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Stikeman Elliott enjoys a long tradition of pro bono and community service work. With the firm's support and encouragement, many of our lawyers make a significant contribution to the community.
Recent Activities
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Stikeman Elliott's Vancouver office was awarded the "Quantum Leap Donors Award" at the United Way's 2009 Community Spirit Awards Breakfast in Vancouver.
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The Calgary office hosted its first Women's Networking Event on Thursday, February 26. In addition to attracting female contacts and clients and giving them a chance to network and enjoy spa beverages and services, the event also provided an opportunity to help support the Discovery House Family Violence Prevention Society.
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Stikeman Elliott is one of 15 business law firms from around the world participating in a UN-led study of how corporate law practices contribute to corporate cultures that respect human rights.
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Greg Kane, a partner in Stikeman Elliott's Ottawa office, co-chaired The Ottawa Hospital Gala, which recognized excellence in medical research and raised $130 000 for the Ottawa Health Research Institute.
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Stikeman Elliott New York again organized and participated in the annual Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research in New York. Ken Ottenbreit, the office's managing principal, founded the New York run in 1994 and is the run director. SENY lawyers, staff and their families participated in the run and served as key volunteers, helping to raise over $150 000 for cancer research.
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The firm received special recognition for outstanding contributions at the Daily Bread Food Bank's Donor Recognition Evening.
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Stikeman Elliott volunteers recently spent the afternoon gardening at Riley Park, a popular inner city area in Calgary, as part of the Calgary office's community involvement program, SEing is Believing.
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The Toronto office is sponsoring a Stikeman Elliott team for the 2008 Toronto Ride for Diabetes Research.
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The Calgary office is supporting the "Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids" program, one of the initiatives the office has undertaken as part of its new Community Involvement Program.
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Stikeman Elliott has registered with the Canadian Blood Services' Partners for Life program and is participating in its Corporate Challenge event. The challenge encourages organizations to get as many of its firm members involved by donating blood over a two month period. Stikeman Elliott was also on hand to help Canadian Blood Services open the TSX for National Blood Donor Week.
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The Montréal office supports the 17th annual edition of "Pedal for Kids" for the Montréal Children's Hospital.
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The Calgary office of Stikeman Elliott was recognized by Volunteer Calgary with a Leader in Business Award. Volunteer Calgary's Leadership Awards is Calgary's premier, community-focused volunteer recognition event.
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 The firm's "Going Green" program launch has included new initiatives designed to encourage Stikeman Elliott's environmental stewardship, including distribution of re-useable shopping bags to employees and a carbon footprint calculation.
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 Our Montreal office sponsored an event with environmentalist David Suzuki, entitled "What Makes Young Professionals Tick?", focused on the impact of young professionals' social and environmental advocacy on their career path.
 Our Calgary office, in recognition of their 15th anniversary, has launched "SEeing is believing", a community involvement program to facilitate charitable giving (donations and volunteerism) by the firm and its members. Our Calgary office was recently presented a Best Workplaces 2008 award for Volunteerism & Community Involvement by Alberta Venture Magazine.
Ongoing Pro Bono Services
- Provide pro bono services to many organizations, including Foster Parents Plan Canada (Plan Canada), the Sierra Club of Canada - Ontario Chapter; Junior Achievement of Canada, the Venture Management Program at Queen's Business School, Wen-Do Canada, the Sainte-Justine Hospital Foundation; the Entrepreneurship Centre of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI), and an organization that provides employment opportunities and leadership development to youths.
- Act as pro bono counsel for LUMINATO, a 10-day International Arts Festival in Toronto, which premiered in June 2007 highlighting the best of Canadian and international theatre, opera, art, film, literature, cuisine, wine, dance, fashion, and music at local and regional venues.
- Act as directors on several boards, including the Kidney Foundation, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (Quebec Chapter), William Osler Health Centre Foundation, the Montréal Children's Hospital Foundation; Défi corporatif Canderel; Glenbow Museum (Calgary); the YWCA Toronto; and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.
- Work with the Osgoode Business Clinic, where many of our lawyers partner with law students to provide ongoing legal advice to clients who are implementing new business ideas, or are growing their emerging businesses, but cannot afford necessary legal services.
In addition, we work with Pro Bono Law Ontario to identify initiatives in which we can be involved and have several projects in the development stage.
The firm's lawyers are also active in pro bono litigation, representing various parties at all court levels. Cases include acting on behalf of:
- The Canadian Association for Community Living and Community Living Ontario, the intervenors in Wynberg v. Ontario, concerning the constitutionality of a program initiated by the Ministry of Community and Social Services Government of Ontario in 1999 known as the Intensive Early Intervention Program (the IEIP), which provided or funded Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) for children with autism ages two to five, and the absence of such a program in the school system.
- The Council for Canadians with Disabilities on Charter intervention in the Supreme Court of Canada in connection with the challenge to the propriety of certain government of Ontario welfare rules which disqualified recipients from receiving social assistance if another adult in the household earned a threshold level of income from a job.
Community Initiatives
 Stikeman Elliott also takes an active role in the community through volunteer involvement and sponsorship. In 2006 we became a professional services firm founding member of Imagine Canada, a nationally recognized organization geared towards promoting programs that encourage corporate giving, volunteering and community support. Imagine Canada challenges corporations to give back 1% of their pre-tax profits to the community as well as to become more involved in their communities through volunteer work.
The following are among the many organizations and events across Canada in which we are involved:
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