COC and Fasken announces Team Canada's first-ever legal services partnership

TORONTO, May 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In efforts to build on the Government of Canada's $72M commitment to the sport sector, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Fasken have mutually agreed to expedite the process to announce Fasken as the first-ever Official Legal Services Partner of Team Canada. The long-term partnership will begin immediately to address issues the sport community is facing as a result of COVID-19. 

This five-year partnership will focus on providing value to the sport system with Value-In-Kind legal services, such as direct to COC/National Sport Organization (NSO) legal support, Co-op calls, and consultations that will be available to all Canadian NSOs and Olympic athletes.

"Since March, we've had frequent calls with NSO leaders and our sport partners to work through their concerns and the severe impact of COVID-19 on the sport community cannot be overstated," said David Shoemaker, CEO and Secretary General of the COC. "This partnership with Fasken will provide the NSOs with much needed legal services and help navigate complexities including eligibility for government assistance programs such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. We are so incredibly thankful for the team at Fasken for fast-tracking these services for the immediate benefit of the NSO community and Olympic family."

Respected as a leading law firm by the international business community, Fasken counts more than 750 lawyers and 10 offices, including Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal, across four continents.

It was the shared philosophy of conducting business based on core values and the commitment to transforming communities that made the partnership with Team Canada a natural fit for Fasken.

"Fasken shares Team Canada's values of respect for people, fairness, excellence and high ethical standards," said Peter Feldberg, Managing Partner at Fasken. "Team Canada reminds us that when we work collaboratively with purpose we positively impact our business, our workplace culture and our communities."

Providing legal services to a high-performance sport client isn't new to Fasken's portfolio as they add to their existing partnership with the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

"Combined with the Firm's partnership with the Canadian Paralympic Committee, this new partnership demonstrates our strong commitment to the nation's athletes and our strong belief in the power of amateur sport to unite and inspire. Canada's athletes continually strive for excellence as they push towards the highest levels of achievement, as our firm members continually bring excellence and expertise to our clients through the leading legal services that we offer."

The COC is confident that this announcement will spark momentum for other partners to help provide solutions for Canada's high-performance sport community. 

"We have had some incredibly positive conversations with Team Canada's partners who are committed to supporting the Olympic Movement and we look forward to sharing more news in the coming days," said Shoemaker. "This partnership with Fasken is just the beginning of that commitment and we are very thankful that they want to be part of the solution by joining the Team Canada family."