Roundup of law firm hires, promotions, departures: Jan. 23, 2023 update

Five law firms have named their newest partners

Roundup of law firm hires, promotions, departures: Jan. 23, 2023 update

Welcome to this week’s roundup of movements among major law firms, in which we sum up significant hires, promotions, departures, and other announcements.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Blakes has promoted 18 lawyers to its partnership.

“Our new partners embody the excellence that our clients expect from Blakes in service, legal expertise and industry insight,” said Blakes chair Geoff Belsher. “They have all built an excellent understanding of, and relationships with, our clients.”

The new partners are:

  • Mena Bellofiore - Financial Services, Toronto
  • David Bristow - Capital Markets, Toronto
  • Robin Burns - Corporate & Commercial, Toronto
  • Shannon Consedine - Corporate & Commercial, Montréal
  • Stephanie Console - Corporate & Commercial, Toronto
  • Christopher DiMatteo - Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Toronto
  • Michael Elder - Corporate & Commercial, Toronto
  • Chelsea Hunter - Capital Markets, Calgary
  • Brendan MacArthur-Stevens - Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Calgary
  • Hani Migally - Corporate & Commercial, Toronto
  • Aletha Pangman - Financial Services, Vancouver
  • Karine Russell - Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Vancouver
  • Kristopher Simard - Capital Markets, Calgary
  • Ariel Solose - Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Vancouver
  • Evan Straight - Capital Markets, Vancouver
  • Tom Wagner - Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Calgary
  • Patrick Whitehill - Corporate & Commercial, Vancouver
  • Joshua Whitford - Capital Markets, Toronto

Dickinson Wright LLP

Jonathan Pollack has joined Dickinson Wright as a senior patent agent in the firm’s Toronto office. Pollack specializes in patent drafting, prosecution, and opinion work in primarily the electrical, computer, telecommunications, and mechanical disciplines. He has experience drafting patent applications for wireless communications, networking infrastructures, internet-based software systems, e-commerce, and medical devices. He also has experience in the fields of cryptography and video signal processing.

DLA Piper (Canada) LLP

The firm has announced that Keri Bennett joined as counsel in the Vancouver office’s employment and data protection, privacy and cybersecurity groups.‎ She has advised clients on workplace ‎and privacy law issues, including privacy programs and ‎procedures, privacy impact assessments, information-sharing agreements, consent ‎requirements, and statutory breach notification obligations. Before joining DLA Piper, Benett was a partner for several years at Roper Greyell, where she led its freedom of ‎information and privacy law practice.‎

DLA Piper has also welcomed Imran Qureshi as a litigation, arbitration, and investigations group partner in the firm’s Edmonton office. Qureshi will be a member of the firm’s Canadian corporate crime, compliance and investigations team. He specializes in corporate and commercial disputes and has advised clients on shareholder disputes, director and officer liability, fraud, oppression and derivative claims under the Business Corporations Act, partnership and ‎employment disputes, and professional discipline matters. Qureshi has lectured at the University of Alberta School of Business and the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering.

Lerners LLP

Robert Fenn has joined the firm’s Toronto office as counsel. An experienced commercial airline pilot, Fenn has acted for clients in the aviation and aerospace sectors. He also specializes in regulatory, commercial litigation, and insurance defence.  

Miller Thomson LLP

Miller Thomson has welcomed eight new lawyers to the firm’s partnership. The newly admitted partners are:

  • Greg Bush - Toronto, Labour & Employment
  • Ethan Campbell - Toronto, Business Law
  • Wuraola (Wura) Dasylva - Regina, Business Law
  • Titli Datta - Regina, Litigation
  • Mark De Sanctis - Vaughan, Litigation
  • Bryan Hosking - Edmonton, Litigation
  • Tina Kaye - Vaughan, Litigation
  • Sam Massie - Toronto, Business Law

Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers

The firm has welcomed Kimberly Paynter as an associate lawyer specializing in family law. Paynter was an adjunct professor at Seneca College in the paralegal program. She was called to the bar in 2013.

Singleton Reynolds Partnership

Singleton Reynolds has announced its newest partners, Catherine Gleason-Mercier and Edmundo P. Guevara.

Gleason-Mercier’s practice focuses on construction and infrastructure disputes and complex commercial disputes. She has represented clients in commercial disputes, construction liens and trusts, bond and insurance claims, contract interpretation, delay and extras claims, and professional negligence. She has also advised clients on avoiding and managing risk in the administration of construction contracts.

Guevara specializes in insurance defence, construction disputes, defence of insurance brokers, commercial and business disputes and personal injury law. He has acted as a solicitor, litigator and consultant to government and international regional development agencies.

Woods LLP

The firm has named Alexandre Baril-Furino and Sebastian L. Pyzik as partners.

Admitted to the Quebec bar in 2014, Baril-Furino began his career as a lawyer at Woods. He has a diversified practice gravitating around civil and commercial litigation and arbitration and is experienced in professional liability and directors’ liability, contractual disputes, competition, real estate and construction litigation. Baril-Furino is also a mediator accredited by the Quebec Bar and a lecturer at McGill University.

Pyzik has represented clients in civil and commercial disputes and construction and real estate disputes. His practice also includes handling injunctions, urgent applications, reputational matters, and sports-related files. Pyzik has a master’s degree in business administration, teaches at the École du Barreau and is actively involved with The Advocates’ Society.

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