Canadian Law Awards 2021 | Key Media | 5 February 2021 | VIRTUAL

The Canadian Law Awards returns for its second year to recognize the nation’s leading law firms, in-house legal teams, individuals, deals and cases over the past year. It’s a true reflection of excellence in the legal profession.

Leading firms, in-house legal teams, and lawyers are encouraged to nominate across 20-plus categories and be recognized for their achievements and outstanding work over the past year. Submissions will be reviewed by an esteemed judging panel.

The Canadian Law Awards is brought to you by Key Media, the organizers of a variety of Awards ceremonies across Canada, where hundreds of professionals gather annually, in person or virtually, to acknowledge the best professionals across the nation. We are proud to continue our tradition by celebrating legal excellence.

2020 Winners

Capital Markets Deal of the Year:
• TransAlta strategic Partnership with Brookfield

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Aquilini/Enthusiast Merger
• BMO Sustainability Bond
• Home Trust Company Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Trust Program
• Katanga Rights Offering
• Keyera Hybrid Notes Offering
• Lightspeed POS IPO

Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year:
• Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Brookfield Buys Enbridge's Natural Gas Business
• Pembina Pipeline’s Acquisition of Kinder Morgan
• SNC-Lavalin Sells Interest in 407
• TD Greystone, IST3 Infrastruktur and Seven Indigenous Communities Acquire Alberta PowerLine

Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year:
• Catalyst Paper Restructuring

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Clairvest Restructuring
• Nautilus Minerals Insolvency

M&A Deal of the Year:
• Air Canada Acquires Aeroplan

Excellence Award Recpients:
• Aphria's Takeover Defence of Green Growth's Hostile Bid
• Axium and Manulife buy Northwest British Columbia Hydroelectric Facilities from AltaGas
• Canadian Natural Acquires Devon Canada Assets
• Digital Colony Buys Cogeco Peer
• First Air and Canadian North Merge
• Osisko Mining Reverse Takeover of Chantrell Ventures
• The Stars Group Combine with Flutter Entertainment

Private Equity Deal of the Year:
• BC Partners Buys GardaWorld

Excellence Award Recipients:
• CCMP Purchase of BGIS From Brookfield
• Onex Acquires WestJet
• Sale of Canada's Shares in Ridley Terminals

Cross Border Deal of the Year:
• Newmont Acquires Goldcorp/Newmont Barrick Joint Venture

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Brookfield Acquires Genworth
• Canopy Acquires Acreage
• Dream Global Sale to Blackstone
• Hasbro Acquires Entertainment One

Class Action Team of the Year:
• Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Bennett Jones LLP
• Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
• Koskie Minsky LLP, Raven, Cameron, Ballantyne & Yazbeck LLP, Wagners Law Firm, Acheson Sweeney Foley Sahota LLP, Quessy Henry St-Hilaire, avocats
• McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Koskie Minsky LLP
• Torys LLP

Commercial Litigation Team of the Year:
• McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
• Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP
• Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP
• Torys LLP
• Torys LLP

Canadian Deal of the Year:
• Newmont acquires Goldcorp/Newmont Barrick joint venture

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Air Canada acquires Aeroplan
• BC Partners buys GardaWorld
• Catalyst Paper restructuring
• Paulson & Co. Replaces Detour Gold's Board
• TransAlta strategic Partnership with Brookfield
• Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project

FIRM Awards:

IP Boutique Law Firm of the Year:
• Smart & Biggar LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Aitken Klee LLP
• Bereskin & Parr LLP
• Deeth Williams Wall LLP
• Gilbert's LLP
• Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP

Litigation & Dispute Resolution Boutique Law Firm of the Year:
• Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP
• Hunter Litigation Chambers
• Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
• Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP
• Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP
• Thomson Rogers

Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm:
• Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
• Dentons Canada LLP
• Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
• Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
• MacKay Real Property Law
• Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Atlantic Canada Law Firm of the Year:
• Cox & Palmer LLP

Excellence Award Recipients:
• MDW Law
• Wagners LLP

Ontario Law Firm of the Year:
• WeirFoulds LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• Barriston Law
• Beard Winter LLP
• Lerners LLP
• McLeish Orlando LLP
• Torkin Manes LLP

Prairies Law Firm of the Year:
• Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• Fillmore Riley LLP
• McDougall Gauley LLP
• Pitblado LLP

Quebec Law Firm of the Year:
• Lavery de Billy LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• BCF Business Law
• Cain Lamarre LLP
• Langlois Lawyers LLP

Western Canada Law Firm of the Year:
• Farris LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• DuMoulin Black LLP
• Hakemi & Ridgedale LLP
• Harper Grey LLP
• Harris & Company LLP

Litigator of the Year:
• Linda Plumpton

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• Awatif Lakhdar
• Chris Rusnak
• Irwin G. Nathanson, Q.C.
• Julie Girard
• Malcolm Ruby
• Sean Griffin
• Steven Mason

Managing Partner of the Year:
• Les Viner - Torys LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• Anik Trudel - Lavery de Billy LLP
• Blair McCreadie - Dentons Canada LLP
• Dave Leonard - McCarthy Tétrault LLP
• Julia E. Lawn - Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP
• Robert Seidel, Q.C. - DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
• Teresa Dufort - McMillan LLP
• Tom Curry - Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP

Canadian Boutique Law Firm of the Year:
• Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• Goldblatt Partners LLP
• Green and Spiegel LLP
• Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP
• Oatley Vigmond LLP
• Roper Greyell LLP
• Smart & Biggar LLP
• Whitten & Lublin PC
• Wildeboer Dellelce LLP

IN-HOUSE AWARDS

Banking & Financial Institutions Law Department of the Year:
• BMO Financial Group

Excellence Awards Recipients:
• CIBC
• CPP Investments
• iA Financial Group
• National Bank of Canada
• PSP Investments
• Sun Life Financial
• TD Bank Group
• TMX Group Limited

Construction, Infrastructure & Transportation Law Department of the Year:
• Aecon Group Inc.
• Air Canada

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Construction Association of Quebec
• Metrolinx

Energy & Resources Law Department of the Year:
• Pembina Pipeline Corporation

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Bruce Power L.P.
• Enbridge Inc.
• Graymont Limited
• Manitoba Hydro
• Ontario Power Generation
• TransCanada Energy Corporation

Law Department Leader of the Year:
• Kerry O'Reilly Wilks - TransAlta Corporation

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Andrea Cotroneo - Capital One Bank (Canada Branch)
• Chris Wallace - Federation of Canadian Municipalities
• David Hanick - Starlight Investments
• Dr. Christelle Gedeon - Aphria Inc.
• Jennifer Suess - RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
• Phil Shaer - Canopy Growth Corporation

The Fasken Award for Law Department Innovation:
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Aecon Group Inc.
• BMO Financial Group
• GS1 Canada
• Tilray

Canadian Law Department of the Year:
• Bell Canada

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Aecon Group Inc
• Air Canada
• BMO Financial
• Hudson's Bay Company
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
• Pembina Pipeline Corp
• RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

LEGAL PROFESSION AWARDS

The Gowling WLG Award for Woman of the Year:
• Audrey Boctor - IMK LLP
• Claire Hunter, Q.C. - Hunter Litigation Chambers

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Barbara De Dios - Canadian Dental Services Corp
• Faren Bogach - WeirFoulds LLP
• Heather L. Treacy, Q.C., ICD.D. - DLA Piper (Canada) LLP
• Jennifer Suess - RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
• Kerry O'Reilly Wilks - TransAlta Corporation
• Leanne O'Leary - Cox & Palmer LLP

Pro Bono Initiative of the Year:
• BMO Financial Group – “Closing the access to justice gap through pro bono activities”

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Cox & Palmer LLP – “Newfoundland Court of Appeal decision in Re A.A”
• Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP – “Pro Bono Gender Markers initiative”
• Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP, co-counsel McCarthy Tétrault LLP – “Court of Appeal for Ontario decision in Canadian Civil Liberties Association v Canada”
• Nicola Law Group – “Traffic Court Duty Counsel Project”

The Bereskin & Parr Award for Diversity Initiative of the Year:
• McCarthy Tétrault LLP – “Inclusion Now”

Excellence Award Recipients:
• Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP – "Our People First: Mental Health Strategy"
• Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP – “Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment and Advancement Policy”
• Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP – “ReferToHer™"
• Ministry of the Attorney General – “Bimickaway"
• Norton Rose Fulbright LLP – “Achieving greater representation of women in leadership and partnership”
• Smart & Biggar LLP – “Diversity Goals: Diversity Leadership & Programs”