Belzberg and Soliman families create scholarship for first-year law students

This Wednesday, TMU’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law welcomed two prominent families to campus to celebrate a symbolic and generous donation that will benefit future law students.

The Belzberg and Soliman Families Scholarships were created by Brent and Lynn Belzberg and Walied and Deena Soliman to recognize and encourage incoming TMU law students who demonstrate bridge building in the community. 

“Thank you to the Belzberg and Soliman families for their incredible generosity and unwavering support,” Mohamed Lachemi, TMU’s president and vice-chancellor, said on Wednesday. “The impact of your gift to the Lincoln Alexander School of Law cannot be overstated. It is gifts like this that exemplify the importance of coming together to create positive change in the world.”

Building bridges, a critical skill in the legal world today, is at the heart of the Belzberg and Soliman Families Scholarships. They were created to encourage students to be intentional about listening to and learning from people of disparate and unique backgrounds. The new scholarship program aligns with the first of Lincoln Alexander Law’s foundational pillars around equity, diversity and inclusion. The school’s strategy to increase access to justice involves shaping lawyers who will serve a broad range of communities.

Soliman, a member of the TMU Board of Governors, a leading lawyer in the industry and global chair of Norton Rose Fulbright law firm, said bridge building is a key factor to succeed in law, and any profession. “[It’s about] an authentic capability to take pause, to listen and to reflect…and understand how to have respectful discourse.”

Soliman noted that he floated the idea of the scholarship to his network to see what the reaction would be. His network agreed unanimously that the scholarship was a wonderful idea and Belzberg went one step further, saying not only was it a wonderful idea, but that he wanted to partner with Soliman to support the scholarship. 

“I really hope this inspires students in the school, I hope it sends the message that it is intended to send, which is: you can be open minded,” said Soliman. “When you recognize differences and learn how to be respectful, I think you will have great success.”

Belzberg, who is the founder and senior managing partner of TorQuest, one of Canada’s original private equity firms, said that he and Soliman are friends because they respect each other’s values. 

"When I saw what Walied was doing, I thought it was an amazing opportunity for Lynn and I to share that same message,” Belzberg said. "I lived in a world of Antisemitism my whole life. And I thought for a time my kids weren't going to face it. But it's worse now than it's ever been. I want to make sure that we don't walk away from it and put our hands up and say there's nothing we can do. We can teach more people; we can show them another side.”

The gift from Soliman and Belzberg has also been matched by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous. 

The Belzberg and Soliman Families Scholarships will support law students who have demonstrated leadership and a commitment to bridging divides to bring communities together. Each family generously donated $50,000 and this was matched by the anonymous supporter for a total scholarship fund of $150,000.

For more information about the Lincoln Alexander School of Law, visit their website.