“There are two kinds of people in this world: those who went to Queen’s Law and those who wish they could go.” That’s how Blair Yorke-Slader, Law’82, Vice-Chair and partner at Bennett Jones LLP, summed up the sentiment expressed by a crowd of Queen’s Law alumni, students and friends who gathered in his firm’s Calgary office for the school’s annual cocktail reception.
The group cheered on native Calgarian Leslie O’Donoghue, QC, Law’88, who was presented the inaugural J.A. (Alec) Corry Distinguished Alumni Award by Dean Bill Flanagan. This award recognizes O’Donoghue, Executive VP, Corporate Development & Strategy and Chief Risk Officer at Agrium Inc., for excelling in a career outside the traditional practice of law.
Rick Hillary, Law’74, spoke of how meaningful this event highlight was. “It is indeed notable and appreciated by those of us who have made Calgary our home that Dean Flanagan would come here to personally present this prestigious award to one of our fraternity amongst her family, friends and associates.”
During her acceptance speech, O’Donoghue welcomed the newest members of the Queen’s Law network. “For those of you who are about to enter Queen’s Law and those of you in Law’18, you have such an exciting future,” she said. “All of us alumni know what a gift it was to attend Queen’s Law. It really gave us great opportunities. We look forward to hearing about your future accomplishments. There is no doubt they will be great.”
Dean Flanagan made two other exciting announcements as well. Having reached its $1.5-million fundraising goal for the David Allgood Professorship in Business Law, the Faculty has hired renowned scholar Mohamed Khimji. “Alberta alumni contributed more than $280,000 to the professorship,” said Flanagan. “You really punched above your weight!” The Dean also introduced Taylor Hudson, Law’19, this year’s winner of the Alberta Scholar Award, which is endowed by more than $160,000 in donations from the province’s grads.
Events like this one also give alumni opportunities to reunite and reminisce about their Queen’s experience. “The Dean’s outreach aimed at staying connected with our Law alumni here in Calgary and across the country is an outstanding example of what makes Queen’s such a special place to all of us, no matter the distance or the years,” said Hillary.
He also noted the importance to both students and senior members of the bar of having such opportunities to speak to each other. “It is reassuring and gratifying to learn about the aspirations of the new generation of legal professionals, to offer them the wisdom of our experiences and to help mentor them,” said Hillary. “It is inspiring and gives us hope that our profession’s future is being passed into dedicated and talented hands.”
For Larry Wu, Law’13, the reception illustrated the typical Queen’s Law graduate. “When we present ourselves as Queen's grads, we want to do so not just to uphold our school's reputation, but also who we are as people,” he said. “To see that in this celebration is really amazing.”
Read more about Leslie O’Donoghue, the winner of Queen’s Law’s first J.A. (Alec) Corry Distinguished Alumni Award.
