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ALBERTA 

BRITISH COLUMBIA

• Richard Leipsic, former general counsel and senior vice-president for Canwest Global Communications Corp. has joined Winnipeg-based Acumen Corporate Development Inc., an affiliate of Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP.

• Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP has admitted three lawyers to its partnership: Gerald S. Ashcroft's practice is focussed primarily on family law; Lynda K. Troup practises in the areas of civil and commercial litigation and administrative law, while Robert W. Olson concentrates on labour and employment law, health law, and civil litigation.

• Aikins Law has won first place in the advertising campaign category at The Legal Marketing Association’s Your Honour Awards. The winning "Aikins Was There" campaign was developed by Think Shift Advertising Inc., and centred on sharing client success stories. 

• Howard Tennenhouse has been disbarred by the Law Society of Manitoba after he was found guilty of professional misconduct.

• Winnipeg firm Taylor McCaffrey LLP has promoted Jamie Jurczak, Marc Marion and Donn Pirie to partnership. Jurczak is a litigator in the firm's employment and labour law team, while Marion's practice focusses on tax law and Pirie practises in corporate commercial law.

• Wes J. Burrows, Marni L. Karpiak and Sofia Mirza were admitted to the partnership at Fillmore Riley LLP on Jan. 1 2012.

NEW BRUNSWICK

• Moncton-based George L. Cooper has been elected New Brunswick managing partner at Cox & Palmer. Josh J.B. McElman also joins the firm's provincial management team as Saint John managing partner, while John D. Townsend, QC was re-elected managing partner of the Fredericton office. John D. Laidlaw, QC was elected chairman of the New Brunswick partnership, and Gregory Machum continues in the role of chief operating officer, his 10th year in the job.

• Clarence Bennett is the newest partner at the Fredericton office of Stewart McKelvey. Bennett is a registered trade-mark agent and also belongs to the firm's labour and employment group, focussing on workplace human rights, workers' compensation and occupational health and safety.

• Jacques J. Gauthier, lawyer in Memramcook, N.B., since 1977, has moved his practice to
Dieppe, N.B.

• Aaron Savage has been appointed a partner at Cox & Palmer in Fredericton.

• Michael B. Murphy has joined Cox & Palmer in Moncton as a partner. The former minister of health, minister of justice and consumer affairs, attorney general, and government house leader is practising in the areas of litigation and mediation.

• The following lawyers joined McInnes Cooper’s Saint John office on July 1, 2010 when the firm merged with Clark Drummie: Norman J. Bossé (partner), Tera S. Bradford (associate),Terry W. Hutchinson (partner), Willard M. Jenkins (partner), M. Robert Jette (partner), Donald F. MacGowan (counsel), James C. Mosher (associate), and G. Fred Nicholson (counsel). Ryan Seymour has joined the firm's Fredericton office as an associate. 

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

• Beth A. Sheppard and Darren D. O'Keefe have been appointed to the board of directors at Benson Myles PLC.

• Benson Myles PLC Inc. has welcomed Andrew Collins and Jude Hall to the firm as associates.

• Lisa Daly and Christopher Peddigrew have been appointed partners at Cox & Palmer in St. John's.

• Deborah J. Paquette, Q.C., Assistant Deputy Minister with the Department of Justice of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, is appointed judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Lois R. Hoegg, judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, is appointed judge of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's).

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

• Karan M. Shaner has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories (Yellowknife), replacing Justice D.M. Cooper, who resigned as of March 3, 2011. Shaner joined the province's ministry of justice in 1996 and was most recently its assistant deputy minister.  

• Associate Malinda A. Kellett has joined Lawson Lundell’s corporate and commercial group. 

• Gerald Stang and the Peterson Stang corporate department will be joining the Field Law offices in Yellowknife in August.

NOVA SCOTIA

• For the fourth consecutive year, Cox & Palmer has been recognized by Progress magazine as one of the Best Places to Work in Atlantic Canada.

• Level Chan has been promoted to the partnership at Stewart McKelvey in Halifax. His practice focusses primarily on labour and employment, with particular concentration on pensions and benefits and excutive compensation.

• Michael J. Wood, a lawyer with Burchell Hayman Parish in Halifax, has been appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia in Halifax, replacing Justice C.R. Coughlan, who has been transferred to Bridgewater, N.S. 

• The partnership board of Stewart McKelvey has announced the election of Paul Smith as chairman of the board.

• The Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia is pleased to announce the appointment of Ilana Luther to the position of legal research counsel.

• Lawrence I. O’Neil, a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, has been appointed associate chief justice of the court's Family Division.  He replaces Justice R.F. Ferguson, who elected to become a supernumerary judge. Carole A. Beaton, a Provincial Court judge in Amherst, replaces O'Neil.

NUNAVUT

• Susan Cooper, a partner at Chandler & Cooper in Iqaluit, has been appointed a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice, replacing Justice B.A. Browne.

• Gregory Nearing, 48, who practised criminal law, passed away on Nov. 15, 2009. He has held several significant positions in the past including executive director of the Legal Services Board of the Northwest Territories, treasurer and president of the Northwest Territories Law Society, and president of the Nunavut Law Society. 

• Justice R.G. Kilpatrick, a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice, has been appointed senior judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice, replacing Justice B.A. Browne.

• Norman Pickell, appointed last year as Acting Integrity Commissioner for Nunavut, has been confirmed as the Integrity Commissioner of Nunavut.

ONTARIO 

• Bradley Miller has joined Miller Thomson LLP as associate counsel. The litigator will work out of London, Ont. so that he can continue his work as a professor at the University of Western Ontario. Randy Knight has also joined the firm as an associate in its Waterloo, Ont. office. 

• Cara Operations Limited legal counsel Dan Caldarone takes up his new position as general counsel, corporate secretary and vice president, human resources at The Second Cup Ltd. on May 22. 

• Alex MacFarlane has brought his banking and restructuring practice to the Toronto office of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. The firm's newest partner joined from Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. Meanwhile, in Ottawa, Gowlings has also added associate Eric L. Presseau, who practises business law, real estate, and commercial leasing. 

• George G. Dolhai has been appointed Canada's Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions. He has been doing the job in an acting capacity since December 2006. He began his career with the department of justice in 1992, after serving as a barrister and solicitor at McCarthy Tétrault LLP from 1989 to 1991.

• Bill Hearn has joined the Toronto office of Davis LLP as counsel to continue his business law practice with a focus on competition, including advertising and marketing, trade, and transportation law. He was previously a partner at McMillan LLP.

• Four Toronto lawyers have been admitted to the partnership at Norton Rose Canada in its latest round of promotions: Kevin Ackhurst, who practises in antitrust, competition and regulatory law; Marc Kestenberg, who practises in litigation and dispute resolution; Suzana Lobo, who practises in banking and finance; and Jennifer Teskey, who practises litigation and dispute resolution.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 

• Stephen Carpenter has been named the newest partner at Stewart McKelvey's Charlottetown office. The employment lawyer counts among his clients a range of employers across various industries, as well as organizations in the insurance, education and health sectors.

• Tracey L. Clements, Sherry E. Gillis, and Kim M. McNeill have each been designated Queen's Counsel.

• The Office of the Attorney General and Public Safety will be renamed the Department of Justice and Public Safety. 

• Shannon Farrell has been promoted to partner at McInnes Cooper in Charlottetown.  

• Gary Scales has joined McInnes Cooper in Charlottetown. 

• Tanya LeClair has been called to the Prince Edward Island Bar and is now practising at McInnes Cooper in Summerside.

QUEBEC

• Darin Clayton Chow of Moose Jaw, has been appointed a judge of the Provincial Court for Yorkton.

• Tammi D. Hackl became a partner at Saskatoon's Scharfstein Gibbings Walen Fisher LLP effective January 1, 2012.

• Brian Barrington-Foote, a partner at MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP, has been appointed a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Saskatchewan, replacing Justice Ellen Gunn, who has become a supernumerary judge. He practised aboriginal, labour and employment, constitutional, commercial and administrative law, as well as civil litigation.

• Prominent First Nations negotiator and business law expert W. Thomas Molloy has joined Miller Thomson LLP's Saskatoon office. Molloy was the federal government's lead negotiator in talks that led to the creation of Nunavut in 1999. The firm has also announced three other appointments to the Saskatoon office: Crystal Taylor in its tax law Group; Chad Eggerman in the mining and resources law practice; and Haidah Amirzadeh in its immigration law group.

• Crystal Taylor and Chad Eggerman have joined the Saskatoon office of Miller Thomson LLP as partners.  

• Litigator John A. Epp and immigration lawyer Haidah Amirzadeh have joined Miller Thomson LLP as associates. W. Thomas Molloy, O.C., Q.C. has also joined the firm as counsel. He practises aboriginal and business law and was previously with MacPherson Leslie & Tyerman LLP.

INTERNATIONAL

• Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP partner John Beardwood has been elected the 31st president of the International Technology Lawyers Association. Beardwood is a member of Faskens' corporate/commercial and technology, and intellectual property groups, and is the association's youngest ever president. 

• Craig C. Thorburn of Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP has been named president of TechLaw Group Inc., an international network of law firms dedicated to enhancing the practice of technology law. Thorburn specializes in mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on technology companies.

• McCarthy Tétrault LLP was named Best Law Firm in Canada at the International Financial Law Review awards. The firm also won recognition for M&A Deal of the Year, Private Equity Team of the Year, and Private Equity Deal of the Year at the ceremony in New York.  

• Rubén Eduardo Luján has been appointed a partner in the Caracas, Venezuela office of Norton Rose Canada. His practice focusses on mining, corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. 

• Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP has raided the equity capital markets team at Cobbetts LLP to boost its London office with six new hires. Natural resource lawyers Andrew Wright, Charles Bond, Sefton Collett and Dominic Prentis have joined as partners, while David Brennan and Susan Johnston are now associates in the firm's energy infrastructure and mining group. 

• Mile Kurta has joined the New York office of Torys LLP as a partner in its corporate and capital markets practice. His practice focusses on representing both financial institutions and corporate clients in a wide variety of matters, including capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate advisory work.

Last updated: May 22, 2012