Stikeman Elliott LLP

This donor profile is from the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of Nexus.

When Eliot Kolers entered law school in 1991, the brand new Bora Laskin Law Library had just opened. Its anchor—historic Flavelle House—had been updated and renovated. And Kolers and his classmates were duly impressed. "I remember going to law school on that first day and just being blown away by how beautiful the facilities were," he says.

Those facilities served Kolers well. He excelled at law school, found mentors and friends, and met his future wife. Students would often gather in the common room beneath the library to watch sporting events on television. That part of the building hadn't been updated - and it showed. "It was all very cramped student space," recalls Kolers, who watched the Toronto Blue Jays compete in two World Series from that spot. "Even twenty years ago, that needed improvement."

Now a partner at Stikeman Elliot LLP, Kolers is doing his part to improve the law school experience for future generations of students. He and many fellow UofT alumni at the firm have made individual contributions to the building campaign, and Stikeman Elliot is matching their total.

The project, Kolers says, is essential. Students and faculty will get better office and classroom space, a more efficient library, and that elusive common room space that he and his classmates didn't really have back when they were in law school.

"You need that common room," Kolers says. "It enhances student life and helps with the camaraderie that you should have when you're in university."