printBOYNECLARKE is pleased to announce that the firm has been profiled as a "Community Champion" in the March/April 2009 issue of Atlantic Business Magazine:
A Most Defensible Code of Conduct
They are the antithesis of lawyer jokes everywhere. A repudiation of every legal thriller John Grisham has ever penned. They are the ultimate comeback to every tired, ambulance-chasing, money-grubbing, torte-tarting, licentious-litigation cliché ever mouthed. They are Boyne Clarke, a law firm the likes of which Hollywood has never dreamed.
True, they are as dedicated, as persevering and as pugnacious in the pursuit of justice as the biggest of their big city counterparts. They are just as spirited in their defense, as thorough in their research and as hungry for corporate and commercial success. But never at the unfair expense of the client, and always with an inherent regard for the larger social consequences.
Nowhere is that well-developed sense of civic responsibility more evident than in Boyne Clarke’s commitment to charitable effort. So entrenched is this sentiment to the firm’s corporate culture that it warrants a higher ranking than “Fee & Payment Policy” on the company website, featuring prominently under “News” as well.
As for that well-worn position where rubber meets asphalt? Boyne Clarke has pretty much owned that track since the organization was founded in 1981. In the past year alone, the firm has contributed more than $175,000 in cash and in-kind contributions through 11 separate initiatives (one ofwhic h, their annual summer program, has them paying the salaries of five articling students for 14 weeks while they work at various charitable associations). At the same time, its 28 partners and 20 associate lawyers have been active board members officially sharing their time and expertise with 28 different community groups. The most impressive generosity, however, according to executive director Diane Norris, is not of the top-down variety: it comes from the spontaneous and open-handed kindness of their collective staff (lawyers and administrative personnel alike).
With the full sanction, approval and sometimes paid-time of the firm, but entirely on their own initiative, staff have recently: collected 1.4 tons of food items for FEED Nova Scotia; raised more than $5,700 to support eight families at Christmas; won top fundraising honours two years in a row for the Dragon Boat Festival in support of Nova Scotia Amateur Sport; participated in the MS Walk, raising $3,200 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society; garnered more than $10,000 in sponsorships for the CIBC Run for the Cure; contributed $904 to the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia via its annual Bowl-a-thon; used their Casual Fridays as an opportunity to raise $5,208 for a variety of charitable causes; and, started Trivia Nights at O’Carroll’s Restaurant & Irish Pub as another way to raise money for charity. They’ve even sold crocuses, daffodils and carnations for (respectively) the CNIB, Canadian Cancer Society and MS.
Jan Murray is one of Boyne Clarke’s many avid volunteers: the associate lawyer is also vicechair of the board for Eastern Front Theatre, a volunteer with reachABILITY and CIBC Run for the Cure and an enthusiastic member of the firm’s Dragon Boat team. She says it was Boyne Clarke’s spirit of “gifting” which attracted her to sign on to the firm’s summer program five years ago. “My mother always told me that, ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. That’s how I was raised.”
In addition to her mother’s sage advice, Murray says that the firm’s clients are another strong incentive to give back to the community. “A lot of our clients are individuals and small businesses. That means we are always working with people on a deeply personal level, which makes us very aware of what’s going on in the community. And while it makes good business sense for us in terms ofr aising awareness ofthe Boyne Clarke name and building a positive brand as a law firm perceived to be doing something good, that’s not why everyone here goes above and beyond. It’s this type of culture that makes Boyne Clarke a fun, meaningful place to work. It’s what being Atlantic Canadian is all about.”
Above and Beyond: Boyne Clarke’s staff-led fundraising initiatives (exclusive of corporate contributions) have raised $41,418. 44 for the following charities:
Brain Injury Association of NS
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
Canadian Cancer Society
Canadian Diabetes Association
Childrens’ Wish Foundation
CNIB
FEED Nova Scotia
IWK Health Care Centre
Local families
Margaret’s House
Metro Turning Point
MS Society
Nova Scotia Amateur Sport
Phoenix House
SPCA of Nova Scotia
By: Dawn Chafe, Editor, Atlantic Business Magazine
Atlantic Business Magazine | March/April 2009
A Most Defensible Code of Conduct
They are the antithesis of lawyer jokes everywhere. A repudiation of every legal thriller John Grisham has ever penned. They are the ultimate comeback to every tired, ambulance-chasing, money-grubbing, torte-tarting, licentious-litigation cliché ever mouthed. They are Boyne Clarke, a law firm the likes of which Hollywood has never dreamed.
True, they are as dedicated, as persevering and as pugnacious in the pursuit of justice as the biggest of their big city counterparts. They are just as spirited in their defense, as thorough in their research and as hungry for corporate and commercial success. But never at the unfair expense of the client, and always with an inherent regard for the larger social consequences.
Nowhere is that well-developed sense of civic responsibility more evident than in Boyne Clarke’s commitment to charitable effort. So entrenched is this sentiment to the firm’s corporate culture that it warrants a higher ranking than “Fee & Payment Policy” on the company website, featuring prominently under “News” as well.
As for that well-worn position where rubber meets asphalt? Boyne Clarke has pretty much owned that track since the organization was founded in 1981. In the past year alone, the firm has contributed more than $175,000 in cash and in-kind contributions through 11 separate initiatives (one ofwhic h, their annual summer program, has them paying the salaries of five articling students for 14 weeks while they work at various charitable associations). At the same time, its 28 partners and 20 associate lawyers have been active board members officially sharing their time and expertise with 28 different community groups. The most impressive generosity, however, according to executive director Diane Norris, is not of the top-down variety: it comes from the spontaneous and open-handed kindness of their collective staff (lawyers and administrative personnel alike).
With the full sanction, approval and sometimes paid-time of the firm, but entirely on their own initiative, staff have recently: collected 1.4 tons of food items for FEED Nova Scotia; raised more than $5,700 to support eight families at Christmas; won top fundraising honours two years in a row for the Dragon Boat Festival in support of Nova Scotia Amateur Sport; participated in the MS Walk, raising $3,200 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society; garnered more than $10,000 in sponsorships for the CIBC Run for the Cure; contributed $904 to the Brain Injury Association of Nova Scotia via its annual Bowl-a-thon; used their Casual Fridays as an opportunity to raise $5,208 for a variety of charitable causes; and, started Trivia Nights at O’Carroll’s Restaurant & Irish Pub as another way to raise money for charity. They’ve even sold crocuses, daffodils and carnations for (respectively) the CNIB, Canadian Cancer Society and MS.
Jan Murray is one of Boyne Clarke’s many avid volunteers: the associate lawyer is also vicechair of the board for Eastern Front Theatre, a volunteer with reachABILITY and CIBC Run for the Cure and an enthusiastic member of the firm’s Dragon Boat team. She says it was Boyne Clarke’s spirit of “gifting” which attracted her to sign on to the firm’s summer program five years ago. “My mother always told me that, ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. That’s how I was raised.”
In addition to her mother’s sage advice, Murray says that the firm’s clients are another strong incentive to give back to the community. “A lot of our clients are individuals and small businesses. That means we are always working with people on a deeply personal level, which makes us very aware of what’s going on in the community. And while it makes good business sense for us in terms ofr aising awareness ofthe Boyne Clarke name and building a positive brand as a law firm perceived to be doing something good, that’s not why everyone here goes above and beyond. It’s this type of culture that makes Boyne Clarke a fun, meaningful place to work. It’s what being Atlantic Canadian is all about.”
Above and Beyond: Boyne Clarke’s staff-led fundraising initiatives (exclusive of corporate contributions) have raised $41,418. 44 for the following charities:
Brain Injury Association of NS
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
Canadian Cancer Society
Canadian Diabetes Association
Childrens’ Wish Foundation
CNIB
FEED Nova Scotia
IWK Health Care Centre
Local families
Margaret’s House
Metro Turning Point
MS Society
Nova Scotia Amateur Sport
Phoenix House
SPCA of Nova Scotia
By: Dawn Chafe, Editor, Atlantic Business Magazine
Atlantic Business Magazine | March/April 2009