The sixth annual Benchmark Canada awards ceremony was held last night (Thursday, March 7 2019) at The St Regis Toronto. Over 170 private practice, in-house and other guests attended, making it the largest ceremony ever held for Benchmark Canada. Robert Harrison of Fasken and John Singleton of Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel both received standing ovations as they were inducted into the Benchmark Litigation Hall of Fame.
Special mention must be made for Blair Yorke-Slader of Bennett Jones who pocketed three individual trophies, including the coveted Trial Lawyer of the Year. Yorke-Slader also picked up Bennett Jones' trophy for the much-covered Dow Chemical Canada ULC v. Nova Chemicals Corporation case.
Photographs from the evening are available here. The first folder is for hi-resolution images for press releases, etc., while the second is lower res for use on social media.
Congratulations to the winners, all of which are listed below:
PROVINCIAL AWARDS
ALBERTA
Firm of the Year
Lawson Lundell
Litigator of the Year
Blair Yorke-Slader
Bennett Jones
ATLANTICS
Firm of the Year
Stewart McKelvey
Litigator of the Year
Colin Piercey
Stewart McKelvey
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Firm of the Year
Fasken
Litigator of the Year
Ken McEwan
McEwan Partners
MANITOBA
Firm of the Year
MLT Aikins
Litigator of the Year
Dave Hill
Hill Sokalski Walsh
ONTARIO
Firm of the Year
Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb
Litigator of the Year
Tom Curry
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin
QUEBEC
Firm of the Year
Woods
Litigator of the Year
Mathieu Piché-Messier
Borden Ladner Gervais
SASKATCHEWAN
Firm of the Year
MLT Aikins
Litigator of the Year
Douglas Hodson
MLT Aikins
PRACTICE AREA FIRMS OF THE YEAR
Aboriginal Law Firm of the Year
Lawson Lundell
Arbitration Firm of the Year
Blake Cassels & Graydon
Class Action Firm of the Year
Fasken
Competition Firm of the Year
Stikeman Elliott
Construction Firm of the Year
Singleton Reynolds Urquhart Vogel
Energy/Resource Litigation Firm of the Year
Fasken
Insolvency Firm of the Year
Thornton Grout Finnigan
Insurance Firm of the Year
Clyde & Co
Intellectual Property Firm of the Year
Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh
Labor and Employment Firm of the Year
Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein
Medical Defense/Health Firm of the Year
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin
Product Liability Firm of the Year
Fasken
Securities Firm of the Year
Crawley MacKewn Brush
White-Collar Crime/Enforcement Firm of the Year
Stockwoods
Plaintiff Firm of the Year
Kugler Kandestin
PRACTICE AREA ATTORNEYS OF THE YEAR
Aboriginal Attorney of the Year
Keith Bergner
Lawson Lundell
Arbitration Attorney of the Year
Joe McArthur
Blake Cassels & Graydon
Class Action Attorney of the Year
Michael Eizenga
Bennett Jones
Competition Attorney of the Year
Katherine Kay
Stikeman Elliott
Construction Attorney of the Year
Jeffrey Vallis
Borden Ladner Gervais
Energy/Resource Attorney of the Year
Blair Yorke-Slader
Bennett Jones
Insolvency Attorney of the Year
Pamela Huff
Blake Cassels & Graydon
Insurance Attorney of the Year
Alan D'Silva
Stikeman Elliott
Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year
Gunars Gaikis
Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh
Labor/Employment Attorney of the Year
Matthew Sammon
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin
Medical Defense/Health Attorney of the Year
William McDowell
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin
Product Liability Attorney of the Year
Gordon McKee
Blake Cassels & Graydon
Securities Attorney of the Year
Paul Steep
McCarthy Tétrault
White-Collar Crime/Enforcement Attorney of the Year
Stephanie Lapierre
Stikeman Elliott
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY OF THE YEAR
Reidar Mogerman
Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman
LITIGATION BOUTIQUE OF THE YEAR
IN-HOUSE TEAM OF THE YEAR
Dow Chemical Canada
EMERGING TALENT OF THE YEAR
Jonathan Bell
Bennett Jones
TRIAL LAWYER OF THE YEAR
Blair Yorke-Slader
Bennett Jones
HALL OF FAME
John Singleton
Singleton Urquart Reynolds Vogel
Robert Harrison
Fasken
NATIONAL IMPACT CASES
Dow Chemical Canada ULC v. Nova Chemicals Corporation
Bennett Jones
Burnet Duckworth & Palmer
Yip v. HSBC Holdings
McCarthy Tétrault
MIPS AB v Bauer Hockey Ltd and Bauer Hockey LLC
Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh
Yoel Altman, Diocles Capital, 2374879 Ontario and Sababa Consulting
Stikeman Elliott
Labrador Nickel Royalty Limited Partnership v. Vale Canada Limited et al
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg
Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein
Polley Faith
Stewart McKelvey
Cameco Corporation v. The Queen
Osler Hoskin & Harcourt
Site C Dam Clean Energy Project Litigation
Fasken
Once again, we at Benchmark Litigation extend our congratulations to all of the evening’s winners and attendees and thank our guests for their continuing support of our projects.