Law student Don-Ray Simmonds wins first Blackburn Scholarship

On November 5, 2009, Fasken Martineau announced that second-year McGill Law student Don-Ray Simmonds was the inaugural recipient of the Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Scholarship, awarded in partnership with the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL).

The $5,000 grant, designed as a "needs based" scholarship for students entering their second year of attendance at a Canadian law school, is aimed at students from equity-seeking groups in order to foster diversity in the legal profession.

"I think this is a defining moment for McGill, Fasken, CABL and the legal community at large," explained Simmonds. "It exemplifies the importance of Canadian legal history and illustrates cordially the progress we've all made over the years since the trial of Lucie and Thornton Blackburn."

The scholarship is named for Lucie and Thornton Blackburn - two exceptional individuals whose story is intertwined with the American abolitionist movement, the Underground Railroad, Canadian legal history and Fasken Martineau.