Aird & Berlis Assisting DDQIC Ventures with Strategic Legal and Business Counsel

DDQIC and Aird & Berlis LLP have entered into a strategic partnership, whereby Aird & Berlis will provide certain legal services to participants of DDQIC’s programs as well as advice that will help address some of the common legal issues facing startups and emerging businesses.

Whether in the early stages of forming or well-established in their venture, co-founders must navigate a number of critical legal and business hurdles associated with company formation, IP creation, and obtaining angel/seed funding.  DDQIC is excited to announce a partnership with leading Canadian law firm Aird & Berlis that will significantly enhance legal programming and resources available to Queen’s entrepreneurs.

Aird & Berlis will attend the Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative (QICSI), DDQIC’s competitive summer accelerator, to provide one-on-one support to participants and deliver workshops on legal topics relevant to startups.

The partnership will extend beyond the summer with Aird & Berlis offering legal and business support to ventures in DDQIC’s programs throughout the year, such as QYourVenture, the Foundry, and the Regional Pitch Competition series.

DDQIC clients will be eligible for special legal services in accordance with the arrangements between DDQIC and Aird & Berlis. In cooperation with DDQIC’s existing support from the Queen’s Business Law Clinic, and as a complement to the scope of services they offer, the partnership with Aird & Berlis will remove yet another financial hurdle for startups that require costly legal support but have a lean budget.

“DDQIC is always looking for ways to reduce risk and remove barriers for entrepreneurs in our community to be successful,” said Greg Bavington, Executive Director of DDQIC. “Startup success can often depend on a solid legal footing, but the majority of the entrepreneurs we support have no experience navigating legal issues. It would be difficult for us to enhance our supports if it were not for Aird & Berlis recognizing the need and providing their expertise.”

With a particular goal of supporting and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among university-led startups, Aird & Berlis says that Queen’s University was an obvious place to focus their efforts.

“Queen’s is a centre of innovation and entrepreneurship in the province and world.  The University fosters creativity and provides students the support to transform their ideas into successful businesses.   We are happy to add to this support and help Queen’s students take their ideas to the next level”, said Aaron Bains, Capital Markets Lawyer at Aird & Berlis and Queen’s Law graduate.