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In lieu of throwing a glitzy gala to celebrate its 90th anniversary, Lerners – the London law firm – decided to donate $90,000 to worthy causes. And since the gift benefits the wider community, Lerners decided it would let the public help decide where the money will go.

Fully a third of the cash – $30,000 – was awarded to Parkdale Community Legal Services in Toronto, a nod to the fact that a large chunk of the firm’s business is done in the Big Smoke.

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“We wanted to reach as broadly as we could into our communities,” said managing partner Graham Porter.

Lerners has about 50 lawyers working at its Toronto operation, and another 80 in London. As the corporate legend goes, it started as a one-lawyer Forest City practice in 1929.

Porter and his colleagues invited the public to submit ideas for how to use the money. “Anybody who was interested could vote,” he said, and more than 12,000 people nominated more than 250 causes, a list which was whittled down to 10 organizations. “I think that was the most challenging thing, because we had so many personalized, compelling stories,” Porter said.