Canadian Lawyer

CENTRAL DAVIES FUNDS MCGILL STUDENT COMMUNITY PROGRAM also made a healthy contribution after initially agreeing to match any donation to the Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg Fund for Community Engagement on a 2-for-1 basis. There was no thought of a donation Official launch of the Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg Fund for Community Engagement. (l to r): Aisha Topsakal, assistant dean, Margaret van Nooten, project genesis, Robert S. Vineberg, partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Hillel W. Rosen, Davies partner, McGill Faculty of Law graduate student Tanya De Mello, and McGill law dean Daniel Jutras. community legal clinics and grassroots organizations in Montreal that are strug- gling to help as many disadvantaged and often downtrodden residents of the city as they can. As well as a big slice of life, the students participating receive academic credits for their time served and the organizations — helping every- one from welfare recipients, the elderly, street kids, and refugees, to victims of sexual or conjugal violence, immigrant domestics, and slum landlords — gain much-needed resources they could not normally afford. The problem is that while the E very year 60 to 80 third- and fourth-year law students at McGill University volunteer to work in demand for participation in and help from the Legal Clinic Program has jumped, often — especially during the summer months when there is more time to devote — the students must choose a paying job rather than the legal volunteer work to cover tuition and living expenses. LLP has stepped up in a big way to solve that dilemma. The law firm and its law- Now Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg in return for a classroom named after the firm, a lectureship, or subsidy for a specific research project, says Davies' Hillel W. Rosen, who along with part- ner Robert S. Vineberg, firm co-man- aging partner Richard Cherney, and others orchestrated the campaign. "This goes beyond that, it is beyond the ivory tower, program with structure, supervision, and oversight, and for McGill it allows them to get students really involved and be full time on it. It is a fantastic learn- ing experience for the students and for the community organizations they have these engaged, motivated kids coming in to help them and their clientele. " says Rosen. "This is a serious " "This is a serious program with structure, supervision, and oversight, and for McGill it allows them to get students really involved and be full time on it." HILLEL W. ROSEN, DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS & VINEBERG LLP yers have raised $450,000 for an endow- ment that will — for years to come — provide a living stipend for selected McGill law students who want to take part in the community help program. Davies says it leaped at the opportu- nity to contribute when a partner talked about his daughter's volunteer experi- ence with one community organization at the very time the firm was in discus- sions with McGill — 54 of its lawyers are graduates — about how to support the law faculty. Individual lawyers con- tributed in spades and the law firm "It's helping students to acquire skills that they otherwise would not acquire, dealing with problems, dealing with crises, providing solutions, and to understand the benefits of community service. This is a stepping stone, a path that is absolutely consistent with what we do in our firm, where we tell our young lawyers it is important for you to get involved in your community and provide community service. "It is a four win-win," adds Vineberg. kathryn.leger@videotron.ca — KATHRYN LEGER " www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com M AY 2012 9

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