Our lawyers are active in all aspects of the legal profession and also embrace Goodmans’ long-standing tradition of supporting charities, local communities and the arts. Many of our lawyers teach at law schools, contribute to legal and business publications, conduct seminars and workshops, play key roles in politics and are involved in the Law Society and the Canadian Bar Association.  At Goodmans, we strive to make a positive difference in our community.

Goodmans’ lawyers and staff are active in civic and charitable events and are major participants in the United Way, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Daily Bread Food Bank in addition to events in support of local charities such as St. Stephen’s Community House, the Kitchen Project, The Yonge Street Mission and many others.

United Way

Our United Way fundraising campaign is held every year in the fall over a one-week period in which various fundraising events are held including: breakfast organized by the articling students, denim day, a spelling bee, a CN Tower Climb, silent auction, floor change challenge, lunches held by the directors and partners as well as a cabaret in which Goodmans singers perform.  The 2009 United Way campaign was a great success and raised over $280,000 for the charity and its programs.

Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club Winter Party

Each year, our articling students plan and host a winter party for the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, a not-for-profit organization which serves as a youth centre for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The children participate in fun activities such as Christmas carol singing, ornament making, candy cane hunts, visits with Santa and more. A wish list from each child is collected and the gifts they have selected are purchased from various stores. The children receive the gift on their wish list from “Santa” at the party.  Each child also receives a loot bag to take home, full of treats for their enjoyment.

Winter Hope Clothing Drive

For over a decade, the articling students at Goodmans have organized and coordinated the annual Winter Hope Clothing Drive with the Yonge Street Mission, a downtown charitable organization, to help homeless and underprivileged people in the GTA keep warm during the cold winter months.  The 2009 drive took place in October and involved over 25 organizations from Toronto’s legal community who helped us make it the most successful clothing drive yet!

Goodmans students also organized two additional in-firm clothing drives in July and December for the "Double Take" program of the Yonge Street Mission.

JDRF Ride for Research

Goodmans was the 2009 organizer of the annual JDRF Ride for Diabetes Research: Law Firm Challenge.  Teams from Goodmans challenged other firms to match or beat our fundraising efforts during the ride at Nathan Phillip Square in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.