Our Commitment To...

Your Development

At Stikeman Elliott we want you to excel the moment you walk through our doors and we hope to see you develop into talented lawyers with a long and exciting career with us.

At Stikeman Elliott we want you to excel the moment you walk through our doors and we hope to see you develop into talented lawyers with a long and exciting career with us. Our unique philosophy on your development aims to help you succeed professionally and to build upon your individual strengths, career goals and aspirations. We take a multi-layered approach to your training and development, ensuring that as you advance in your career you are learning everyday through hands-on experience with a variety of files, real client contact, formal and informal mentoring, consistent feedback and, of course, our many education and training courses. Our goal is to develop well-rounded lawyers who are driven by intellectual curiosity and a desire to think creatively about the law.

To learn more about Your Development at Stikeman Elliott, click here.

Diversity Initiatives

Stikeman Elliott is committed to diversity amongst its lawyers, students, and staff and we want to ensure that all firm members are supported, valued, respected, and provided with the best possible development opportunities. In his address about the firm's defining principles at our 50th Anniversary Retreat, Dick Pound encouraged us to: "Never lose sight of the need for diversity among us. We will need the broadest range of talents and backgrounds as we face a national and international future. Embrace and seek out differences; do not reject them."

Our efforts in ensuring a diverse work environment at Stikeman Elliott have advanced our culture and overall business objectives and success in several ways. By seeking to attract and retain individuals from all of Canada's diverse communities, we ensure that our people are the best and the brightest that Canada has to offer.

To learn about our Diversity Initiatives, click here.

Women's Initiatives

At Stikeman Elliott, we are immensely proud of the role that women lawyers play at the firm - both as role models and as leaders in their areas of practice.  We recognize that each student, associate and partner is unique and that each woman brings with her unique experiences and perspectives to the practice of law. We encourage this diversity in our women lawyers (and in all our lawyers) and know our clients do too. Moreover, we recognize the importance of providing resources to support our women collectively and to assist with their individual career goals. We currently have a range of initiatives in place to enhance the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the firm. Our initiatives encompass both leadership/business development programs for women, as well as policies and programs to support family obligations and work-life balance.

To learn about our Women's Initiatives, click here.

Community Involvement and Pro Bono Activities

We enjoy a long tradition of pro bono and community service work, and our students, lawyers and staff are encouraged to support causes and initiatives for which they have energy and passion. With the firm's support, many of our lawyers and staff make a significant contribution to the community through volunteer involvement, sponsorship, and pro bono services to a number of established organizations and development stage projects. The firm's lawyers are also active in pro bono litigation, representing various parties at all court levels. In the last three years, Stikeman Elliott firm members in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver have helped more than 60 organizations, donated countless personal volunteer hours, and raised more than $1,200,000 for charitable organizations in their communities. The firm's Matching Program matches donations of up to $600/year/person for volunteer work, whereby the firm will match staff, law clerk, associate, and student volunteer hours with a registered charity with a cash donation.

To learn about our Community Involvement and Pro Bono Activities, click here.

The Environment

Our GoingGreen Program, officially launched in 2008, is part of our continuing effort to measurably reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day operations through waste reduction, recycling, and energy efficiency. GoingGreen also aims to build broader environmental awareness among all of our firm members. The Program involves the firm wide implementation of market-leading environmental best practices, co-ordinated by a Green Committee with membership from a broad cross-section of firm members. We are proud to be the first Canadian national law firm to be certified as carbon neutral. Stikeman Elliott was selected as one of The Green 30 - Canada's 30 Greenest Employers, as selected by Maclean's magazine, in partnership with AonHewitt, two years in a row (2010, 2011).

To learn about our Environmental Initiatives, click here.

Knowledge Management and Technology

At Stikeman Elliott, we are proud of our position as a leader in knowledge management.  Our longstanding commitment to knowledge management distinguishes us from other Canadian business law firms.  We want our clients to benefit from our collective legal experience, and we work to ensure our lawyers and students have immediate and easy access to the firm's significant intellectual capital.

To learn more about Knowledge Management and Technology at Stikeman Elliott, click here.