Our Commitment To...

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 and respected. 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."

As part of our commitment, our Diversity Committee, which consists of partners, associates, and firm management members, meets monthly to discuss our ongoing initiatives. Within the firm, we support our students and lawyers from diverse communities through initiatives that include: our mentorship programme; informal lunches with Diversity Committee members; career development sessions; regular reviews of our internal processes and policies to ensure that they are in line with diversity principles; multicultural themed events; and diversity-related sessions with our various student and lawyer groups.

The firm is also involved in several outreach initiatives as part of our ongoing commitment to diversity in the legal profession. Our lawyers regularly visit law and high schools to speak about law and diversity issues, we invite members of such groups to visit our firm to meet with our lawyers, and we also provide funding to student and community groups that support diversity in the profession. We are currently actively involved with the Pathways to Education Program by engaging in the following: inviting Pathways high school students to visit the firm for organized tours; mentoring students in the programme; hiring Pathways high school students for administrative summer positions; and, sponsoring Pathways events.