Law’s best shine at 13th CGCA gala

Canada’s leading law firms and preeminent businesses were front and centre at the 13th annual Canadian General Counsel Awards, presented by ZSA Legal Recruitment and National Post.

The sold-out gala on June 15 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto was a night to celebrate law’s best and brightest. Guests arrived from across the country in their best black tie to take in the honours as the CGCA evening has quickly become a “must attend” event of the legal community’s social calendar.

The CGCAs are Canada’s only national programme designed exclusively to recognize excellence in the In-House Counsel community. This special evening honouring the best in-house counsel in Canada brings together the senior members of the Canadian private bar and the leading in-house counsel in the country in a celebration of the accomplishments of the Canadian legal profession over the past year.

Jonathan Lisus, partner with Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb, served as emcee.

Eight awards were presented at the gala.

Canadian General Counsel of the Year went to Mirko Bibic, chief legal and regulatory officer and executive vice-president, corporate development, BCE Inc. and Bell Canada. The Lifetime Achievement award posthumously went to Stephen Sigurdson, who was executive vice-president and general counsel, Manulife, until his death in 2016. The award was accepted at the gala by his wife and one of his daughters.

Business Achievement went to Marni Dicker, chief commercial officer, executive vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary, Infrastructure Ontario. The Purdy Crawford Deal Making award went to Susan Jones, senior vice president and chief legal officer, Agrium Inc. Litigation Management went to Pascale Elharrar, associate general counsel and managing director, BMO Financial Group. Mid-Market Excellence went to Vivian Leung, general counsel, BlueCat Networks Inc. Tomorrow’s Leader went to Ingrid Minott, legal counsel, Deloitte LLP. Environmental, Social and Governance went to Melissa Kennedy, executive vicepresident, chief legal officer, public affairs, and executive sponsor for sustainability, Sun Life Financial.

“The experience and depth of talent and nominations across all award categories demonstrates both the importance of the CGCA and the growth of the profession at both the private bar and in-house level,” said Christopher Sweeney, chief executive and co-founder, ZSA Legal Recruitment.

Sponsors included Baker McKenzie; BMO Bank of Montreal; Borden Ladner Gervais; Deloitte; Dentons; McMillam; Osler; WeirFoulds; Sun Life Financial; LexisNexis; Commonwealth Legal; Gowling WLG; and Wolfson Bell.