Adam Rodgers the author of Deficits of Trust – The Rodgers Brief Report on the April 18-19, 2020 Nova Scotia Mass Shooting and the Commission of Inquiry That Followed

Adam is from Guysborough, Nova Scotia, and graduated high school in 1995 as his school’s student council president and top student-athlete. He obtained a Business degree from Acadia in 1999, supplemented with high level philosophy courses. While at Acadia, Adam was a teaching assistant for two finance professors, and also played on the Axeman Baseball team.

Adam then worked in Toronto for almost two years in the Bay Street financial sector, and it was there in 2000 that he wrote the LSAT, and scored in the 94th percentile across all of North America.

After backpacking around South America, Adam started law school in the fall of 2001. While at Dalhousie, Adam was awarded the Craig Bauer Scholarship for excellence in Torts and Intramural Sports achievement. He was recruited by the major regional firms, and chose to article with Cox Hanson O’Reilly Matheson, as it was then.

Fulfilling a desire to practice law in his home region, Adam accepted an offer to start as an associate at a firm in Port Hawkesbury. After two years, he became a partner, and from there grew a two lawyer, small-town-one-office operation to an innovative mid-sized firm with 10 lawyers in 5 full-time offices, with satellite locations in addition, and plans for further expansion underway. This firm was the most diverse private law firm in Nova Scotia, and in 2018 was also awarded by the Cape Breton Partnership as a top employer of people under 40 years of age.

Adam was awarded the Gary Bigg Scholarship for young litigators by the Canadian Caucus of the American Association for Justice in 2011.

In his years of practice, Adam has succeeded at all levels of Court in Nova Scotia, and has worked on high-profile cases, such as the Diocese of Antigonish claims, the Margaree Chase-the-Ace dispute, and most recently as counsel to the family of Cpl. Lionel Desmond in the Desmond Fatality Inquiry.

During his legal career, Adam has represented municipal governments, non-profit organizations, and has guided many local businesses through successful times.

In 2019, Adam lead a team through a Province-wide consultation process which brought significant revisions to the Constitution of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.

In 2013, Adam was voted in as the youngest ever President of the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce, and had a very successful term, with record-setting attendance at events, and a legacy that includes the highly popular annual craft beer and local food event, Celtic Oktoberfest. Adam is the current elected President of the Strait Pirates Junior Hockey Club, and in that role was named the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League’s Executive of the Year in 2018-19.

Adam is an active and accomplished athlete. Throughout his career as a fastpitch softball pitcher, he was a four-time Eastern Canadian champion, and annual competitor at the Canadian and World championships. Since retiring, he has competed in Olympic distance triathlons. He is currently the assistant coach of the high school boys basketball team in Guysborough, as well as the Guysborough U10 & U8 softball teams.