Fasken

The firm’s Calgary office opened in 2003, and with the arrival of Alex Kotkas and Karen Wyke a year later from McCarthy Tétrault, 
the firm’s litigation department sprang to life. Kotkas and Wyke practice commercial litigation with a slant toward specialties such as 
construction and aviation. Kotkas is co-lead counsel in Saipem v. Husky, an oil sands construction claim. This office is also notable for the relative youth of its team. A former future star who has ascended to litigation star status this year, Gulu Punia generates peer acclaim for his practice that includes employment law with commercial aspects. “Gulu is coming up strong on these cases,” supports a peer. “Some of them have messy facets to them, but he doesn’t flinch, and he also has an optimistic, engaging personality that is comforting to a client.” Insolvency specialist Travis Lysak assisted HSBC, the main lender for various projects, in recovering roughly $80 million in the CCAA proceedings of property developer Walton International. Peer acclaim is also robust for another future star, Arif Chowdhury. “Keep an eye out for him,” advises a peer. “He is a first-year partner and already has a burgeoning commercial practice.”

In the Toronto office, Robert Harrison, a lauded and seasoned trial lawyer, represented Manulife on appeal of a judgment against the plaintiff who sought to have the court validate a typographical error in a life insurance contract that would have made the paid-up values in the contract significantly higher than the face amount. Harrison successfully represented the client through the appeal, which was dismissed in the favor of Manulife. “Bob Harrison is still one of the greatest trial lawyers there is in Canada,” declares one peer, “and it would be unwise to take him for granted. He can still make mincemeat out of those who do.” Another peer and client favorite, Gerry Ranking led a team that succeeded in having a $5 billion claim, the only Canadian action arising from the Madoff fraud, dismissed on a motion for summary judgment in August of 2018. The action, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, was brought by the liquidator of the Fairfield Funds, seeking $5 billion in damages from PwC, as they claimed the auditors should have uncovered the Ponzi scheme. Acting with Ranking on this matter is Sarah Armstrong, who also represented PwC in the defense of a multibillion-dollar class action related to the stock loss drop of Valeant Pharmaceuticals in 2015. Steven Rosenhek represents a group of entities centered around Mercedes-Benz and Daimler in a class action for damages resulting from alleged misrepresentations regarding the emissions of Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles and allegation of “defeat devices” in the vehicles. The claim is for C$500 million in general and special damages, C$100 million in punitive and/or aggravated damages, rescission of the purchase of the vehicles, and statutory damages pursuant to various statutes including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and the Competition Act. Berkley Sells, an all-purpose commercial litigator with an especially keen acumen with injunction work, is championed by peers and clients alike. One peer calls Berkley, “the best – totally bright and engaging lawyer who knows how to distill matters down to their essence and put it across in a straight-shooting and persuasive way.”

Fasken's Montréal office is considered a go-to for areas like class actions, product liability, insolvency and intellectual property. It is also unique in that it has litigators dedicated to areas like international trade and franchise law. In the latter specialty, Frédéric Gilbert is considered “a real standout, just a tireless go-getter who exudes confidence and elan, and has the goods in court to back it up. He speaks three languages, is smart and quick, and could frankly work anywhere he wanted.” A franchise law authority, Gilbert, along with Marc-Andre Fabien, represents Modern Concepts, a janitorial and maintenance entity in a dispute involving the intricacies of language denoting the difference between a franchise agreement and an employment contract. Fasken has been appointed to this file at the Supreme Court level.