John Logan, K.C., of New Brunswick is the 2022 recipient of the John Tait Award of Excellence for his dedication as a revered public servant and mentor in law.
He was chosen by the National Public Sector Lawyers Section of the Canadian Bar Association for this annual award which recognizes civil servants who have demonstrated an exemplary performance in public sector legal service, high standards of professional conduct and leadership excellence.
John Logan began his post-secondary education in the military before attending law school at the University of New Brunswick. When he was called to the Bar in 1986, he began his career in private practice and regularly acted as an agent for the Federal Attorney General.
Later, he acted in various capacities within the public sector such as Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney General of New Brunswick. He was a Senior Advisor with the province’s Department of Natural Resources and held the role of Chairman of the WorkSafeNB Appeals Tribunal. Before that, he served as Director of the Corporate, Commercial and Property Law Practice Group for the Office of the Attorney General.
As his nominators note, John Logan had a profound interest in law reform during his time as Deputy Attorney General. His expertise in improving government processes made him a solid leader and frequent counsel on major initiatives in New Brunswick such as economic development lending, ambulance services restructures, health reform and countless others.
A strong believer in the importance of access to justice, he often participated in legal aid matters by committing himself to helping clients in criminal matters in his early career as a practicing lawyer.
He is also an admired mentor for younger lawyers and clients in his offices within the civil service. Led by his compassion for others and clear sense of fairness, he is known to take the time to create opportunities for younger counsel to develop their own careers by involving them in cases and helping them solve issues.
John Logan is known to have had a lasting impact not only on the colleagues and clients he crossed paths with in the civil service but on the profile of public sector lawyers in New Brunswick.