Ten law firms made new announcements
Welcome to this week’s roundup of movements among major law firms, in which we sum up significant hires, promotions, departures and other announcements.
Aird & Berlis LLP
Peter Wong joined the firm as a partner in the intellectual property group.
Wong is a registered patent agent with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office. He drafts and prosecutes applications for utility patents and industrial designs and assists clients with patent management and industrial design portfolios.
His practice also includes advising on patentability, patent validity, patent infringement issues, reviewing IP-related aspects of agreements, and performing due diligence on IP assets in support of transactions.
In addition, the firm announced the following moves:
- Megan Lambert – associate in the tax and estates and trusts groups
- Naomi Mares – associate in the municipal and land use planning group
Lambert advises clients on estate and succession planning matters, including probate and cross-border planning, preparation of wills, estate administration, trusts, and powers of attorney.
Meanwhile, Mares assists landowners and developers with securing development approvals. She also advises on official plan and zoning by-law amendments, site plan approvals, and minor variance applications.
The firm also appointed Michelle Chen as a consultant in the financial services group.
Chen has extensive expertise in banking and finance law, such as bilateral and syndicated financings, club deals, trade finance and regulatory matters, and sanctions issues. She also helps clients with structuring, negotiating, and drafting complex cross-border credit facilities and other financing transactions.
Bennett Jones LLP
Lorelei Graham is now a partner in the firm’s Toronto office.
Graham has broad experience managing IP portfolios for clients across numerous disciplines, including mechanical, bio-mechanical, agricultural, food industry, environmental, sustainability, and energy transition. She is registered to practise in Canadian and U.S. patent and trademark offices.
She also advises entrepreneurs on IP strategies and frequently speaks about various IP topics at universities, client-sponsored events, and community initiatives across Canada.
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
Josh Jantzi joined the firm as a partner in the Calgary office’s litigation, arbitration, and investigations group.
Jantzi specializes in litigation, arbitration, and administrative law. He has acted for energy and mining companies in precedent-setting cases involving regulatory review and environmental impact assessment.
“Josh’s extensive experience, industry knowledge and sophisticated advocacy, obtained through his years of practice, will greatly benefit our environmental, Indigenous, transportation and energy and natural resource practices, among others,” said Robert Seidel, the firm’s managing partner. “I am delighted to welcome Josh to the firm and look forward to working with him.”
Goodmans LLP
The firm named Rodney Gill as a senior associate in the municipal, planning and property tax group.
Before joining the firm, Gill served as a solicitor for the City of Toronto for almost 14 years. He provided advice and litigation support to the city government and its agencies, boards, and commissions in this role.
Gowling WLG
The firm admitted Marie-Christine Gagnon and lyssa Tomkins to its partnership in the Ottawa office.
Gagnon joined the firm’s advocacy group. An Indigenous law expert, she advises band councils and Indigenous organizations on matters related to constitution or governance, including human resources management.
She also participates in negotiating agreements for Aboriginal and treaty rights, duty to consult and accommodate, territorial overlaps, valorization of ancestral territory, socio-economic development of First Nations, and establishment of business partnerships.
Meanwhile, Tomkins joined the firm’s commercial litigation group. She specializes in commercial litigation, shareholders’ rights, professional liability, class actions, trusts, real property law, insolvency law, constitutional law, and administrative law.
She has appeared before all levels of the Ontario courts, the BC Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
The firm also announced some changes to its leadership team in the Toronto office:
- Benjamin Na
Na was elected as a managing partner for a four-year term. He took over the position from Mark Ledwell, who finished his term on Dec. 31.
He has been with Gowling WLG for more than 20 years. He has extensive expertise in D&O liability, contract, shareholder, partnership and cross-border disputes, civil fraud, and banking litigation. He regularly acts on behalf of public and private corporations, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies.
- Jennifer Mak
Mak was named as a general manager. She replaces Heather Caldwell, who retired after 13 years of service.
She recently served as the chief operating officer of an accounting firm in Toronto. She also held senior roles, including chief of staff to the national managing partner and chief of staff to the CEO, at PwC Canada for 17 years.
Harper Grey LLP
The firm welcomed the following lawyers:
- Natasha Cooke and Claire Shanna − associates in the insurance and health groups
- Grace Smyth-Bolland and April Wilkinson – associates in the business law group
- Emma Sydora −associate in the commercial litigation group
Lavery de Billy LLP
Christian Chidiac and Pamela Cifola are now associates in the firm’s business law group in the Montreal office.
Chidiac practices primarily in commercial and transactional law. Before joining the firm, he served as a legal counsel for an international manufacturing company.
Cifola specializes in securities law. She was recently sworn in after completing her articling program at the firm.
Lawson Lundell LLP
Winston Yee joined the firm as a senior counsel in the Vancouver office’s corporate commercial group.
Yee deals with matters involving M&A, corporate finance, corporate reorganizations and governance, corporate and shareholder disputes, tax reorganizations, and private and public debt and equity offerings. He also provides strategic advice on various proxy contests and negotiated and unsolicited takeovers.
The firm also welcomed Dana Kiefer as an associate in the Calgary office’s labour, employment and human rights group.
Kiefer has broad experience in various workplace issues, including compliance with employment standards, human rights legislation, collective bargaining agreements, and workplace health and safety. She has appeared before all levels of Alberta courts, labour board adjudicators, and administrative tribunals, such as the Alberta Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Minden Gross LLP
Reshma Kishnani is now a partner in the firm’s employment and labour and wills and estates groups.
Kishnani advises employers and employees on statutory and common law obligations, human rights issues, employment contracts, termination processes, and human resources policies and procedures.
Moreover, she deals with estate litigation matters and advises attorneys, executors, and beneficiaries on diverse inquiries, such as probate, passing of accounts, guardianship applications, dependant relief claims, and capacity issues.
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Adam Dlin joined the firm as a partner in the corporate group in the Vancouver office.
Dlin specializes in private M&A and private equity transactions. His clients include business owners, investors, private companies, limited partnerships, and private equity funds.
“We are very pleased to have Adam join the firm,” said Richard Jackson, the firm’s managing partner in Vancouver. “He is an outstanding corporate lawyer with extensive knowledge of both the law and market practice, and his superior legal acumen will complement our corporate group.”
The firm also welcomed four new associates:
- Jack Palmer and Jina Jeong (Vancouver) − corporate and securities
- Paige Marvel (Vancouver) − litigation and dispute resolution
- Ray Luckiram (Toronto) – securities
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