Winners will be announced at a highly anticipated awards gala on May 19
The Excellence Awardees for the Canadian Law Awards in the Case, In-House, Firm and Legal Profession categories have now been announced.
Hundreds of submissions from firms and legal departments across Canada were received during the recent nomination phase. Excellence Awardees were determined via a rigorous, expert-informed process. The Canadian Law Awards editorial and research teams reviewed all the submissions and consulted third-party information to identify each category’s standouts. These successful submissions will be sent to the extensive independent external judging panel which will score the nominations against the criteria. Through an aggregation of judges’ scoring, a final winner will be chosen from each category.
On April 20, the Excellence Awardees for all Deal Award categories will be announced.
The Excellence Awardees are listed here and are as follows:
CASE CATEGORY
Commercial Litigation Case of the Year
Alberta Securities Commission, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Dentons – Re Bison Acquisition Corp., 2021 ABASC 100 (Order) / Re Bison Acquisition Corp., 2021 ABASC 188
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson, Torys LLP, Attorney General of British Columbia – Wastech Services Ltd. v. Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, 2021 SCC 7
Goodmans LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP – Cineplex v. Cineworld
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Aitkin Klee LLP - Pharmascience Inc. v. Pfizer Canada ULC
Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Department of Justice Canada – Tataskweyak Cree Nation et al. v. Canada and Curve Lake First Nation et al. v. Canada
IN-HOUSE CATEGORIES
The Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP Award for Construction, Infrastructure and Transportation Law Department of the Year
Canada Post Corporation
EllisDon
Greater Toronto Airports Authority
Infrastructure Ontario
Metrolinx
Banking & Financial Institutions Law Department of the Year
Definity Financial Corporation
Intact Financial Corporation
Novacap
Energy & Resources Law Department of the Year
Enbridge
TransAlta Corporation
Canadian Law Department of the Year
Celestica Inc.
Cineplex Entertainment
City of Vaughan
Ivanhoé Cambridge
Law Department Leader of the Year
Albert Lin - Brookfield Infrastructure
Cecile Chung - Samuel, Son & Co.
Denis Boulianne - Ivanhoé Cambridge
Francis Lecomte - Airbus Canada Limited Partnership
Heather Mullen - Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health
Innes Dey - Definity Financial Corporation
Leola Pon - Toronto District School Board
Law Department Innovation Award
Enbridge
Ivanhoé Cambridge
Sun Life
FIRM CATEGORIES
IP Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP
Smart & Biggar LLP
Litigation & Dispute Resolution Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Branch MacMaster LLP
Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP
Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP (JSS Barristers)
Lenczner Slaght
Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP
Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP
Thomson Rogers
Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Gluckstein Lawyers
Mason PC
McCarthy Tétrault (MT>3)
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Ontario Law Firm of the Year
Blaney McMurtry LLP
Gluckstein Lawyers
PooranLaw Professional Corporation
Torkin Manes LLP
WeirFoulds LLP
Prairies Law Firm of the Year
McDougall Gauley LLP
McKercher LLP
Pitblado LLP
Taylor McCaffrey LLP
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
Quebec Law Firm of the Year
Galileo Partners Lawyers Inc.
Langlois Lawyers, LLP
Lavery Lawyers
Western Canada Law Firm of the Year
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Clark Wilson LLP
Farris LLP
Hakemi & Ridgedale LLP
Harper Grey LLP
Lawson Lundell LLP
Roper Greyell LLP
Litigator of the Year
Craig A.B. Ferris, QC, FCIArb. - Lawson Lundell LLP
Laura Cooper - Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Nadia Effendi - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Peter Griffin - Lenczner Slaght
Philip J. Prowse - Prowse Chowne LLP
Sarit E. Batner - McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Managing Partner of the Year
Charles Gluckstein - Gluckstein Lawyers
James Speakman - Clark Wilson LLP
John Murphy - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Mia Hempey - Nelligan Law
Robert Seidel, Q.C. - DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
Stephanie Vaccari - Baker McKenzie
Tom Curry - Lenczner Slaght
LEGAL PROFESSION CATEGORIES
The Bereskin & Parr Award for Diversity Initiative of the Year
Aird & Berlis LLP - The ABDI Educational Curriculum
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) - LGBTQ2s+ Firm Hop
Dentons Canada LLP - Indigenous inclusion: Foundations for reconciliation
Harper Grey LLP - Life in Law (LiL)
TD Bank - TD Bank Diversity Initiatives 2021
The Lincoln Alexander School of Law Award for Shaping the Future
Gale Law Professional Corporation
Jamieson Law
Lenczner Slaght
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
The Gowling WLG Award for Female Trailblazer of the Year (In House Counsel)
Lilac Bosma - HSBC Bank Canada
Lara Speirs - Randstad Canada
Kate Salter - Ryerson University
Jane Langford - TD Bank
The Gowling WLG Award for Female Trailblazer of the Year (Private Practice)
Karen Perron - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Danielle Bisnar - Cavalluzzo LLP
Ena Chadha - Ethical Associates Inc.
Ashlee Froese - Froese Law
Kim Jakeman, QC - Harper Grey LLP
Sana Halwani - Lenczner Slaght
Yola Ventresca - Lerners LLP
Sherry Fitzsimmons, Q.C. - McDougall Gauley LLP
Lindsay Charles - McLeish Orlando Lawyers LLP
Molly Reynolds - Torys LLP
Pro Bono Initiative of the Year
Access Pro Bono BC - Virtual Family Mediation Project
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) / Landings LLP - Initiative to support evacuations from Afghanistan
Dentons Canada LLP - Galloway v A.B, 2019 BCSC 395
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP - The Black and Indigenous Business Law Clinic
Heron Law Offices - Heron Law’s initiative to help Indigenous people reclaim their traditional names
Taylor McCaffrey LLP - Manitoba families challenge Family Maintenance Act for LGBTQ2S+ discrimination
