2023 Excellence Awardees

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  • Hundreds of nominations were received from firms and legal departments across the nation. 
  • The Awards research team reviewed all nominations, applying its own knowledge and some third- 
    party information, to identify the outstanding firms, teams, individuals, deals or cases in each category that receive an ‘’Excellence Award’’. 
  • The second phase of the research process involves the ‘’Excellence Awards’’ nominations material being forwarded to the extensive independent judging panel for scoring against strict criteria. 
  • Judges’ scores are aggregated to produce a Winner in each category. 
  • The Winners of each category will be announced during the Canadian Law Awards event on May 11, 2023. 

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DEAL AWARDS


Excellence Awardees for the Deal Awards categories will be announced on April 19 in the Lexpert Special Edition on Finance and M&A and on the event website.

CASE AWARD


Commercial Litigation Team of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG); Gilbert Séguin Guilbeault - Lamoureux v. Organisme canadien de réglementation du commerce des valeurs mobilières (OCRCVM), 2022 QCCA 685
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP; Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP; Bennett Jones LLP - Commissioner of Competition v Rogers Communications, Inc. and Shaw Communications, Inc.
Fasken - Owsianik v. Equifax Canada Co., 2022 ONCA 813
Lawson Lundell LLP- Remington Development Corporation v. Canadian Pacific Railway Company, 2022 ABKB 692
Lenczner Slaght - Annapolis Group Inc v Halifax Regional Municipality, 2022 SCC 3
Stikeman Elliott LLP; Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP - Centerra Gold Inc. v. Bolturuk, 2022 ONSC 1040

IN-HOUSE AWARDS


Law Department Innovation Award

Excellence Awardees
EY Canada
Ivanhoé Cambridge
Lightspeed Commerce
Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
Wattpad Corp.

The Lawson Lundell LLP Award for Law Department Leader of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Marisa Muchnik - Ferrero Canada Limited
Erin Eizenman - MaRS Discovery District
Eric Tilley - Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (Infrastructure Ontario)
Jay Vaghela - Propel Holdings Inc.
Roger Chouinard - QuadReal Property Group
Patti Chan - Sunwing Travel Group

Banking & Financial Services Law Department of the Year

The winner of this category will automatically progress to become an excellence awardee in Canadian Law Department of the Year

Excellence Awardees
HSBC Bank Canada
Otéra Capital
Scotiabank

The Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP Award for Construction, Infrastructure and Transportation Law Department of the Year

The winner of this category will automatically progress to become an excellence awardee in Canadian Law Department of the Year.

Excellence Awardees
Alstom Group
BC Hydro
Brivia Group
Metrolinx
Pomerleau
TransAlta Corporation
VIA Rail Canada Inc.

The LexisNexis Canada Award for Canadian Law Department of the Year

Winners of the two-sector-specific law department awards will automatically progress to become excellence awardees for this category

Excellence Awardees
QuadReal Property Group
Sunwing Travel Group
Valsoft Corporation Inc.
Wattpad Corp.
Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF)

FIRM AWARDS


Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Excellence Awardees
BH Legal
Glaholt Bowles LLP
Green and Spiegel LLP
Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP
Landings LLP
McLeish Orlando

IP Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Gilbert's LLP
ROBIC LLP
Smart & Biggar

Litigation & Dispute Resolution Boutique Law Firm of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Adair Goldblatt Bieber LLP
Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP
Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP (JSS Barristers)
Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
Lenczner Slaght
Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP

Litigator of the Year

Excellence Awardees
François Grondin - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Peter Aprile - Counter Tax Litigators LLP
Grant Vogeli, KC - Lawson Lundell LLP
Crawford Smith - Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
Monique Jilesen - Lenczner Slaght
Sarit Batner - McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Managing Partner of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Stuart Wood - Caravel Law LLP
Kristin Taylor - Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
James Speakman - Clark Wilson LLP
Tim Haney - Dentons Canada LLP
Morgyn Chandler - Hammerco Lawyers LLP
Kevin Kiley - McInnes Cooper
Brendon Pooran - PooranLaw

Regional Law Firm of the Year – Atlantic Canada

Excellence Awardees
McInnes Cooper
Stewart McKelvey

Regional Law Firm of the Year – Ontario

Excellence Awardees
Blaney McMurtry LLP
Torkin Manes LLP
WeirFoulds LLP

Regional Law Firm of the Year – Prairies

Excellence Awardees
McDougall Gauley LLP
McKercher LLP
Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

Regional Law Firm of the Year – Quebec

Excellence Awardees
Langlois Lawyers, LLP
Lavery

Regional Law Firm of the Year – Western Canada

Excellence Awardees
Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Farris LLP
Lawson Lundell LLP

The LEAP Legal Software Award for Family Law Firm of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Benmor Family Law Group
Burrison Hudani Doris LLP
Crossroads Law
Epstein Cole LLP
MacLean Law
McCarthy Hansen & Company LLP
Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers

The LexisNexis Canada Award for Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm

Excellence Awardees
Caravel Law LLP
Counter Tax Litigators LLP
Fasken
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Torys LLP

LEGAL PROFESSION AWARDS


Diversity Initiative of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Access Pro Bono Society of BC - Everyone Legal Clinic
Aird & Berlis LLP - Indigenous Community Initiatives and Support
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) - The PRISME Conference
Fasken - Fasken's Commitment to Reconciliation
Gale Law Professional Corporation - NCA Network
McCarthy Tétrault LLP - Mentorship Plus Program
TransAlta Corporation - Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Program

Female Trailblazer of the Year (In-House Counsel)

Excellence Awardees
Terrie-Lynne Devonish - Altus Group Limited
Ashley Butts - BASF Canada Inc.
Shara Roy - EY Canada
Patricia Callon - Sun Life
Noren Howg - TransAlta Corporation

Female Trailblazer of the Year (Private Practice)

Excellence Awardees
Cherie Brant - Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Alicia Quesnel - Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Corina S. Weigl - Fasken
Sania Chaudhry - Forte Workplace Law
Ivanna Iwaykiw - Jellinek Ellis Gluckstein Lawyers
Yola Ventresca - Lerners LLP
Alison Babbitt - Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Charmaine Panko - Panko Collaborative Law & Mediation
Janice Rubin - Rubin Thomlinson LLP

Pro Bono Initiative of the Year

Excellence Awardees
Dentons Canada LLP - 30 Birds Foundation
DLA Piper (Canada) LLP - The Clinic (The Black and Indigenous Business Law Clinic)‎
McCarthy Tétrault LLP - British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2022 SCC 27
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP - Obtaining relief for taxpayers from financial loss
PooranLaw - I Decide Law Program
Waterloo Region Community Legal Services - Representation of Residents of Homeless Encampment at Superior Court in Municipal/Constitutional case
WeirFoulds LLP - Five-Country Eastern Caribbean Constitutional Challenge

The Lincoln Alexander School of Law Award for Shaping the Future

Excellence Awardees
Access Pro Bono Society of BC
Caravel Law LLP
Community Justice Collective
Counter Tax Litigators LLP
Fasken
Suresh Law