Cassels Brock digs deep for Western Law
February 15, 2012
(l-r) John Craig '71 and Andrea Fitzgerald '98, both Partners at Cassels Brock; Managing Partner Mark Young; Partner Eva Bellissimo and Associate Jennifer Hansen '09; Dean Iain Scott and Western President Amit Chakma
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP has staked a significant claim in mining law education at Western.
The firm’s gift of $750,000 will support a unique mining law program at Western Law and initiatives to prepare students for the mining law and finance sector.
Canada dominates international mining finance with almost 60% of the world's public mining companies listed on a TMX Group exchange and mining is an integral part of Canada’s economy, comprising more than $40 billion of the national GDP.
“We’re grateful to Cassels Brock for its leadership and its generous investment in Western Law,” says Dean W. Iain Scott. "We’re the first law school in Canada to focus on mining law and finance. That emphasis, along with our close collaboration with our colleagues in Geology, will create meaningful opportunities for our students to participate in the mining sector.”
“Our firm is excited about playing a role in this unique program in Canada,” says Paul Stein, Co-Chair of the Mining Group at Cassels Brock, one of Canada’s leading resource-focused business law firms.
Stein, a Western Law graduate from the class of ‘81, has spent almost 30 years as a lawyer on many of the leading corporate finance and merger and acquisition transactions in the mining industry.
“I’ve seen a real evolution in the mining sector and know how much our clients recognize and value business-savvy legal advisors who understand their industry and their issues,” he says.
“Canada is at the centre of mineral exploration funding internationally and Canadian lawyers are a key part of the success story,” says Professor Barry Barton, an internationally recognized expert in mining law from the University of Waikato in New Zealand, who teaches in Western Law’s January Term program.
“It’s great to see Western Law responding to the role that Canada is playing in mining globally,” Barton adds. “I applaud the initiative Cassels Brock has taken to support scholarship and education in this important specialist field. The emphasis on financing is distinctive and welcome.”
