in debates and acted in local theatre and musicals. Legal career Grafstein graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1955 and from the University of Toronto Law School in 1958. He was admitted to the Bar of Ontario in 1960. While at law school, he was active in intramural sports at Hart House, debates, and class governance and received the highest standing in international law. He was a member of the Bar of North West Territories for almost a decade in the 1970s and early 1980s. He lectured in commercial law and later instructed in the Bar Admissions Course at Osgoode Hall Law School. He has given lectures to law students on the role of lawyers in civil society. Grafstein is a former partner of Minden Gross LLP, a business law firm in Toronto in communications law, corporate financing and administrative law. He served as chairman of the Media and Communications Law subsection of the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations. Grafstein was appointed Queen's Counsel by the province of Ontario in 1972. Since his retirement from the Senate on January 2, 2010, Grafstein has served as counsel to Minden Gross LLP in Toronto, a firm he joined in 1960. Political career Liberal Party of Canada and Canadian government Starting in 1961, Grafstein held offices of the Liberal Party of Canada from the riding level to national campaigns. He was active in federal, provincial, and municipal elections for over four decades. He has taken a leading role in mayoralty elections in Toronto since 1960. In 1966, he founded and edited the Journal of Liberal Thought. During 1966-1968 he served in Ottawa as executive assistant to John Turner, then Registrar General of Canada, and later as special advisor to the Department of Consumer and Corporate Affairs during its founding period. From 1974 to 1986, he co-founded and was president of Red Leaf Communications Company, the advertising consortium for the Liberal Party of Canada during national elections. He also served as advisor to the Ministry of Transport and the Canadian International Development Agency of the Department of External Affairs and as a member of the Department of Justice Advisory Committee. Senate of Canada In January 1984, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed Grafstein to the Senate of Canada. He was elected vice-chair of the Toronto Liberal Caucus and served for over two decades. Grafstein was the longest serving member of the Standing Senate