Cunningham Swan to make $125k donation to Queen’s Law Clinics
Cunningham Swan is marking their 125th anniversary with a commemorative gift $125,000 to be made to the Queen’s Law Clinics.
The firm announced the donation on Friday, Jun. 14, 2019. The donation “amounts to a thousand dollars given for every year since the firm first hung a shingle in 1894,” Cunningham Swan said in a press release.
“This gift is a measure of the firm’s strong commitment not only to this community, but also to facilitating access to justice within it,” said Andrea Risk, Managing Partner of Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little & Bonham LLP. “Our firm is thrilled to support the legal services that law students provide to the community through the Queen’s Law Clinics, and the excellent training that the clinics, in turn, provide to future lawyers. With this donation, we recognize our long-standing support of, and commitment to, the Queen’s Faculty of Law and the Queen’s Law Clinics.”
The Queen’s Law Clinics have been an integral part of Queen’s Law for nearly fifty years, providing pro-bono law services to members of the Kingston community. These services are even more valuable to the community at this point in time, as the provincial budget in April called for large cuts to Legal Aid fund, sparking concern from local legal clinics.
“This is an extremely challenging time for any agency that provides frontline services to the most vulnerable in our community,” said Karla McGrath, Executive Director of Queen’s Law Clinics. “Private support is becoming essential to the maintenance of basic services. And, while all support is important, this donation is especially meaningful as it comes from legal colleagues, who recognize the importance of our work and of our programs.”
The donation will be made to the The Queen’s Law Clinics at a private event on Tuesday, Jun. 18, 2019 at The Isabel Bader Centre for Performing Arts.
About Cunningham Swan
Cunningham Swan currently consists of 34 lawyers who provide a full range of legal services to individuals, families, business and public sector clients throughout Eastern Ontario. They offer legal expertise in Business, Family, Estates, Litigation, Real Estate, Labour and Employment, Municipal, Planning, Education and Health law. Past substantial philanthropic gifts have been made to Pathways to Education Programs, University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, Limestone Learning Foundation, Hospice Kingston, St. Lawrence College, The United Way of KFL&A, and Addiction and Mental Health Services KLF&A.
About Queen’s Law Clinics
Established in 1957, The Queen’s Faculty of Law provides students with strong academic grounding as well as unique, experiential learning opportunities. Since 1971, with the launch of Queen’s Legal Aid, the Clinics have provided a range of essential legal services to some of the most marginalized in the local community. There are currently five pro bono clinics operating in downtown Kingston, including Queen’s Legal Aid and the Business, Elder, Family and Prison Law Clinics. The Clinics handle over 1,200 files per year and involve over 200 students annually, thus providing vital legal services to the community while, at the same time, delivering valuable hands-on learning experiences to its students.
