Judge Guy Chicoine believes now is the best time for him to retire, after spending 40 years in the legal world.
Chicoine officially retired from his role as a Court of Queen’s Bench judge on Monday.
“It was 40 years ago I graduated from law school,” he recalled in an interview with Lifestyles. “We have our 40th anniversary law school reunion, so it seems like a good time. “
Chicoine came to Estevan in 1979 to article with George Hill and his firm, Hill, McLellan, Ball, Cundall and Bridges. He worked at the firm for six years, and then in 1985, he and John Billesberger started their own law firm, Chicoine and Billesberger, which was set up in the former Estevan Credit Union building.
Robert Grimsrud later joined them as a partner.
Then in 2002, Chicoine decided to venture off with his own firm. It lasted for just a few months, as another new opportunity came calling.
“I was invited to apply for the job of the Provincial Court judge in Estevan. I was appointed the judge in Estevan for the Provincial Court in October of 2002,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed that position, and of course handling the Estevan, Carnduff and Carlyle circuit.”
Once again, it was a venture that wouldn’t last long.
A year later, there was an opening in the Court of Queen’s Bench. He decided to apply, and was hired for the post in October 2003. He remained in that job until Monday.
During his 17 years as a judge, Chicoine spent a lot of time on the road, possibly more than any other judge in the province, he said. It means he spent half of his time handling court work in Regina, but he also travelled to Yorkton, Moose Jaw, Swift Current and Saskatoon.
He and his wife Gloria continued to reside in Estevan during his time as a judge.
“I would be back in Estevan for weeks when I was in court, or on holidays, so I never had to change residents to a different place, but it did mean spending 18-22 weeks of the year on the road,” said Chicoine.
The best part of being a lawyer was that he was always helping people. Chicoine said he had a great relationship with his clients, and they appreciated the services he provided.
“I appreciated the relationship with my clients over the years, and … that continues,” he said. “At the end of the day, if you do a good job, people are better off because you assisted them in resolving their problems.”
There were differences between family law, criminal law and civil lawsuits, but he wanted to help people resolve their problems.
As a judge, he handled a lot of mediations. Every case that came through the court was mediated first, and probably at least 80 per cent of the cases could settle.
“That was always a very satisfying part of the job, when people left at the end of the job and said ‘We didn’t think we could settle this, and we thank you for your assistance,’” he said.
They might not be happy, but they were satisfied to have their day in court.
The biggest difference between the two roles is when he was a lawyer, he had to run his own business by finding a place to set up an office, hiring an administrative professional, paying the bills and sending account to clients. When he was a judge, he just had to deal with the law, because the provincial government provides the facilities and the staff.
But there are also the stressors associated with being a judge.
“I will miss working with the people in the court houses. The staffs are always very excellent people to work with in Estevan, and we’ve had good luck with the quality of the staffs we’ve hired over the years. The other thing I’ll miss is the collegiality of the judges over the years, because we do support one another.”
His family has been very supportive over the years, and his wife has been very helpful throughout his career as a judge.
Chicoine is looking forward to spending more time with his wife Gloria, and they hope to travel more often.
“It seems like our holidays often times are connected with conferences that we attended, either with the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association or the Canadian Bar Association. So I will be free to travel where we want and when we want.”
