Celebrating CLA's work at the 3rd Annual Rights of Spring Cocktail Party!

On May 30th, CLA celebrated the 3rd annual Rights of Spring event, hosted at Globalive's SHAMBA Foundation. Attended by a diverse crowd of law students, community members and Bay Street lawyers, the event highlighted CLA's Dare to Dream and Student Internship programs and was a great success!

The evening’s keynote speaker, The Honourable Bob Rae, MP for Toronto Centre, addressed the crowd and spoke about Canada's place in the world on conflict resolution and good governance.

In his remarks, Mr. Rae spoke eloquently about the important role that lawyers play in promoting human  rights, both abroad and here at home. He also encouraged the legal community to support CLA's Dare to Dream program, a program which helps Aboriginal high school students succeed through high school outreach and mentoring by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal lawyers and students.

Ms.Sharla Niroopan, the grade 7 teacher at First Nations School of Toronto also spoke passionately about the impact of CLA's Dare to Dream program on her students.

Sharla Niroopan, teacher at First Nations School Toronto

She highlighted the positive changes she witnessed in her students as they progressed through the program over the school year. She emphasized that, “It is crucial for Dare to Dream to continue as I have seen the transformation in my students in both their self esteem and understanding of law. These children are the future of our nation, and through their knowledge and understanding gained in the Dare to Dream program, the possibilities are endless in terms of the impact they can have on a nation.”

To support Dare to Dream, you can quickly and easily donate online through CanadaHelps.

After the speeches, the crowd mingled and enjoyed delicious food prepared by David Vallee and drinks from Steam Whistle.

This year we had a fantastic silent auction with great prizes generously donated by: The Honourable Bob Rae, McMillan LLP, Aird & Berlis LLP, WeirFoulds LLP, Niman Zemans Gelgoot, Joeffer Caco Inc., Michael Homewood, Jaime Escobar and the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.

A big thank you to our event sponsors whose support helps make CLA's programming possible: McMillan LLP, Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, Miller Thomson LLP, ChitizPathak, The Flat Armadillo Society, McCarthy Tetrault LLP, Alvarez & Marsal LLP, Norton Rose LLP and Torys LLP.

We would also like to thank our media sponsors who helped publicize the event: Precedent, ZSA and YellowCarDesign.

Check out more photos from the event here!