Robert Yalden, a senior partner with Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, made his debut as the Stephen Sigurdson Professor in Corporate Law and Finance at Celebrate Queen’s Law in Toronto on May 24. “I am delighted to introduce Robert Yalden, one of Canada’s foremost corporate lawyers, as the inaugural holder of the Sigurdson Professorship,” Dean Bill Flanagan said to the crowd of alumni, faculty, staff and students at the annual alumni reception.

“The Sigurdson Professorship will help to reinforce the very strong foundation for business law that has already been built at Queen’s,” said Yalden. “This includes the critical support of the many talented lecturers who devote so much time and energy to teaching courses and ensuring that the curriculum is a rich one. All of this ensures there will be a vibrant and dynamic set of colleagues at the Faculty devoted to this area.”

Yalden, who holds a BA from Queen’s and three law degrees (LLB, Toronto and Montreal; MA Juris, Oxford), has practised with Osler for more than 25 years and served as Co-Chair of Osler’s Mergers and Acquisitions group and as a member of Osler’s Executive Committee. He has also been an adjunct professor with McGill Law, taught at other law schools since 1991, and authored or co-authored numerous publications, including one of Canada’s leading casebooks on business organizations.

What makes his Queen’s Law appointment especially meaningful is the fact that the professorship commemorates his former Osler mentor and colleague, Stephen Sigurdson, Law’84. “Steve took me under his wing as soon as I arrived and got me involved in a series of transactions that we worked on together for Canada Trust,” said Yalden. “He was patient, provided wise advice and always maintained his sense of humour. I could not have asked for a better mentor.”

Sigurdson’s interest in his mentee’s progress continued as the two became partners a few years later and remained even after Sigurdson left the firm to join Manulife in 2010. “I have done a lot of deals as a lawyer and while that has been very rewarding work, what will really stay with me as I move on to this next phase as an academic is the opportunity I have had – like Steve – to mentor many younger lawyers and to watch them evolve as professionals. His example is one of the reasons I have made a point of staying involved with law schools and teaching.”

In addition to thanking the Sigurdson family – Stephen’s wife, Leslie, Law’84; and daughters Amy, Claire, Heather and Laura, Law’13; and Laura’s husband Jonah Goldberg, Law’12 – Yalden also expressed his gratitude to the many alumni and friends who rallied and made generous donations to establish the professorship, which is supported by a $1.5 million endowment. “It was and will remain a wonderful tribute to Steve’s legacy,” said Yalden. “I know just how critical it is that alumni support initiatives like this one and that nothing like this gets off the ground without a massive team effort.”

Already at work as the Sigurdson Professor, Yalden met earlier that day with two of his new colleagues, professors Gail Henderson and Mohamed Khimji, the David Allgood Professor in Business Law. “They are very talented scholars and teachers, and with their colleagues have helped generate great momentum for the Queen’s business law program,” he said. “We had a very productive discussion about the curriculum and paths we might go down to ensure that students get a full range of learning experiences, and we also had a good discussion about our research interests.

“As I considered various options, Gail’s and Mohamed’s presence on the faculty was critical to my decision to join,” Yalden continued. “I really did feel like I was joining a community to which the Sigurdson Professorship would add further momentum. So, the chemistry is good and I am very excited about where the Faculty is going in this area and many others, as is evidenced in the record numbers of recent hires.”