As I write, Canada is in the grip of Olympic fever. Alexandre Bilodeau’s gold medal resulted in the roar of victory heard across the country; tremendous amounts of fist pumping; and spontaneous outbursts of O Canada on the streets. It was a beautiful thing.
There were many more medals to come, but getting to the Games takes great dedication, support, and of course, money. Law firms support many cultural and community events, and in the spirit of the Games, it seems like a great time to give kudos to firms backing the efforts of Olympic hopefuls. By the time you read this, all the winners and results will be known but for now, they are mostly all still hopefuls.
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has been supporting speedskater Clara Hughes for three years and was “thrilled and proud” when Hughes was chosen to be the flag-bearer for the Canadian team during the opening ceremonies.
“Mike and Chris Moffat just happen to have the same name as our firm, so we thought it only appropriate that we should offer our financial assistance towards their quest for gold in 2010,” said the web site of Moffat & Co., the patent and trademark agent sister firm of IP boutique Macera & Jarzyna LLP. They’re also behind alpine skiers Emily Brydon, Jan Hudec, Erik Guay, Mike Janyk, and Manny Osborne-Paradis, as well as the injured-so-they-couldn’t-compete Kelly VanderBeek and John Kucera.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP has given Team Rush, a four-man bobsled crew, a push. Lyndon Rush, Lascelles Brown, Chris LeBihan, and David Bissett are competing in their first Olympics.
Calgary’s Carscallen Leitch LLP is the “official legal partner” of the Canadian ski cross team for the 2010 season. Says partner Don Leitch: “They are a real medal hope at the 2010 Olympics. If our sponsorship assists them in achieving this goal, then my partners and I believe everyone wins.”
“Our firm is committed to the values of high performance; values that these athletes demonstrate every day,” said Steve Mathiesen, a partner in the Vancouver office of Lang Michener LLP about its three-year commitment to sponsor Canada’s national snowboard team.
Stikeman Elliott LLP sponsors Zina Kocher, who is competing in her second Games in the biathlon. Vancouver’s Bell Alliance is supporting Sven Winter, who races skier cross. I’m sure there are others that I’ve not been able to pin down and to those firms I will be sure to give you kudos on these pages as well if you contact me.
Now back to the business of law!
