building in the heart of Montreal’s Little Italy, a building holding so many fond memories of a special time and place in the life of our Italian Canadian community. The response exceeded the expectations of the founding group.

The driving motivation for the presence and active participation of everyone that evening was no doubt the pride we cherish in our Italian heritage, tribute to the immigrant experience of our parents and our respect for the rule of law, on which our society, which has been so good to us, has been founded. The spirit of that first meeting has guided the Association in all of the initiatives that have taken place since.

The Italian Canadian community of Quebec has grown over the years and today jurists of Italian origin pursue dynamic careers as Lawyers, Notaries, Judges, law professors, practicing across the spectrum of legal specializations, in public service, in elected political office, in Federal and Quebec administrative tribunals, and in our judiciary.

Everyone present at our first meeting expressed a desire to establish an organization which would provide a forum for members of our legal community to come together and meet with one another in a spirit of collegial camaraderie allowing us to share our experiences and concerns for the future and most importantly which would allow us to work together on projects and programs which would pay tribute to our Italian culture and our dedication to the legal profession.

Each and everyone present at the first meeting represented the realization of a dream of parents who came from a distant land, scourged by war, to the new world with a conviction of a better life for their children, that never again would their children suffer the deprivations of past generations.

We have been very fortunate to have had the active participation over the years of a core number of members who accept to work on the Board of Directors and have volunteered considerable time and effort in organizing a number of key events since this first founding meeting.

The realization of these events, which are well attended every year, is truly remarkable and an eloquent testimony to the dedication of the members of the Board to the mission of our Association. We are indebted to them for taking the time from their busy lives to give back to our community and make us all proud.

The Board of Directors has ambitious plans including the establishment of a mentoring and networking program, pursuing international contacts and exchanges with jurists of Italian heritage. With the support of our membership we are sure that our projects will be realized. The Board of Directors welcomes and needs members to step up. We encourage you to get involved by contacting a Board member and discussing the various projects we are pursuing and how you can help.

For a thousand (1000) years the Romans developed a formidable body of law which has inspired many legal systems in the world. Let us not forget that the first codification of laws in the roman tablets was accomplished in 450 BC by Justinian.

The barbarian invasions destroyed the works erected by the Romans but the spirit and logic of Roman law, thanks in great part to Justinian, is still alive in all the courthouses in Europe and the New world.

We have set the standard high for ourselves but our parents would not have wanted it any other way. We keep close to our hearts in everything we do, the spirit of immigrant experience:

Somnium magnum opus durum.

I AM OF ITALIAN HERITAGE*

I am of Italian heritage, my roots are deep in an ancient soil, drenched by the Mediterranean sea,and watered by pure streams from snow capped mountains.

I am enriched by thousands of years of culture. My hands are those of the mason, the artist, the man of the soil.

My thoughts have been recorded in the annals of Rome, the poetry of Virgil, in the creations of Dante, and in the philosophy of Benedetto Croce.

I am in the remains of Roman roads and monuments strewn from Scotland to Iraq across more than thirty (30) modern nations, the basis of much of the civic and religious architecture of the Western world.

I inherited the light of the Rennaissance that shone its light on the dark ages of the Middle Ages.

I am Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio.

I am those that invented the piano and violin.

I am Galileo whom revolutionized the theory of the universe and father to modern science.

I am Monteverdi, opera composor and Rossini composor of thirty nine(39) operas.

I am Giovanni Battista Viotti composer of the current French national anthem La Marseillaise in 1781.

I am Meucci, Marconi, inventors of the first telephone and radio.

I am Cristoforo Colombo. From the ancient world, I first spanned the seas to the New World.

I am Giovanni daVerrazzano, the first to explore the Atlantic coast of North America in 1524, from Florida to Nova Scotia. It is I that gave the names, Francisca and Nouvelle France. Jacques Cartier was a sailor on my ship La Dauphine.

I am Monte Reale, from which Montreal derives its name.

I am Giovanni Caboto, known in history as John Cabot, discoverer of the mainland of North America.

I am Americo Vespucci, whose name was given to the new world, America.

I am Enrico Tonti, first to sail on the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that became the State of Illnois, colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas, assistant to La Salle 1678.

I am Filippo Mazzei friend of Thomas Jefferson, and my thesis of the equality of man was written into the Bill of Rights.

I am William Paca, signer of the American Declaration of Independance.

I am Alessandro Malaspina. I mapped the Pacific indicating the regions from Mexico to Alaska and to the Philippines.

I am Giacamo Beltrama, who in 1823 discovered the source of the Missisipi River.

I am Constantino Brumidi. I created the Dome of the United State Capitol. They called me the Michelangelo of America.

I am A.P. Giannini, in 1904, I founded in San Francisco, the Bank of Italy now know as the Bank of America, one of the largest financial institution in the world.

I am a builder of bridges, railways, skyscrapers, roads across Canada, the grower in the Napa Valley of Ontario, the textile designer in Montreal, the movie maker, even in Hollywood, the home maker and the breadwinner in over one thousand (1000) communities.

I am Enrico Fermi, father of nuclear science in America.

I am Francesco Giuseppe Bressani, Jesuit and one of the first European to set foot in North America.

I witnessed the formation of the notarial profession in Northern Italy.

I am Italo Balbo who in 1933 with twenty-four (24) hydroplanes crossed the Atlantic Ocean made a stop in Longueuil, Montreal, Chicago, and New York.

I am Francesca Cabrini, founder of many missionary institutions to serve the sick and poor orphans, the patron saint of immigrants.and the first USA citizen to be canonized a saint in 1946.

I am an Italian soldier in the Régiment de Carignan,the saviour of the French colony in Québec.

I am Louis Rovere and Lascaris d’Urfé, member of the Conseil Souverain de la Colonie du Québec.

I am Nincheri who painted many Churches in Canada.

I am Giovanni Battista Ramusio, who,was the first to map the fortifications of Montreal in 1556.

I am Antonio Crisafi,commandant of Fort Saint Louis and gouvenor of Trois Rivières.

I am Colonel Franceso Carlo Burlamacchi who participated against the English in the battles of Oswego 1756, of Carlion 1758, and at Saint Foy, 1760.

I am one of those civilian prisoners of war interned on Île Sainte Hélène, Québec and Petawawa, Ontario during World War II.

And I am Justinian of 450 B.C, the spirit behind the codification of Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis.

* Adapted from a poem by Angelo Bianchi, Esq.