Queen's business law program receives $200,000 gift from Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP 

Photo by Teddy Melvin

Dean Bill Flanagan (middle) with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP partners John Groenewegen and Clay Horner.

With this new $200,000 gift, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has made a five-year commitment to fund the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Distinguished Lectures in Business Law. This lecture series, launched as a pilot program in the winter 2009 term, will bring world-class scholars and practitioners to Queen's Law to engage students, faculty and alumni in discussions on contemporary business law topics.

"This lecture series is a cornerstone of our growing business law program and the school is most grateful to Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP for this leadership gift," says Dean Bill Flanagan.

The series will sponsor five internationally renowned academics to come to Queen's to deliver and discuss scholarly papers in business law. Each session will feature the Distinguished Lecturer's talk along with commentary by Queen's Law faculty members and a prominent business law practitioner from Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, followed by a wine and cheese reception. Alumni are welcome to attend the lectures or watch them via webcast.

Osler's renewed commitment follows the success of the pilot program, which featured lectures by Professors William Bratton (Georgetown University Law Centre), Roberta Romano (Yale Law School) and Robert H. Sitkoff (Harvard Law School) on the history and future of corporate legal theory, prospects for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and commercial trusts, respectively. For more information about last year's series, see:
http://law.queensu.ca/events/oslerDistinguishedLecturesInBusinessLaw.html.

"Three of our partners were able to attend the inaugural lectures and they saw first-hand the commitment made to the program, the quality of the speakers and the participation from both faculty and students," says John Groenewegen, a partner at Osler. "The tremendous success of these first lectures confirmed to us that the lecture series will make a major contribution to furthering the study of business law at Queen's for years to come. As one of Canada's leading business law firms, we are very pleased to continue our association with this program."

The pilot program, directed by Professor Paul B. Miller, received stellar reviews. "At a time when the economic future seems hazy, vigorous academic discussion is vital for students who will have their turn shaping the legal landscape," says Patrick Welsh, Law ‘10. "The lectures have enhanced our understanding of legal and philosophical issues facing the corporate world, and have pushed our classroom discussions far beyond the confines of the textbook."

"The series adds a real level of dynamism to business law study and networking," adds Amelia Miao, Law '11.

Queen's will also offer students the opportunity to enrol in an intensive seminar course that will be based on the lecture series: the Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Business Law Symposium. Taught by Miller, students in the course will read lecture papers and related papers in advance, attend all lectures, and write commentaries for academic credit.