Second Annual Art Braid Business Law Case Competition honours late professor’s legacy

Edwin Arthur Braid, Q.C. (1934 – 2020), or ‘Art’, the beloved former Dean and Professor at Robson Hall, the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law, had many passions. He was well known for his kindness, his commitment to intellectual discourse, and his precision and clarity as a teacher, among other things. In addition to the multitude of positive attributes associated with him, Art Braid was known for his affinity for business law.

The Business Law Group (“BLG”), a student group focused on corporate/commercial law at Robson Hall, first experimented last year with the idea of offering a practical learning opportunity for students interested in transactional practice. This resulted in the inaugural Art Braid Business Law Case Competition. A strong success and well received by all involved, the BLG was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with the Marcel A. Desautel Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law to run the competition again for a second year.

The case competition was an excellent opportunity to introduce students to the process of legal reasoning, something of particular importance to Art. Teams, made up of 2-4 students, were provided with several suggestions for raising funds, such as issuing new shares, debt financing, lease of property, venture capital, crowdfunding, as well as a merger option. Students were required to review the case instructions, analyse each suggestion, and provide a recommendation based on their legal analysis, as if they were counsel for the company. Students presented their recommendation to judges, comprised of lawyers from the Manitoba Bar, acting as a “Board of Directors.”

Finalist team of Nico Nudler (3L), Justin Papoff (3L), and Matthew London (3L) prepare their case for presentation. Photo by 47 Filmworks.

At the conclusion of the case competition presentations, law students, lawyers, and articling students gathered in TDS’ Northern Lights Lounge for refreshments and the announcement of the winning team.

Before the winning team was announced, everyone in attendance was fortunate to hear remarks from Don MacDonald. The competition’s judges advised afterwords that it was an incredibly close competition with the students displaying exemplary advocacy and presentation skills.

Congratulations to the winners of the inaugural Art Braid Business Law Case Competition: Maria Garcia Manzano (2L), Moira Kennedy (2L), and Meredith Harley (2L), who beat finalists Matthew London (3L), Justin Papoff (3L), and Nico Nudler (3L).

Student feedback from the event has been positive again, and the BLG is excited for the opportunity to continue developing this event.

Dr. Laura Reimer, Program Director of the Desautels Centre for Private Enterprise and the Law, with Dr. Richard Jochelson, Dean of Law. Photo by 47 Filmworks.

The BLG would like to extend its sincere appreciation to the family and friends of Art Braid and those who continue to support his legacy through which this competition would not otherwise be possible. Sincere thanks also are extended to presenting sponsor, Marcel A. Desautels Centre, for its generous funding, to TDS for being an excellent host, to Don MacDonald for sharing stories about Art Braid whom he knew personally, to Dr. Laura Reimer, Program Director of the Desautels Centre for her thoughtful remarks, to Dean Jochelson and the Faculty of Law for their support, to our judges: Steven Dressler, Alan Lempart, Leah Suderman, Nikhilesh Verma, Don MacDonald, and Caroline Christie, for the time they took to make this competition a possibility, to the entire BLG Executive team, especially Kirsten Nynych (2L), Event Coordinator, who dedicated significant effort to making this event a possibility, and to all the students who competed and made this competition another success. Without the continuing support of these individuals and organizations, the Art Braid Business Law Case Competition could not have grown into what it has become in these short two years!