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Top Lawyers In Canada In 2020

Orlando Da Silva

President, Ontario Bar Association, Toronto, Ont.  Da Silva's heartfelt public confession of a long and deep depression and attempted suicide has opened up discussion on mental health within the legal community such as never before.  While there is a deep-rooted stigma against mental illness eased by a dominance of type A personalities, Da Silva's courageous leadership has helped create specialized support programs for lawyers who struggle in silence.  As if this wasn't enough, Da Silva has gone one step further and asked lawyers to call him personally if they need assistance.  His supporters emphasise that Da Silva's efforts are crucial in a business that promotes bravado and often mistakes mental illness to get a personal weakness. What voters had to say: Mr. Da Silva's bravery in grounding increasingly acknowledged mental health issues in the legal profession within their personal experience will crucially advance these concerns among lawyers and cause positive ends.

Marie Henein

Old spouse, Henein Hutchison LLP, Toronto, Ont. Considered one of Canada's best criminal defence lawyers, Henein is known for representing high-profile clients including former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi -- charged with seven counts of sexual assault, of which two have already been dropped -- former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant, along with junior hockey coach David Frost.  Most recently Henein has taken on the case of defence counsel colleague Leora Shemesh, who was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice by Peel Police.  Henein is well known in the profession as a go-to attorney for all high-profile criminal issues.  She has an excellent track record of wins versus losses and was part of the team that recently was victorious in having John Salmon's conviction in a 1970s murder overturned. What Republicans needed to say: Most visible leader of [the] criminal defence bar.

Pascale Fournier

Professor & research chair, legal pluralism and comparative law, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, Ottawa, Ont. Fournier has achieved international recognition for her groundbreaking work on gender, faith, and the legislation, together with fieldwork interviews with women from various countries to highlight the complex interplay between spiritual and secular law.  She has received numerous national and international awards and nominations in 2014.  Fournier became a fellow of the prestigious International Women's Forum because of her role as a pioneer in the legal profession; receiving the Canada-Arab Chamber of Commerce Award for academic excellence and contribution to humanity.  Fournier represented the University of Ottawa as a successful pioneer at the Governor General's Canadian Leadership Conference and was appointed by the National Assembly of Quebec into the Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission. What Republicans needed to say: Superb mind, according [to] Harvard's Prof. Kennedy.

Murray Klippenstein

Creator, Klippensteins Barristers & Solicitors, Toronto, Ont. Back to the next year on the Top 25, Klippenstein's continuing representation of 13 members of this indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' inhabitants from El Estor, Guatemala, continues to make waves.  Three associated lawsuits are before the Ontario courts against Canadian mining firm Hudbay Minerals over the brutal killing of Adolfo Ich along with the gang rape of 11 girls from Lote Ocho.  In a precedent-setting judgment in July of 2013, an Ontario court decided that lawsuits could proceed to trial in Canada over the objections of Hudbay Minerals.  At home he is also taking on the big guys in a case against Encana Corp. that's challenging the regulation and practice of hydraulic fracking in Canada. What voters had to say: Kudos for standing up for, upholding Canadian values, where we function.

Alice Woolley

Professor and associate dean-academic, University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Calgary, Alta. Woolley is a true changemaker in the region of law and technology in addition to law regulation.  She's been a valuable member of the Canadian Bar Association's ethics and professional responsibility committee.  Her work with the CBA Futures project as an ethics and regulatory problems team member is really making a mark at the legal community.  Woolley is also responsible for sweeping educational changes as chairwoman of the committee which developed and embraced significant curricular changes at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Law, which focus on the technical elements of legal education and will come into effect in September. What voters had to say: top expert on legal profession and ethics; once she talks, people listen.   Alice is a pragmatic visionary.  Teaching law students in a means that will prepare them for a 21st century practice is of crucial importance to the future of the profession.

Wayne Myles

Counsel, Cox & Palmer, St. John's, N.L. Myles' recent claim to fame is the $3-billion international merger of Barbados-based Columbus International Inc. with England-based Cable & Wireless Communications PLC..  His M&A experience, together with his dedicated customer relationships, haven't only led to the largest deal in the telecommunications company's history, but revealed that significant international prices are being deftly managed by an Atlantic Canadian law firm.  He's also acted as lead counsel and strategic adviser on several acquisitions, licensing, and financing of many subsea and terrestrial telecommunications businesses in the international seafood processing and marketing industry.  Myles also advised on aviation issues, on many domestic and international commercial insolvency and restructuring projects and on energy and transportation matters. What voters had to say:[An] outstanding lawyer with global vision.  Massive asset to any trade.