Yellowknife (Apr 20/05) - Longtime Northern defence lawyer Robert Gorin was named to the territorial court bench last week.

Gorin has practiced law in the Northwest Territories since 1989, when he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan Law School.

He began his own criminal law practice in 1994 and has travelled extensively across the North.

"Mr. Gorin is an excellent addition to the territorial court," Justice Minister Brendan Bell said in a written statement.

"His extensive knowledge of the law and broad Northern experience make him an outstanding candidate."

Gorin replaces former Territorial Court Chief Judge Michel Bourassa, who retired last year. He joins judges Brian Bruser and Bernadette Schmaltz on the territorial court bench. He was rumoured to be in the running for a judicial appointment last year - a position that eventually went to Schmaltz.

"Judge Schmaltz and I look forward to working with Mr. Gorin," Bruser said in a media release. The territorial court handles criminal cases and civil matters under $10,000.

Gorin has been involved in several high profile criminal cases during the course of his career. In 2002 and 2003 he represented an Inuvik man - Ronald Sayers - who was charged with murder in the brutal beating death of a mentally handicapped hotel clerk.

He also represented a Yellowknife nurse in 2000 after the man was accused of sexually assaulting a patient at Stanton Hospital.

The man was eventually acquitted of all charges in a case that gained widespread attention.

Gorin declined to be interviewed on his appointment, but in a 1996 Yellowknifer story he discussed some of the challenges facing those in the legal profession.

One of those, Gorin said, is communicating the nuances of the law to non-experts. "It's a challenge at first, but after a while you just adapt."

Gorin will be sworn in during a ceremony in May.