Canadian Corporate Counsel Association announces 2020 award winners

The Canadian Corporate Counsel Association has announced the recipients of its 2020 CCCA Awards.

Fred Headon received the R.V.A. Jones Award for supporting the association and the in-house community, for contributing significantly to the legal profession and for advancing the role and importance of in-house lawyers and lawyers in general at both the national and the international levels.

Headon is Air Canada’s assistant general counsel, labour and employment law. He previously worked as an associate, then as partner for the labour and employment law group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. He was the first in-house counsel to hold the role of president at the Canadian Bar Association. He currently chairs the CBA’s Legal Futures Initiative.

The Professional Contribution Award was awarded to Nick Slonosky for his four decades of service to the legal profession and to the in-house bar, for his contributions to the in-house community in both Manitoba and Canada and for his commitment to success for his own benefit and for the benefit of his colleagues.

Slonosky was past director and legal counsel at Investors Group Financial Services Inc. He also worked for Manitoba Telecom Services, focusing on its regulatory affairs and legal areas. He was a sessional instructor for the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law. He has chaired the CCCA’s executive committee.

Michael Ladha was distinguished with the Up and Comer Award for his volunteer work for the in-house profession and for his community, for his dedication to continuing education and professional development and for his knowledgeable and engaging attitude toward his work.

Ladha is legal counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. He previously acted as legal counsel for Nalcor Energy and as an associate for Curtis Dawe Lawyers. He has served as president, vice-president and treasurer for the CBA’s Newfoundland and Labrador branch.

Robert Warner wins the Innovation Award alongside the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s management team. They are being honoured for their efforts to improve the corporation’s Claims Legal Services Department with regard to the customers’ confidence and trust and with regard to the lawyers’ and support staff’s productivity.

Because the CCCA could not present the awards personally during its annual national conference, the association presented them virtually via video.