It's been a challenging year for the legal profession, to say the least – so there’s never been a better time to celebrate the achievements and efforts of those who have continued to thrive during such turbulent times. October 6 marked the first annual Canadian Law Awards, brought to you by Gowling WLG, reimagined as a virtual event that offered the industry a chance to connect, network and celebrate.
Attended by hundreds of legal professionals from across Canada, the online format offered a new event experience. In addition to hearing the much-anticipated announcement of award winners, attendees had the opportunity to take part in education and thought-provoking live panel discussions hosted by some of the legal profession’s elite.
Following a rigorous nomination and selection process, the nation’s finest legal professionals jostled for pole position in 29 prestigious award categories. The quality of talent was exceptional across the board. The team at Lexpert and Canadian Lawyer would like to extend hearty congratulations to all the winners, excellence award recipients and nominees, as well as a sincere thank you to each of the 57 esteemed judges who dedicated their time to reviewing the submissions and also to our wonderful sponsors.
Read on to find out who won big this year.
GOLD Winners of Canadian Law Awards 2020:
Deals & Case Awards
Capital Markets Deal of the Year
TransAlta strategic Partnership with Brookfield
Firms: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Stikeman Elliott LLP, Torys LLP
Organizations: Brookfield Asset Management; TransAlta Corporation
Banks: CIBC World Markets, Inc., RBC Global Asset Management
Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year
Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project
Firms: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, McMillan LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Stikeman Elliott LLP, Torys LLP
Organizations: Ministry of the Attorney General
Banks: CIBC, National Bank of Canada, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank
Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year
Catalyst Paper Restructuring
Firms: Bennett Jones LLP, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Goodmans LLP, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Jones Day, Lawson Lundell LLP, Miller Titerle Law Corporation, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, Stikeman Elliott LLP
M&A Deal of the Year
Air Canada Acquires Aeroplan
Firms: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Miller Thomson LLP, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Stikeman Elliott LLP, Torys LLP
Organizations: Air Canada
Banks: American Express, CIBC, TD Bank
Private Equity Deal of the Year
BC Partners Buys GardaWorld
Firms: McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Stikeman Elliott LLP, Séguin Racine, Attorneys
Cross Border Deal of the Year
Newmont Acquires Goldcorp/Newmont Barrick Joint Venture
Firms: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Goodmans LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Class Action Team of the Year
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP - Federal Indian Day School Class Action
Commercial Litigation Team of the Year
McCarthy Tétrault LLP - Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, and the dual appeal in Bell Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)
Canadian Deal of the Year
Newmont acquires Goldcorp/Newmont Barrick joint venture
Firms: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Goodmans LLP, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Firm Awards
IP Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Smart & Biggar LLP
Litigation & Dispute Resolution Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP
Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Atlantic Canada Law Firm of the Year
Cox & Palmer LLP
Ontario Law Firm of the Year
WeirFoulds LLP
Prairies Law Firm of the Year
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
Quebec Law Firm of the Year
Lavery de Billy LLP
Western Canada Law Firm of the Year
Farris LLP
Litigator of the Year
Linda Plumpton - Torys LLP
Managing Partner of the Year
Les Viner - Torys LLP
Canadian Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP
In-House Awards
Banking & Financial Institutions Law Department of the Year
BMO Financial Group
Construction, Infrastructure & Transportation Law Department of the Year
Aecon Group Inc.
Air Canada
Energy & Resources Law Department of the Year
Pembina Pipeline Corporation
Law Department Leader of the Year
Kerry O'Reilly Wilks - TransAlta Corporation
The Fasken Award for Law Department Innovation
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
Canadian Law Department of the Year
Bell Canada
Legal Profession Awards
The Gowling WLG Award for Woman of the Year
Audrey Boctor - IMK LLP
Claire Hunter, Q.C. - Hunter Litigation Chambers
Pro Bono Initiative of the Year
BMO Financial Group – “Closing the access to justice gap through pro bono activities”
The Bereskin & Parr Award for Diversity Initiative of the Year
McCarthy Tétrault LLP – “Inclusion Now”
Featured Winners:
Atlantic Canada Law Firm of the Year
Wagners Law Firm
Raymond Wagner, Q.C. is the founder of Wagners. He has dedicated his legal practice to representing injured plaintiffs. His practice primarily focuses on class actions, medical negligence with a special focus in birth trauma, and personal injury litigation. He obtained his law degree from Dalhousie Law School and was called to the Nova Scotia Bar in 1980. Ray is a compassionate advocate, known for his candor, civility and practical advice. He places value on timely and equitable resolutions and has achieved significant settlements for his clients. Ray is known for litigating complex, technical and novel issues within his medical negligence and class action practice areas, and he has consistently strived to advance the law on behalf of injured plaintiffs. He is an experienced trial lawyer repeatedly recognized by peer review publications. He is a recipient of the H. Bruce T. Hillyer Award and the Lorne Clarke QC Access to Justice Award. Ray routinely presents to members of the CBA, the Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and other associations and conferences. Ray has participated as an active member of the Nova Scotia Statutory Costs and Fees Committee, the NSBS Rules Committee, a Contingency Fee Agreement subcommittee and the Nova Scotia Bar and Bench Civil Procedure Rules Committee. He organized and addressed the first Nova Scotia Barristers Society Class Action Conference. Ray was one of four founders of APTLA, was the first president of APTLA, and was also first Chairman of the Canadian Caucus of the AAJ.
IP Boutique Law Firm of the Year
Smart & Biggar LLP
Smart & Biggar is Canada’s largest intellectual property and technology law firm, with over 100 professionals in five offices across Canada. We work directly with global and domestic businesses and law firms, to help them secure, protect and maximize the value of their innovations and intellectual property investments in Canada. We are consistently recognized as the leading Canadian IP firm by a wide range of third party domestic and international rankings. We have been providing the world’s most successful and innovative businesses with sophisticated and creative IP solutions for over 100 years.