By Alexander Demner, 2009 Summer Student
In June, the summer students and various associates, along with the Student Recruitment Committee, made the trek westward to the eZone complex. The sky was ominous, thunder clapped in the background, and an unlucky few perished in the turbulent water along the way. Once we reached our destination, however, the clouds parted and a ray of sunshine hit the earth in front of us; the soothsayer amongst us took this as an excellent sign, and we prepared ourselves for truly one of the best nights we have ever experienced. The evening began with some mini-car racing, accompanied by the usual jeering and name-calling, while the less competitive participants enjoyed some mighty fine hors d’oeuvres.
Then suddenly, with only the briefest of warnings, we were cast into a different dimension of enjoyment – a realm where bumper cars traveled in a basketball gym, and nets were replaced with flashing squares. The man in charge called this magical venue “Whirlyball,” though we half expected to find a yellow brick road hidden in the wreckage of shattered pride. We alternated playing that crazy game and dodgeball, and despite several claims of steroid abuse, the winning team was awarded with luxury A&B swag. A brief respite ensued where dinner, drinks, Guitar Hero, and Wii were available at our leisure, and we feasted without remorse, expecting that the fantastic night was drawing to a close. We were wrong.
What at first sounded like a fun excursion quickly turned into a scene from Star Wars: “Laser Tag” they called it, and boy, was it intense. Dipping left, diving right, dodging downwards, all these moves and more were necessary to keep one’s self-esteem (and high score) intact. But we knew it was worth it, for the prize that awaited us was not simply manna from Heaven, it seasoned that manna with the push of a button – the coveted Aird & Berlis pepper grinder (electric, no less!). And when it was all over, one of us won the award and was declared the King of the World [Editor’s Note: It was the writer of this article, in case you were wondering!], but we all knew deep in our hearts, that we were all winners.Photos...
By Ajeet Grover, 2009 Summer Student
Toronto, Ontario - Aird & Berlis LLP Summer Students Volley Past Expectations to Raise Funds for Bloorview Kids Foundation at Beach Volleyball Tournament
Toronto, May 29, 2009 – Today, Aird & Berlis LLP summer law students participated in the 6th Annual McCarthy T?trault LLP Beach Volleyball Tournament for charity, and in the process left all doubters "in the sand", as they advanced to the second round of the tournament’s play-offs.
This year, law students from a spectrum of downtown Toronto law firms gathered to raise money and awareness for Bloorview Kids Foundation, a charitable organization which provides funding for Canada’s largest rehabilitation and complex continuing care facility for children (Bloorview), located in the Bayview/Eglinton neighbourhood in North Toronto.
The team’s impromptu practice one hour before their first game at the tournament venue, Ashbridges Bay Park, left many in doubt. "I thought our service game during the warm up was lacking." chimed first-year summer student Gary Pattison. "How many innings do we have to play to call a complete game?", quizzed second-year summer student Ajeet Grover, revealing his unfamiliarity with the rules of volleyball.
But despite low expectations and an over abundant consumption of free lunches and cookies in the orientation days leading up to the tournament, the Aird & Berlis team found success in the opening round, finishing with a record of 2 wins and one loss. The A & B students then found a way to win against the formidable Ogilvy Renault LLP team in their opening round play-off match. But it was the tournament host’s team (McCarthy T?trault LLP #4) which proved to be too great a match for the A & B summer students.
"There is no way that these volleyball players are real law students," jokingly remarked second-year summer student Matthew Zuk, indirectly alluding to his opponents’ high skill level and application of the "flying v" strategic formation. The McCarthy team went on to win the tournament, while displaying great sportsmanship in the process.Photos ...
On March 3, 2009, the 2008/2009 Articling Students made the short trek from the Aird & Berlis office to the Air Canada Centre to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs battle it out with the New Jersey Devils. The Leafs put up a brave fight, but were ultimately defeated by the Devils in overtime. Despite the loss, it was an exciting game and everyone enjoyed the food, drink and company!Photos ...
In January 2009, the 2008/2009 Articling Students and lawyers headed up to Playtime Bowl for a little "glow in the dark" bowling action. Much to many players' consternation, real-life bowling is nothing like Wii Bowling and many virtual bowling egos were crushed. This was not the case for Articling Student Jeremy Burke, who revealed his hidden talent and stole the show by arriving with his very own bowling shoes and ball!Photos ...
The lawyers who cook together work well together! It's not every day that one gets an opportunity to learn from the best. Bonnie hosted our group at her cooking school in October, 2008. We prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and as you will see from the photos, it was "touch and go" as to whether Chris or the Turkey would prevail ...Photos ...
In April 2008, the 2007/2008 Articling Students and some of our lawyers gathered at the eZone for the now-traditional A&B Whirlyball Smackdown, er, Tournament. Described further below, Whirlyball is a combination of basketball, handball and hockey, with all of the participants in bumper cars! The evening usually starts out with great humour, but soon the competitive spirit kicks in and the championship is always hard won. Rumour has it that one member of a prior Championship Team brought along his trophy in an attempt to intimidate his opponents.Photos ...
On July 12, 2007, our 2007 Summer Students enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of our partner, Bill VanderBurgh and his wife, Sarah for an evening of great company, great food, games and fun! Please note that Kelly has been offered large sums of money not to publish some of these photos, but has done so in the name of journalistic integrity!Photos ...
On June 20, our 2007 Summer Students and lawyers took to the "ice" in the first annual A&B Whirlyball Tournament! For those who have not been initiated into the cult that is Whirlyball, it involves tossing a whiffle ball with a plastic scoop at a target somewhat like a basketball backboard (with a bulls-eye in the middle) with the purpose of scoring points for your 5-person team. It's sort of a mix of basketball, handball, jai alai and hockey. The best part is that everyone is in Bumper Cars!
Soon after the initial laughter had died down, the fierce competitors came out. It was a battle to the death (well, not quite) but the bruises the next day were well worth the triumph!Photos...
It was a dark and cold night when the 2006/07 Articling Students met at Kelly's house for a fun-filled evening of games! "Guesstures" and "Cranium" were the games of the night, involving charades, singing, humming, drawing with your eyes closed and modelling with clay, and much hilarity ensued.Photos...
2006 Beach Volleyball Tournament
On June 26, our 2006 summer students participated in the annual McCarthy's Student Beach Volleyball Challenge to benefit Lawyers Feed The Hungry. Getting right into the spirit of the competition, our students decided on a "Top Gun" theme, including custom-designed T-Shirts and character names as "handles" (nobody really wanted to be Goose, because we all know what happens to Goose in the movie …)
Our team won the Silver Medal, after triumphing over Borden Ladner Gervais, Lang Michener, Miller Thomson and Gowlings, but (narrowly) lost to Stikeman Elliot in the final game. Most importantly, however, our students were named Most Spirited Team showing the Best Sportsman(person?)ship in the Tournament. A good time was had by all and lots of money raised for a very good cause. Photos...
On May 29, 2006, Clara Hughes, our very own Olympic Gold Medal Winning Athlete, came to visit the firm and told us all about her amazing adventures at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, in which she won both a Gold and a Silver Medal in Speed Skating. During her visit, Clara posed with firm members and even allowed us to "try on" her Olympic medals! Photos...