On Friday February 8, 2013 Stikeman Elliott hosted law students from UofT and Osgoode for a panel discussion entitled “Future Unbound?: Inbound and Outbound Investment in China and India”. The panel, which focused on foreign investment in Canada, was co-organized by the University of Toronto Asia Law Society and Stikeman Elliott.
Despite the fact that Toronto had its worst snowstorm of the season that day, the event was well-attended by students from both schools. University of Toronto Asia Law Society President, Lin Cong, welcomed everyone to the event before Janene Charles, Director of Student Programs and Diversity at Stikeman Elliott, then gave some background information on the firm and introduced the panel speakers. Unfortunately, both William Braithwaite, Chair of the firm, and Dee Rajpal, Partner and Co-Leader of Stikeman Elliott’s India Initiative, who were scheduled to talk were unable to attend due to the weather. Speaking on the panel were Jay Kellerman, Managing Partner of the Toronto office, John Ciardullo, Partner, and Alethea Au, Associate.
The discussion began with a brief history of Stikeman Elliott and its early global initiatives, including when the firm opened an office in Australia to help capture the business of Australian miners. The discussion then turned to the mergers and acquisitions activity in Canada done by international entities such as the BHP Billiton takeover bid for Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and the China National Offshore Oil Company acquisition of Nexen Inc. Panel members also reviewed the various roles that a business law firm plays in international business investment and the key factors that lead to international success; namely, knowledge of the culture and fluency in the language of the client. Finally, it was pointed out that the global reputation of a law firm is a major factor in acquiring new international clients since satisfaction of an international client usually leads to word of mouth referrals. The panel discussion was followed by an engaging question and answer period.
At the conclusion of the event, refreshments were served and the students again had an opportunity to chat with the lawyers at Stikeman Elliott. Many thanks to Stikeman Elliott for hosting the event and thanks especially for the hard work and organizing efforts of Janene Charles, Susan Pak, and Lauren Flack of Stikeman Elliott. Finally, thanks go out to the panel members for taking time out of their busy day to spend time sharing their knowledge and experiences with the students.
