The panel was comprised of 61 esteemed legal leaders
The 2025 Canadian Law Awards once again brought together the best of the legal profession, spotlighting excellence across 28 categories – ranging from firm achievements and standout deals to top legal department leader and litigation teams. This celebration of legal distinction wouldn’t have been possible without the invaluable contributions of our judging panel.
Each judge brought their own unique expertise and insight to the process, reviewing submissions and applying rigorous standards to ensure the most deserving winners were recognized. Their commitment to fairness, professionalism, and industry excellence is what gives the Canadian Law Awards their prestige.
View the 2025 winners list here and on the Canadian Law Awards website.
On behalf of the Canadian Lawyer and Lexpert teams, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all members of the 2025 judging panel for their time, energy, and dedication:
Josianne Beaudry, Partner – Leader of the Business Law Group, Lavery
Jacqueline Beckles, General Counsel, Department of Justice Canada and CABL – Board Member
Stephen Beney, Principal, Smart & Biggar
Michael Casey, Senior VP and General Counsel, EllisDon
Peter Castiel, Chair of the Firm, Stikeman Elliott LLP
Bruce Chapple, CEO, Managing Partner, McMillan LLP
Nicholas Cerminaro, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, GardaWorld
George Cooper, KC, Chief Executive Officer and Partner, Cox & Palmer
Lindsay Cox, Partner, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP
Bindu Cudjoe, Executive and Board Member
Vincent de l’Etoile, Partner, Litigation Group; Member Board of Directors, Langlois Lawyers LLP
Martin K. Denyes, Firm Managing Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Frédéric Duguay, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB)
Paul Fruitman, Partner, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
Yonni Fushman, Chief Legal Officer and EVP, Sustainability, Northland Power Inc.; Past Chair, OBA Construction and Infrastructure Law section
Conni Gibson, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Interac Corp.
James A. Grange, Senior Legal Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary, First West Credit Union
Alison Harnick, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary; Board Member, Women General Counsel Canada; First Capital REIT
Nizam Hasham, Assistant Vice-President, Regulatory and Commercial Law, Canadian Pacific Railway
Sharon Haward-Laird, General Counsel, BMO Financial Group
Kene Ilochonwu, K.C., Bencher, Law Society of Alberta
Monique Jilesen, Managing Partner, Lenczner Slaght
Philippe Johnson, Managing Partner, Montreal, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Kevin Kiley, KC, Managing Partner, McInnes Cooper
Lynn Korbak, Former General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Toromont Industries Ltd.
Mitch Kowalski, Senior Counsel, Greater Toronto Airports Authority
David M. Kramer, Senior Legal Counsel, Suncor Energy Inc.
Arun Krishnamurti, Senior Counsel, Google Canada; Co-Chair (Corporate Counsel Section), South Asian Bar Association of North America
François Lajeunesse, Senior Legal Counsel, Desjardins Group
Dale H. Lastman, C.M., Chair, Goodmans LLP
Christopher Lemon, General Counsel, Pan American Silver
Carlton Mathias, Chief Legal, ESG and Governance Officer, Ontario Power Generation
Blair McCreadie, Managing Partner, Toronto, Dentons Canada LLP
Melanie McGrath, General Counsel, CBCL Limited
John G. Murphy, National Managing Partner & CEO, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Benjamin Na, Partner and Head of the Advocacy Department, Toronto, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
Steven Ngo, Senior Counsel, Consumer Transactions; Advisory Director (Past President), Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers BC; Rivian
Lorne O’Reilly, KC, Lead Counsel, Dow Chemical Canada ULC
Benoit Palmer, Chief Counsel, Canadian Mining Businesses – Legal Services, Rio Tinto
Heather Platt, Chief Legal Officer, Metrolinx
Karrin A. Powys-Lybbe, Partner, Torys LLP
Emmanuel Pressman, Chair, Corporate Department, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Clifford G. Proudfoot, KC, Managing Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP
Dinesh Ramanathan, Senior VP Legal, Fengate Asset Management
Bruce Reynolds, Co-Managing Partner, Mediator and Arbitrator, Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP
Luisa Ritacca, Managing Partner, Stockwoods LLP
Bo Rothstein, Managing Partner, Farris LLP
Shara Roy, Chief Legal Counsel, Ernst & Young LLP
Yasmin Shaker, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Invest Ontario
Bryson A. Stokes, Firm Managing Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
David Taniguchi, Vice President, Legal & Corporate Secretary, Enbridge Inc.
Kristin Taylor, Managing Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Jennifer Teskey, Managing Partner, Canada, Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Yola Ventresca, Managing Partner – London, Lerners LLP
Yasmin Visram, Senior Director, Legal Teams – Insurance, iA Financial Group
Chris Vollmershausen, EVP, Legal, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
Patrice Walch-Watson, Senior Managing Director, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary – Legal, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
Andrea Wood, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal and Governance Officer, TELUS
Marisa Wyse, Chief Legal Officer, Rogers Communications
Danielle Young, Chief Counsel, Privacy & Cybersecurity and Global Chief Privacy Officer, Manulife
Caroline Zayid, Managing Partner, Ontario Region, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
