Six law firms made new announcements
Welcome to this week’s roundup of movements among major law firms, in which we sum up significant hires, promotions, departures, and other announcements.
Aird & Berlis LLP
Aird & Berlis has announced the appointment of Jill Fraser as managing partner, effective May 7. Fraser succeeds Steven Zakem, who served as the managing partner since 2015. Fraser is a senior partner in the firm’s financial services group and a long-standing member of the executive committee.
“It is a tremendous honour to be named Managing Partner of Aird & Berlis,” said Fraser. “It has been my privilege to work with Steven Zakem for the past eight years on the Executive Committee and I am eager to continue the work that we have been doing. Our law firm has built a reputation for excellence, integrity and client service that is second to none. We are well-positioned for the future and I am optimistic for what lies ahead.”
Alexander Holburn
Alexander Holburn has welcomed Chris Reain, Emily Stock and Nicola Brankley to the partnership. The firm also welcomes three new associates: Brandon Cook, Grace Tran, and Jeremy Brodeur. This expansion doubles the size of the firm’s Ontario footprint.
“We are pleased to announce the addition of this team who will add considerable experience to our insurance group nationally,” said managing partner Christopher Hirst. “We’ve had a very positive response from clients and look forward to better serving those with business in Ontario.”
Alexander Holburn has grown significantly in Ontario since opening the doors to its Toronto office in 2019. In January, the firm promoted three of its Ontario lawyers, Ian Breneman, Jennifer Huneault and Mike Furyk, to the partnership. With the addition of the group from Reain Lui Stock LLP (RLS), the firm’s Toronto office will now have six partners and over ten lawyers to support their client’s growing needs. This represents a sizable addition to Alexander Holburn’s insurance group and greatly increases the firm’s ability to assist clients across Canada.
Lerners LLP
Efua K. Gyan has joined Lerners’ health law and labour and employment groups as an associate in the London office. After completing her master of public health degree at Boston University, Gyan spent two years working with a non-profit organization in rural Haiti. During her time in law school, she was an executive member of the Osgoode Health Law Association and established and held the position of cultural outreach officer, a newly created position within Osgoode’s Black Law Students Association.
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has announced that Byron Shaw, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto, has accepted an invitation to join the IADC, an invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys representing corporate and insurance interests.
Shaw’s practice encompasses corporate and commercial litigation, class action defence, and public law litigation. He has considerable experience in the defence of class actions and mass tort claims against manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer products and services.
McMillan LLP
Hasiya Crown has joined McMillan’s Calgary office as an associate. She practises commercial real estate.
WeirFoulds LLP
The firm has welcomed Natasha Novac as an associate to the firm’s regulatory practice group. Novac’s practice focuses on professional regulation, public and administrative law and civil litigation. Prior to joining WeirFoulds, Novac was an associate at a leading Toronto-based litigation boutique, where she practised civil litigation, professional regulation and union-side labour law. During her first years of practice, Novac clerked for the judges of the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto and Justice Andrew D. Little of the Federal Court of Canada.
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