Canadian Lawyer 4Students

was spent as scheduled within 10 years, mostly on law schools, but was replen- ished in 2006, with $3.5 million more to be spent over another decade. The con- tinued squeeze on government funding in that period has accelerated the change, according to Valentini. "When we an- nounced the second 10 years, we didn't do a very big splash, but it got around pretty quickly. The need is much larger than it was 20 years ago, and they're much more proactive about asking for money. It's hard to say no, because that education we got helped to get us where we are now. the brightest graduates, and Valentini says that factors into Oslers' decision on which projects it decides to fund. Aſter a recent re-evaluation, the firm has shiſted its approach to get itself noticed by the people who really matter: the students. One of the firm's major mid-90s dona- tions, worth $1 million, resulted in the creation of the Osler Chair in Business Law at the University of Toronto, cur- rently held by Ed Iacobucci. Valentini says the firm is more likely now to go for something more tangible. As part of U of T's most recent funding drive, the firm's $2-million commitment has landed it naming rights on an atrium in the new building. "You tend to get more bang for your buck on the capital side of things. Buildings tend to stick around for a while, whereas chairs come and go, Firms, too, are in competition for " classrooms and study rooms give us a bit more profile with the students, which really is our target audience. " Valentini says. "Computerized donations to common recreational areas such as lounges and lunchrooms. Cas- sels Brock & Blackwell LLP recently pro- vided the cash for a spruce up at Schul- ich's student lounge. "In some ways that doesn't sound all that glorious, but if there's one thing that makes students unhappy at a law school, it's not having a good place to go have a sandwich and talk," Brooks points out. "So that was ac- tually an enormous giſt for our students, as it's something that can be hard to jus- tify in a climate where government is cutting budgets." The diversity of law school back- grounds can also be a source of friction Brooks says there's value to be had in " within firms when the schools come calling for money. The choice of recipi- ent isn't always as straightforward for firms without 100 years of solicitor-cli- ent relations. At Torys, the firm's deep connection with the University of To- ronto — five of the law faculty's seven deans have worked for them at some stage — made it an obvious source to tap for the new building. But Peter Jewett, the Torys partner who spearheaded the internal fundraising effort, says it wasn't as simple as that. "If you go back 30 or 40 years, the high majority of our lawyers would have actually graduated from U of T. That's not true now. It's more like 30 per cent, and of course we now have offices in New York and Calgary. For us to do something major as a firm raises questions about different law schools," says Jewett. Still, the "once-in-a-generation" na- will receive the largest shares. "There is some tension, but I don't know if there's any fairer way to do it," says Valentini, a graduate of the University of Ottawa. "I can understand why they get more, and I think most partners do. contribution to UBC's new building, along with the B.C.-based Ladner fam- ily, the giſt was localized by treating it as a Vancouver office expense, rather than a national one, according to Tim Sehmer, then BLG's managing partner in the city. "In effect, it was a donation from the partners of the Vancouver of- fice. If a particular law school in a par- ticular province approaches the firm, it tends to be a local expense rather than a national one. When BLG made its $1-million " ture of the project meant Torys wanted to be significantly involved, so it ma- neuvered its way around the quandary by committing the firm to match dona- tions made by its individual alumni up to about $1 million. The total has bal- looned to more than $2 million, and is still growing, so that firm members are actually personally responsible for more than half of that amount. "The re- action was overwhelming. It was not a high-pressure campaign by any means. We just presented them with the case for giving and they got out the cheque- books. I think the main motivation was the school helped us, and now it's time for us to help the school, its U of T donation, and Valentini says matching programs are a good way to reflect the enthusiasm of partners and associates for their old schools. "We'll commit more if the partners are pre- pared to pony up, too, Oslers employed a similar system for " Jewett says. nations, whether from law firms, alum- ni, or others, are the product of a long and complicated process. "It's a long conversation with someone who might make a giſt of that sort, because they're assessing the school, and trying to get a sense of what impact the donation is go- ing to have, together, it's really nice." " she says. "When it all comes search In Motion Ltd. co-founder Jim Balsillie ran into trouble when the law school's faculty rejected a $30-million approach from his Centre for Interna- tional Governance Innovation to estab- lish a school in international relations and 10 research chairs in international law. Osgoode's faculty council voted down the bid 34-7, with many citing concerns that the deal would violate academic freedom. Brooks says a university's unique Earlier this year at Osgoode, Re- He says Oslers has done its best to en- sure a fair spread of funding for law schools countrywide. Since the start of its focused charity program, the firm has expanded significantly in Calgary and Montreal, making Quebec and Al- berta law schools a new priority. Dona- tions are allocated roughly according to alumni numbers from each school, which means that Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto " says Valentini. At Dalhousie, Brooks says large do- " needs can be difficult for some donors to accept, so she tries to lay out its posi- tion early in the process. "You're asking them to make this huge contribution, but then saying, 'you have to trust us to use our best judgment to fill the po- sition,'" she says. "These are charitable giſts, but there are parameters on the ap- propriate terms and conditions that can be attached to them, and you just have to be frank about that. You need to have a relationship of trust with the donor so they understand who you are and what you're about. There's no doubt there's an art to that." ■ C ANADIAN Lawyer 4STUDENTS FALL 2012 31

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