Cassels Brock donates $200,000 to $1.2-million classroom renewal project – total raised to date now $550,000

Photo by Teddy Melvin

Mark Young, managing partner of Cassels Brock, Dean Bill Flanagan, and Jim Parks, Law '71, a partner at Cassels Brock and Queen's Law Dean's Council member.

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, one of Canada’s leading corporate and commercial law firms, has made the first major donation to Queen’s Law’s ambitious $1.2-million Classroom Renewal Project. The project involves a complete renovation of Macdonald Hall’s four major ground-floor classrooms and the construction of a new seminar room adjacent to the Lederman Law Library.

“This renovation project will ensure that Queen’s Law is able to offer its students a first-class, state-of-the-art learning environment,” says Dean Bill Flanagan. “I am most grateful to Cassels Brock for their leadership gift and to our loyal alumni at the firm for their tremendous support of Queen’s Law.”

In recognition of Cassels Brock’s $200,000 gift, the Faculty will submit a proposal to the University’s Board of Trustees at its March 2010 meeting, seeking approval to name the new seminar room in honour of the firm.

Dean Flanagan and Mark Young, managing partner of Cassels Brock, officially announced the gift to Queen’s Law alumni at the firm during a special meeting on November 25, 2009.  This brings the total funding for the project so far to $550,000, thanks to an additional $150,000 contribution expected from the Queen’s University Campus Renewal Fund and another $200,000 from annual alumni donations to the Dean’s Excellence Fund.

“It is our privilege to support Queen's Law in the ongoing efforts to expand the scope of its legal curriculum and the quality of its teaching facilities through our gift,” Young says. “This joint initiative builds on the already strong affinity we feel with the school, as many of our current lawyers at Cassels Brock are proud Queen's Law alumni, and we know that more of our firm's future leaders will come from among the Queen's Law students who will participate in classes in the new seminar facility.” 

The contemporary, 24-seat, high-tech seminar room will be situated in a prime second-floor location visible from the atrium, replacing the now out-of-date computer lab. Construction to convert the space, which will also create two new meeting rooms, will begin next spring.

Queen’s Law will unveil the seminar room at a ceremony in the fall of 2010. 

For more photos of the meeting at Cassels Brock announcing the firm’s donation, see http://law.queensu.ca/news/archives/november2009/casselsBrockClassroomRenewal/casselsBrockGiftPhotos.html.

Find out more about the proposed renovations to Macdonald Hall at http://law.queensu.ca/news/archives/november2009/casselsBrockClassroomRenewal/MacdonaldHallRenovationsSpring2010.pdf