Kenneth Bagshaw, the retired chief legal officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, was named Canadian general counsel of the year at an awards ceremony in Toronto last night.
W. David Jamieson, executive vice president and corporate secretary at J. D. Irving, Ltd., won the lifetime achievement award. In addition, two organizations, the Royal Bank of Canada and the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, shared the social responsibility award.
This was the seventh year for the annual Canadian General Counsel Awards organized by The National Post and ZSA Legal Recruitment. The aim is to recognize excellence in the Canadian in-house counsel community.
An advisory board made up primarily of external and in-house lawyers went through the long list of nominations before coming up with a list of finalists for the 2011 awards. The finalists included a diverse group of organizations and in-house counsel, ranging from Dawn Devoe of World Vision Canada to James E. McLandress of the Canadian Wheat Board.
More than 400 members of Canada’s legal community participated in the black-tie event.
The winning legal department leaders in the other categories included:
— Litigation management: Margaret Ross, general counsel of the Canadian Medical Protective Association
— Mid-market excellence: Barbara Snowdon, general counsel and corporate secretary at Chorus Aviation Inc.
— Tomorrow’s leader: Jody Becker, vice president and general counsel, EllisDon Group of Companies
— Business achievement: Sharon Dowdall, vice president for special projects at Franco-Nevada Corp.
— Deal making: Peter Johnson, general counsel and corporate secretary at Shaw Communications Inc.
