COURTROOM SKETCH
Ex-chief justice Beverley McLachlin gives her new thriller legal accuracy.
In the opening pages of Full Disclosure, former Chief Justice of Canada Beverley McLachlin’s new legal thriller, there is a cheeky reference to its author. Vancouver criminal defense attorney Jilly Truitt is walking through the courthouse when she observes a portrait of the chief justice “when she was young and looked good.” McLachlin delights at the fact that her publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, didn’t edit out her little inside joke. “I’m glad they allowed that little vanity to stay because it gives me great pleasure.”
At 74, McLachlin may be new to the writing world, but after 37 years on the bench, she is no stranger to the inner workings of the courtroom. Her expertise provides atmospheric accuracy in a debut novel that sees 30-something Jilly defend a high-profile business mogul accused of murdering his philanthropic wife. There are professional and personal twists as the deceased is related to Jilly’s recent ex-boyfriend, and she must face a fierce Crown attorney who is also her beloved former mentor.
McLachlin first conceived of toughminded Jilly Truitt back in the late 1970s, after she left law and was employed as a professor at the University of British Columbia. She shared her early writing with her friend, the formidable Anna Porter, who became an encouraging early mentor. Porter had recently launched the now-defunct Key Porter Books, publishing Canadian luminaries such as Dennis Lee, Margaret Atwood, and the late Farley Mowat. She told McLachlin that, while the story needed work, she saw something promising in the writing and in her lawyer protagonist. But McLachlin was waylaid from her creative plans when in 1980 she was appointed as judge to the County Court of Vancouver.
“I’m sure I made the right decision,” McLachlin says. “Of course that’s not only a full-time job, it’s something of a calling and I had to set aside my aspirations to write fiction.”
McLachlin rose steadily through the ranks and in January 2000 was named chief justice of Canada by prime minister Jean Chrétien, becoming the first woman to hold the position. For 18 years, McLachlin devoted herself to her judicial career. But a year ago, facing mandatory retirement, she decided it was time to resurrect Jilly.
Every morning, McLachlin would write before sunrise, inspired by an article about British mystery author P.D. James who juggled a writing career and a fulltime job. “I thought if she can do it maybe I can try,” McLachlin says. “It was amaz- ing. I would write from five to seven, then get up and walk the dog. I’d go to court and do my thing all day.”
Few details from the original story made it into Full Disclosure, other than Jilly’s ambitions. As McLachlin was writing, she didn’t know how the story would end (with a shocker), but pushed through the panic and let herself be driven by her protagonist’s journey. “I’d always yearned to do a book with a strong, feminine main character,” McLachlin says. “Often women are beset with problems and a man comes along and fixes them all. I was getting so tired of that kind of drama. I know through my work and my life so many strong, able women who are out there pursuing their careers. But I know also the conflicts and challenges they face, and I wanted to try to picture that kind of a person.”
Full Disclosure contains other glimpses into McLachlin’s world. Those who are familiar with Vancouver may delight in specific references to her old home city, which she refers to as a character in the book. As chief justice, McLachlin will be remembered for her controversial rulings on hot-button topics such as safe-injection sites and Indigenous land rights — both of which appear in the background throughout her novel. McLachlin says her hardscrabble upbringing in Pincher Creek, a small Al- berta town located beside a reserve, fuelled her early passion for improving relations between Indigenous and nonIndigenous people. At a press conference marking her last day leading the Supreme Court of Canada, McLachlin gave a speech in which she said she was most proud of her work in constitutionalizing Indigenous rights.
The obvious final question for a thriller writer is whether there is a series planned. McLachlin is not discounting more titles, but she recently took up a new post on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal. She also has her sights on a memoir that would document some of the issues that have been important throughout her life.
“I’d love to do another Jilly story,” McLachlin says. “I had so much fun writing it. So while I haven’t got the time right now, I would love to plunge into another one.”