Inside the Dentons Canada LLP office located in the downtown core of the nation’s capital, dozens of alumni filled the boardroom with feelings of warmth and camaraderie on September 28. They gathered for their city’s latest alumni reception, this time hosted by Dentons partner Tom Houston, Law’78 (Com’75).
It was the first Ottawa alumni event attended by Laurel Johnson, Law’92 (Com’88), a lawyer with the National Defence/Canadian Forces Office of the Legal Advisor. “I am so delighted that I finally made the effort to go,” she exclaims. “It offered a special opportunity to connect with alumni from a wide span of years – from the Class of ’64 to the Class of ’17. That was the best part of the event for me – chatting with new acquaintances, with the common bond of our time at Queen’s Law.”
Regular attendee Rob Thomson, Law’13, an Assistant Crown Attorney in the Ottawa Crown Attorney’s Office, says he likes the annual event for two reasons: “In addition to catching up with friends I don’t see often, I like finding out all the new improvements the Dean has made at the school.”
The new developments Dean Bill Flanagan shared with the audience this year included the special Queen’s Law at 60 Homecoming Weekend on September 8–9, the launch of the QL60 bursary campaign to raise $600,000 in eight months to support students with financial needs, and the Faculty’s Indigenous Art Project as part of its response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. He also talked about how the widely popular undergraduate Certificate in Law is expanding with three new courses being developed, pointing out the alumnus who is designing and will teach the constitutional law course – Jonathan Shanks, Law’07, counsel with Justice Canada’s Constitutional, Administrative and International Law section.
“The reception was a great way to not only catch up with the Dean, but also with other alumni who work in the Capital,” says Randeep Sarai, Law’01, MP for Surrey Centre in British Columbia. “It’s a great place to see new and familiar faces, and find out we all went to Queen’s.”
Laurel Johnson is already making plans for future events. “It was such an enjoyable experience that I will be reaching out to my Ottawa-based law chums to encourage their attendance for the next gathering.”
By Lisa Graham