SYPHER o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.globe_and_mail 2005-01-28 published
Fraser ELLIOT/ELLIOTT,
Lawyer: 1921-2005
Co-founder of the Toronto law firm Stikeman Elliott saw the practice
as an institution rather than a business, writes Sandra
MARTIN.
It has since become a model for law offices across the country
By Sandra MARTIN,
Friday,
January 28, 2005 - Page S7
A lawyer, businessman, art collector and philanthropist who loved
to fish and play golf, Fraser
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT was a decisive man who
listened deeply and spoke briefly. "We always used to say that
if he was giving a speech, it wouldn't go longer than 2.5 minutes,"
said Olympian Richard Pound, a lawyer with the Montreal office
of Stikeman
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, the firm Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT co-founded more than
50 years ago.
"When he and Heward [
STIKEMAN] set up the firm, Fraser was the
businessman and Heward was the visionary," said Edward
WAITZER,
current chair of the firm that now has offices in nine cities
around the world and more than 400 lawyers. "There was no question
who was running the firm, but they were incredibly compatible,"
said Mr. WAITZER. "
They were partners who never had a disagreement."
Although he had stepped down as chair about 20 years ago, Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT continued to go to the office every day until about two
weeks ago. "He was the kind of guy that most of the secretaries
around here would probably go and talk to if there was a problem
before they'd talk to me," said Mr.
WAITZER. "
There isn't a day
that goes by without somebody saying, 'What would Fraser think?'
He was the heart and soul of this law firm. He had a huge influence
because his footprint was just so deep."
R. Fraser ELLIOT/ELLIOTT was born in 1921, the
son of Colin Fraser
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT,
a federal deputy minister, and Mary Marjorie
(SYPHER.) He went
to Queen's University, graduating with a commerce degree in 1943
before going to Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. He articled
under Henry
BORDEN, senior partner at Borden, Elliot, Kelley,
Palmer and Sankey, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1946.
He then went to the Harvard School of Business Administration,
graduating with an M.B.A. in 1947.
Heward STIKEMAN, meanwhile, had begun his career in what is now
called the Canada Revenue Agency under the mentorship of Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT's father, a career civil servant and one-time ambassador
to Chile. After reaching the level of assistant deputy minister
in 1945, Mr.
STIKEMAN went into private practice with the small
Montreal firm of Foster, Hannen and Watt, which added the name
Stikeman in recognition of his presence.
Fraser ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, the
son of Mr.
STIKEMAN's former boss at Revenue
Canada, was called to the Quebec bar in 1948. He then joined
Mr. STIKEMAN's law firm, which consequently added his name to
what was now a rather long list of partners. Over a beer at Mr.
STIKEMAN's house in Montreal late in 1951, the two men drew up
a financial blueprint for their own firm.
Within months, they had struck out on their own. Mr.
STIKEMAN
was the dreamer and Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT the pragmatic businessman. "He
was a Harvard M.B.A., so he understood about business and the
needs of business clients," said Mr. Pound, a long-serving member
of the International Olympic Committee and author of a corporate
history of the firm published to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
"The combination of his business acumen and Heward
STIKEMAN's
cachet, which brought in clients, for which Fraser
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT then
provided the business and corporate advice, forced all other
law firms in Canada to respond to their model, rather than the
other way around," said Mr. Pound.
From two lawyers in a tax boutique on St. James Street, the firm
now is one of the most successful tax and corporate law firms
in Canadian history. "Law firms are pretty simple," said Mr.
WAITZER. "
Basically, you try to attract the best possible people
and the best possible clients and you invest heavily in both."
The culture that Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT inculcated was one that saw the
firm as an institution rather than a business, by investing in
people, clients and relationships for the longer term rather
than maximizing annual income.
Part of that long-range view, said Mr. Pound, was succession
planning. "Over time, they [Mr.
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT and Mr.
STIKEMAN, who
died in 1999] were both very careful to ensure that there was
an orderly transition."
Mr. ELLIOT/ELLIOTT's profession was the law, but he made most of his
money as a businessman, becoming an early and major shareholder
in CAE (a landmark high-tech Canadian company specializing in
simulation and modelling technologies). He also owned a number
of other business interests. Although he was a judicious businessman,
he was also a passionate art collector, amassing a huge collection
of Canadian and international art that museums would "die to
have," according to Mr. Pound.
In recent years, he was also a very generous benefactor, establishing
the Fraser Elliott Foundation in 1985, which has given quietly
to a spectrum of causes that included the arts, universities
and hospitals. He was also active on several boards, including
the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canadian Opera Company and Toronto
General Hospital, and endowed two chairs (in vascular surgery
and transplantation research) at the Toronto General and Western
Foundation.
"What was wonderful about him as a donor was that he asked really
good questions," said Wendy
McDOWAL, chief fundraiser at the
Canadian Olympic Committee. Before giving $10-million to the
capital campaign for the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing
Arts, he quizzed Ms.
McDOWAL about the fundraising campaign.
"He had a very keen mind and he wanted to understand the project
and the details of the project," said Ms.
McDOWAL, adding that
he was a no-nonsense person who didn't suffer fools. "But once
he had made his gift," she said, "he never second-guessed or
went back on his decision."
As a father, he was "a straightforward, honest individual who
honoured his family values and was loved by us all," said his
eldest son, Fraser
ELLIOT/ELLIOTT, an investment banker.
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SYPULSKI o@ca.on.york_county.toronto.toronto_star 2005-03-11 published
SYPULSKI,
William "
Bill"
Peacefully on March 8, 2005, at Leisureworld, Creemore, Ontario.
Dear brother of Frank (Barrie), Robert and his wife Noreen (Winnipeg),
Shirley and her husband Harry (Mississauga) and sister-in-law
Mary (Toronto). He will be sadly missed by several nieces and
nephews. Predeceased by parents Hank and Lillian, brother Edward
and nephew Tom
GARROD.
Memorial service will be held at a future
date. Memorial donations may be made to the Toronto Humane Society.
"Alone but never quite alone."
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