Liz Breen: Clint Ford Memorial Bursary

Liz Breen: Clint Ford Memorial Bursary

Liz Breen By Lucianna Ciccocioppo

After Liz Breen, LLB 1982, finished her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, the western-based graduate headed east to attend U of T Law. She is now a partner in the M&A, finance and private equity groups at Stikeman Elliott.

“In law school, I enjoyed criminal law, but I couldn’t see myself pursuing this in the real world. I also liked litigation and tax, but when I articled, I felt most comfortable with corporate law; I loved the deals.”

Law school wasn’t just hard work, says Breen, who remembers how much she enjoyed mooting. “We had a lot of fun. Our year started the Law Follies. Dave Shore, Lorne Cameron, Dave Hoselton and I (as well as many others) were all involved in that. I think Dave Shore may have also started the Law School newspaper (but I’m not sure). Sometimes we had beer in the common area and we played a lot of pinball. It was very collegial within our group, and Clint was an important member of that group.”  

Clinton Ford, LLB 1982, Clint to his friends, was from Alberta as well. And like many Canadians from that part of the country, “Clint had very strong western roots and western attitude,” says Breen with a chuckle. “He was a very lively, opinionated person, and you either liked him or you didn’t. People had clear opinions about him. He didn’t pull his punches, and didn’t want to.”

Named after his grandfather, Alberta and Northwest Territories Chief Justice Clinton James Ford, Clint lived life to the fullest – after dodging death a few times.  

“He was hit by lightning when he was 18 and working on a paving crew in Camrose, Alberta. He was wearing a St. Christopher’s medallion and the lighting went through the medallion, so he always had a big black burn around his neck that looked like a necklace.”  He survived that trauma, and then his first bout of cancer 20 years later - until it returned and he passed away in December 2017 at 60 years of age.

To remember him, some of his classmates, spearheaded by Mitch Wine, rallied and created the Clint Ford Memorial Bursary – and Breen didn’t hesitate to support it with a generous donation.

“It’s a good cause; helping a law student with financial need resonates with me,” Breen explains. “I had no money in law school; I don’t think Clint had any money in law school either. And I knew this would appeal to him, as he was also very proud of U of T, so that to me was a nice combination.”

As a proud alumna, Breen wanted to be a part of the Campaign for Excellence without Barriers.  

“The U of T Faculty of Law has an incredible reputation; there is bench strength. It’s a strong law school with remarkable alumni. When I was recently reading Nexus, the alumni magazine, it struck me that some of the people who keep giving back graduated as long as 50 years ago, and yet they’re still interested and proud to support the law school.”