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Judge reflects on his first year on the bench By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A former Oakville lawyer shared his experiences of `service above self' at the Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar's (RCOT) Paul Harris Fellowship Awards last week. The awards recognize and honour those who apply the Rotary motto of service above self as volunteers and benefactors improving the lives of people in need within their community and internationally. The Honourable Justice Paul J. Henderson is a past, two-time recipient of the award. He serves as Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Family Division) in London, Ont. Henderson has been active in the Oakville community for many years -- joining RCOT in 1987, three years after becoming a Rotary member. He served as president in 1990. "It was a year ago that I sat at this very same table and I had just been appointed as a Superior Court Judge, and I was saying goodbye to my friends at the Rotary. So I thought it might be appropriate to reflect on my new role over the past year," said Henderson. For 27 years, Henderson practised law in Oakville -- focusing on family law. He was a legal agent for the Office of the Children's Lawyer for 10 years, representing children in family law matters, and a deputy judge of the small claims court for the central west region first-year jitters. Staff has been wonderful; they're on the front line and, in many respects, really know what's going on," said Henderson. "My judicial colleagues have been immensely helpful; there have been no questions asked that haven't been answered." There are a few things he has had to get used to in the new job. One is being escorted by a court security officer carrying his bench books, and another is being referred to as Your Honour, he said. "It took me the longest time to get used to being called Justice Henderson. Some of them call me on the phone and ask for Justice Henderson and I wondered, `Who the hell is he?'" said Henderson. When he lived in Oakville, Henderson never had to worry about security. At home, his family rarely locked the door at night. His three sons were always coming and going at "all hours of f the night," and he never knew who had their keys. That has changed since receiving his appintment. Living in London, their door is locked all day and they have a security system in place. Even the address on his driver's licence is altered, he said. But the biggest change in Henderson's dayto-day life has been London's socio-economic climate. "In Oakville, when I was in practice, I was See Long page 10 9 · Thursday, November 10, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com JAMES HOGGETT / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FELLOWSHIP AWARDS: The Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar held its annual Paul Harris Fellowship Awards dinner Thursday at Otello's Banquet and Conference Centre. The keynote speaker was the Honourable Justice Paul Henderson of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Family Branch) in London, Ontario, formerly of Oakville. for seven years. He was appointed as a judge in October 2010, and says going to work is different every day. Some days he won't even know what he deals with until he walks into the courtroom. He handles everything from high-end divorces to child protection cases. "I've received a lot of support getting over the Honouring Our Veterans Direct Billing For Veterans! CONNECTCARE EMERGENCY Help e p at the t e Touc ouch of a Button R RESPONSE SERVICE SER VICE & Orthotic Centre Walk Our Way to Healthier Feet Get Better - Stay Better FOOTCARE Oakville Hospital · Live safely and independently at home · Monitored 24 hours a day · Two-way voice communication · Medication reminder · No long term contract · Provides peace of mind for you and your loved ones CALL NOW · Diabetic and arthritic footcare · Routine nail care · Treatment of corns, calluses and ingrown nails · Custom orthotics/footwear · Medical compression stockings · Physiotherapy and active rehab · Registered massage therapy · Hip and knee saver program · Complex back and knee injury · Acupuncture Extended Hours Oakville Hospital 905-338-4357 CALL NOW 905-338-4669 Extended and Weekend Hours CALL NOW 905-845-9540 905-876-7022 Milton Hospital Hospital owned and operated. All net proceeds support hospital programs.