TORONTO – November 24, 2009 – Stikeman Elliott LLP is pleased to announce the formation of the Alison J. Youngman/Stikeman Elliott Entrance Award at Osgoode Hall Law School. The Award honours the memory and accomplishments of Stikeman Elliott partner and Osgoode graduate Alison Youngman, who lost her battle with lung cancer in March 2009.
Donations of $250,000 to create the Award were contributed by more than 70 partners of the firm in its eight offices in Canada and around the world. This amount has been matched by the Ontario government’s Ontario Trust for Student Support program, and the endowment will allow Osgoode to present a renewable scholarship for one student each year of approximately $10,000 in their first year and $5,000 in each of their second and third years. The Award will be presented annually to a student entering Osgoode’s JD program with a demonstrated history of volunteerism and financial need.
“This Award perfectly represents the essence of Alison. She was very much about giving back,” said partner Samantha Horn, co-chair of the firm’s 10-member fundraising committee. “So much of her spirit came from her commitment to the legal profession, young lawyers and diverse community initiatives.”
Alison Youngman joined Stikeman Elliott in 1972 as a law clerk in the Montreal office, before moving to the Toronto office in 1976. Founding partner Fraser Elliott was a huge admirer of Alison and her accomplishments in the early years in finding her way to Canada – all alone, with $200 in her pocket. He encouraged her to go to law school and she subsequently graduated from Osgoode Hall in 1984 and rejoined the firm to article. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986 and became a member of the England and Wales bar in 1994. She joined the partnership in 1992.
Within the firm, she was a recognized leader. She was founder and chair of the firm’s Technology and Outsourcing practice group and she was a voice for progressive change in women’s initiatives, marketing and the firm’s knowledge management strategy.
ABOUT STIKEMAN ELLIOTT
Stikeman Elliott LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms with over 500 lawyers in five offices across Canada. The firm is a Canadian leader in each of its core practice areas – corporate finance, M&A, banking, corporate commercial, real estate, tax, insolvency, structured finance, competition, telecommunications, intellectual property, employment and business litigation – and has developed in-depth knowledge of a wide range of industries from banking and insurance to energy, mining and technology. Stikeman Elliott maintains offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as London, New York and Sydney.
