Litigators' Bash Celebrates Canada

The International Trademark Association's annual meeting is held in a different city every year and draws 7,000 attendees from more than 130 countries around the world. For law firms located in the host city, the conference presents an opportunity to impress out-of-town clients with private gatherings showcasing local customs, culture, and entertainment. In a nod to Canada's growing reputation as a producer of circus performers—a reputation generated largely through the international success of Cirque de Soleil—McCarthy Tetrault threw a party for 600 with a three-ring circus theme at Guvernment.Nicole Ralph, McCarthy Tetrault's client event coordinator, worked with Deni Kondric, the principal planner with Eden Planning, to design three separate party spaces each with a different entertainment focus. Ralph said she chose the three-ring circus motif in part because it suggested "the chaos and mayhem that are the daily goings-on of a major law firm." A stilt walker in a Canadian Mountie costume from Stop Thyme Productions welcomed guests outside the front entrance. Inside, performers in colourful circus costumes from Stop Thyme strolled from room to room and paraded overhead on the catwalk. In the main space, aerialists suspended from the ceiling by silk ribbons from Zero Gravity Circus performed seemingly death-defying stunts. Graham Howe's jazz trio performed in a second room, while a flair bartender entertained in the third.

Sumptuous Catering served Canadian-style food such as salmon and chive fritters with lemon cr?me fra?iche and french fries topped with poutine-inspired cheese curds and gravy.

Photos by: Kaleidoscope Photography