Cecil Rotenberg passed away. The profile below remains in honour of his contribution to the profession and IMEDA. 
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Cecil L. Rotenberg, more frequently referred to as “The Senior Statesman of Canadian immigration and Canadian immigration law,” was called to the Ontario Bar in 1959. Mr. Rotenberg has had the distinction of being appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario as a “Queen’s Counsel,” a senior recognition of conscientious service to clients in the capacity of advocate. The Law Society of Upper Canada has certified Mr. Rotenberg as a “specialist in the area of immigration law.” For the last several years, Mr. Rotenberg has been a Member-at-Large of the Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar association. Quite fittingly, Mr. Rotenberg has earned a professional designation in the practice of immigration as:

Cecil L. Rotenberg, Q.C.
Specialist in Immigration Law

Today, Mr. Rotenberg is qualified to practice law in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, as well as in the Province of Ontario.

In 1985, Mr. Rotenberg founded the Immigration Law Reporter, a scholarly professional law journal that deals exclusively with matters of immigration. The journal was acquired in 1988 by the authoritative legal publishing firm of Carswell Publications, who then appointed Mr. Rotenberg as its Chief Editor.

Mr. Rotenberg has sponsored numerous lectures on the matters of professional ethics and immigration at the behest of the Law Society of Upper Canada. He has also authored and delivered several papers on important current issues pertaining to immigration law.

Mr. Rotenberg has appeared on behalf of immigration clients before both the Trial and Appellate Divisions of the Federal Court of Canada, and the Supreme Court of Canada. He is recognized as an active civil rights advocate of people who wish to immigrate to Canada.

As a counsel in the courts, Mr. Rotenberg has participated as lead counsel in the Muliandi case, which brought into play the principle of procedural fairness in decisions to award visas. He was also responsible for the Chen case in the Supreme Court of Canada, which focused on the use of discretion in awarding visas. In fact, whenever there is innovation in Canadian immigration law, Mr. Rotenberg is usually nearby.

If Mr. Rotenberg is not in the Toronto office working on the specifics of immigration for a client, he can be found just about anywhere in the world, either attending to client needs or developing new opportunities for future immigration to Canada.

When not working, Mr. Rotenberg enjoys collecting antiques, particularly glass pieces. He is in the gym almost every day by 6 a.m. doing scheduled exercises. He is an avid gardener, and when he can find the time, he enjoys cruising and fishing aboard his boat, “Stripes.” Mr. Rotenberg currently resides in Toronto, where he is a married father of 6 children and a proud grandfather of 6 grandchildren.