By Lucianna Ciccocioppo, U of T Faculty of Law Newsroom
Under the soaring Tudor ceiling of the Hart House music room, amid the long harvest tables filled with family and friends, three notable alumni were celebrated at the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award dinner event April 2: Justice James Farley, LLB 1966, Linda Rothstein, LLB 1980, and Tariq Remtulla, JD 2005.
Justice Gloria Epstein, LLB 1977, said the purpose of the Ann Wilson Robert Prichard Award was to recognize young alumni “who have demonstrated their contribution to the profession right out of the gate.” Award recipient Tariq Remtulla, an associate in the intellectual property group at Blakes Law, sits on the board of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention, advocates tirelessly against oppression, homophobia and discrimination, does probono work and sits on his firm’s equity committee.
Remtulla acknowledged Distinguished Alumnus Award recipients Farley and Rothstein, and called them “true inspirations.” He spoke about the transformative impact of the law school’s Law in Action Within Schools program (LAWS) at Central Tech High School where he and his firm are involved. And, in a poignant story, he recalled the impact of mentoring a young elementary student named Marcus in Philadelphia, while Remtulla did his undergraduate degree at University of Pennsylvania. “Marcus was the reason I went to law school.”
