BRITISH COLUMBIA
The Vancouver office of Fasken is widely viewed by peers as home to one of the strongest litigation teams in the city, and indeed one within a big national firm rather than a litigation boutique. “We regularly see someone from Fasken on files, you would have to work pretty hard not to,” confirms one peer. Sadly, the firm had to weather the loss of Mark Andrews, a senior litigation partner of considerable stature, whose unfortunate passing was felt by all in the Vancouver legal community. Even a loss this major, however, did not come as a devastating blow to the team’s collective strength. “Fasken has some of the broadest litigation reach in town,” confirms one local peer. “They have a really deep pool, with talent all across the generations.” Indeed, Geoff Cowper remains a formidable senior figure, with a practice that spans major arbitrations as well as trials. On the younger end of the spectrum, Gavin Cameron led a team representing DP World Prince Rupert in a Fisheries Act prosecution in relation to a port expansion project in Prince Rupert. The Crown laid 10 charges against the defendants, primarily for alleged breaches of conditions under the Fisheries Act Authorization obtained for the Project. Cameron is recognized by peers as “one of the best guys of our vintage in town,” with one confirming, “He would be on every shortlist. [He is as] Smart as they come but doesn’t mind rolling around in the ditch to get something done.” Tracey Cohen, a commercial litigator with a diverse practice, is touted as “one of the most quickly escalating presences in the province,” with one peer noting, “Tracey has a flair for making a client feel very cared for and protected, and if you’re against her, she can be ferocious and tough as nails.” Another competitor calls Cohen “a real leader in the business these days. She has really worked her way to the top.” Cohen represents Eastern Platinum Limited and its subsidiaries in an action commenced by them in the British Columbia Supreme Court against the former officers and directors of the companies as a result of questionable payments pursuant to a change of control of the board that occurred in 2016. Andrew Nathanson also continues to draw praise from the Vancouver legal community on a near-unanimous basis for a multi-faceted practice that blends elements of commercial litigation and white-collar crime.
ONTARIO
Fasken’s Toronto office is host to an equally diverse range of litigation practices, with class actions taking an undeniably central position. In this capacity, Steven Rosenhek has developed a niche practice of his own, with several class actions for automotive entities. Rosenhek is representing Kia Canada and its parent and affiliates in the context of a class action/motion for authorization to institute a class action in Ontario and Québec on behalf of a class of consumers who own or lease Kia models equipped with a panoramic sunroof based on allegations of design and manufacturing defects. Sarah Armstrong leads a team that represents Capital One in three separate CAD$20 million individual claims arising out of a data breach which was publicly disclosed by Capital One in July 2019. Vera Toppings is also making her mark in the class actions world but also beyond this practice. “Fasken has had an uptick on the more sophisticated side of financial work, with David Hausman and
Vera Toppings showing up more,” confirms a peer. The firm’s Ontario footprint also extends to Ottawa, where Peter Mantas juggles a bucket of work that touches on administrative law, appeals and white-collar crime work.
QUÉBEC
Fasken’s Montréal office had to weather the recent loss of product liability figurehead Martin Sheehan to the bench, but it has quickly moved to make the strategic hire of Sebastien Richemont from his former post at litigation powerhouse Woods. Richemont is representing XTL Transport, a family business, and its founder against a claim for an oppression remedy and damages for an aggregate amount in excess of $71 million instituted by the daughter of XTL’s founder. Frédéric Gilbert is a commercial litigator who has developed a noteworthy niche in franchise law. He represented the franchise Modern Cleaning Concepts at the Supreme Court of Canada in such a dispute, seeking to reverse an earlier unfavorable decision at the Québec Court of Appeal. “Frédéric is emblematic of the future of commercial litigators,” asserts one peer. Peers are also quick to point out “Noah Boudreau is doing a lot of the heavy lifting over there these days. You’re seeing a lot more of him and he deserves more notice. He took over a good part of Martin Sheehan’s practice.” Alain Reindeau leads a team that successfully represented Transat, a Canadian airline and tourism public company, in the heavily disputed battle for the sale of the company. Eric Simard is part of a team acting for Areva Est Canada and Orano Mining in an action to annul two agreements of a value of more than C$50 million with respect to the sale of shares of a uranium entity following the discovery that one of Orano’s employees involved in the negotiation of the agreements illegally received a substantial amount of over C$17 million.
ALBERTA
The Calgary office, while smaller than the others, is in growth mode. The recent hire of Darren Reed, a commercial lawyer formerly with Blake Cassels & Graydon and JSS Barristers before that, is cheered by peers as “a fantastic recruit. Darren has that great combination of young energy and years of experience being seasoned at two other great litigation shops.” Peers also advise, “Pay more attention to Karen Wyke, she is a fierce litigator doing some big cases that people are sort of watching at the moment. She is doing a giant arbitration for an Italian client.” Gulu Punia and Arif Chowdhury represent Mac’s Convenience Stores in a lawsuit whereby the plaintiff seeks over CAD$24 million in damages on the basis of a disputed right of first refusal clause in an ATM services agreement.
