Rio Tinto Alcan invests in the future of international arbitration law at McGill

$3-million gift to create new Faculty of Law chair named in honour of L. Yves Fortier

As McGill University enters the second year of its historic Campaign McGill, new support for the Faculty of Law has arrived from international aluminium leader, Rio Tinto Alcan. The $3-million gift from the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund will allow McGill’s Faculty of Law to establish the L. Yves Fortier Chair in International Arbitration and International Commercial Law.

The chair will honour McGill alumnus L. Yves Fortier for his leadership in the practice of law and at the international bar in the field of arbitration. One of the three Campaign McGill chairs, Fortier is a former chairman of the Alcan board of directors and currently serves as a non-executive director of Rio Tinto. A Rhodes Scholar and former president of the Canadian Bar Association, Fortier is the longstanding chairman of Ogilvy Renault, one of Canada’s best known law firms. He is also one of the world’s foremost arbitrators, and has served as Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, president of the UN Security Council and president of the London Court of International Arbitration.

“Yves Fortier, a member of the fabled class of 1958 in the Faculty of Law, stands as one of the finest models for our students in the modern history of the faculty,” said Faculty of Law Dean Nicholas Kasirer. “Mr. Fortier has established one of the most imaginative and forward-looking brands of international legal practice in this country. I salute his colleagues at Rio Tinto Alcan for creating the Yves Fortier Chair, which signals to the world that Canada, Quebec, Montreal and McGill’s Faculty of Law represent the future of this emerging field of law.”

The scholar appointed to the L. Yves Fortier Chair will take up a leadership role in the bilingual, trans-systemic program of legal education at McGill’s Faculty of Law. He or she will lead advances in the field of international arbitration, as well conduct research to help shape the future of both the practice and understanding of international law.

“We are delighted that Rio Tinto Alcan recognizes McGill’s ideal position to train a new generation of lawyers in this crucial field. International arbitration and commercial law are critically important to Canada’s economic future,” McGill Principal and Vice-Chancellor Heather Munroe-Blum said. “Mr. Fortier is among the University’s most distinguished law graduates, and it is our privilege to have him as one of our three Co-Chairs for Campaign McGill.”

Students at McGill’s Faculty of Law study in both French and English, and earn both civil and common law degrees, enabling them to pursue diverse careers in the law across Canada and around the world, and to develop a full understanding of the law unhindered by jurisdiction.

“This is an ideal way to honour Yves Fortier’s accomplishments not only as chairman of Alcan's board of directors, but throughout his distinguished legal career. The creation of this chair is a major step towards fulfilling Rio Tinto’s promise to build on Alcan’s legacy of supporting the communities in which we operate,” said Dick Evans, Chief executive, Rio Tinto Alcan. “Our intention is for generations of future legal practitioners, scholars and educators to benefit from this gift.” The $3-million gift is part of the first series of community investments recently announced by the Rio Tinto Alcan Canada Fund.

Publicly launched on October 18, 2007, the five-year-long Campaign McGill seeks to raise the funds needed to attract and retain the world’s best students and faculty, increase access to quality education and enhance McGill’s ability to address critical global challenges. To date, more than $444-million has been raised toward the $750-million goal.

For more information on Campaign McGill, please visit https://www.mcgill.ca/campaign/

For more information on the McGill Faculty of Law, please visit https://www.mcgill.ca/law/

For more information on Rio Tinto Alcan, please visit http://www.riotinto.com/riotintoalcan