The former Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier has been snatched up by one of the premiere law firms in Canada, Gowling Lafleur Henderson.

Julius Melnitzer of the National Post comments,

Gowling Lafleur Henderson has announced that the firm will be former Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier’s “temporary home base.” The press release says that Hiller “will be stationed in the firm’s Ottawa office where he will be provided with a range of support and business services while he considers his future career in the private sector.”

Now, we know that the celebrity mentality has come to Canada’s law firms. We also know that the law firm model is evolving rapidly. But just what is a “temporary home base?” Sounds like a free office and assistant, but does that need a press release?

Wonder if the next thing will have our troops bearing law firm insignia on their uniforms?

Jane Taber of the Globe explains why high-profile individuals are hired for marketing purposes,

There is a trend developing among law firms to hire well-connected non-lawyers; former Newfoundland premier and former federal cabinet minister Brian Tobin became a senior business adviser to another big firm, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, and last January, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein joined Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

But neither Hillier nor Gowlings seem to know exactly what he will do in his new position at the firm.

Scott Jolliffe, chairman and CEO of Gowlings explains the move as securing a Canadian icon,

who people immediately respect.

Really? Even these Canadian lawyers?

The public half expects industry to snatch up politicians for their connections in the world. But military figures is something new, and might be perceived with some unease. Especially in light of what is arguably Canada’s most controversial international armed conflict in its entire history.

The York Ad Hoc Committee Against the War stated,

The Canadian war in Afghanistan has been barely discussed in Parliament, with only the briefest debate in May 2006 on a motion extending the Canadian mission. A much deeper process of discussion, education, and mobilization needs to ensue across Canada.

Osgoode Prof. Michael Mandel heads Lawyers Against the War (LAW) and has issued a strong condemnation, saying the war is both illegal by international law and won’t accomplish its goals,

Legality matters. When governments start to ignore the rules against violence, we are in deep trouble. That’s what happened in the nineteen-twenties and thirties. They were followed by the forties, and after fifty million had died in World War II we sat down and wrote the Charter of the United Nations to try to put an end to war.

Of course Hillier has little or no blame in this issue, taking his marching orders from politicians. But the politicians never did give the public a chance to discuss this issue, and most Canadians are clearly against the war in Afghanistan.

Perhaps this move can best be interpreted as an indication of the increasing prominence of the military industry to the Canadian business economy, and the corresponding political changes we are likely to see ahead as a result.

And the most important lesson here for law students is that if you aspire to reach the top rungs of a Canadian law firm don’t even think about working your way up the hard way, where only 1 in 10 will make partner.

Join the Army instead.