The Top 25 Most Influential 2016

Craft is an emerging intellectual leader working on Anishinaabe and Canadian aboriginal law. Her research and advocacy work is grounded in valuing and living indigenous knowledge. Craft is currently doing research for the Anishinaabe nibi inaakonigewin project, working with Anishinaabe elders to better understand legal principles relating to water. She has worked with aboriginal organizations to organize conferences, develop strategic litigation, deliver public education, and engage in advocacy initiatives. She also developed a strong working relationship with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Her ongoing work on the Federal Court Liaison Committee on the development of practice guidelines for aboriginal law matters and oral history evidence has been an important and substantive contribution to Canadian law.

Effendi is chairwoman of BLG’s Supreme Court of Canada agency group and a member of BLG’s commercial litigation and appeal and review groups. She recently acted for an intervenor in World Bank Group v. Wallace, which represents a significant development in the law, standing as one of only two SCC decisions addressing the scope of international organizations’ immunities and privileges. She represented the Law Society of Upper Canada in appeals in Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of Upper Canada. In June, she was before the Court of Appeal defending the Divisional Court decision that unanimously upheld the LSUC’s decision to deny accreditation to TWU’s prospective law school. The case engages fundamental issues of Constitutional and human rights and administrative law — including the delineation of equality rights, religious freedoms, and the LSUC’s jurisdiction as an administrative decision-maker.

Most recently, Guay was responsible for the multi-million-dollar settlement of Indian Day School litigation initiated against Canada. With his young team, he advanced the law of Crown responsibility and fiercely worked to change views from within government, selflessly working in the dark for the greater good of facilitating reconciliation of the Crown with First Nations. Guay has been working on Indian school files for more than a decade, contributing to the beginnings of the settlement of the Indian Residential Schools class action litigation against the Crown, and paved the way for the IRS dispute resolution process and thereafter the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and its day-to-day implementation via an independent assessment process. In this context, he has single-handedly participated in as many as 500 individual hearings.

Prince was a top-tier Bay Street litigator who worked on high-profile cases including intervening for the Canadian Medical Association on the recent Carter case at the SCC. Since last November’s election, she has been working as senior policy adviser to Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is working on many hugely influential issues at this time, including the inquiry into missing and murdered women, marijuana laws, and physician-assisted death. Prince’s work there is making a strong impact on her community. Prince is a very well connected lawyer and serves as a mentor to many young lawyers, particularly young women.

In the spring, McKenna announced Canada would be ratifying the Paris Accord. Nearly 200 nations adopted the agreement, which calls on the world to collectively cut and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas pollution. She is working to reach agreements with each province on reducing carbon emissions and attempting to form a national plan to reduce levels going forward. McKenna, backed by a majority government with an environmental sustainability mandate, is the first environment minister to stand a chance of effecting real change. She is active on Twitter, connecting to a new audience about Canada’s environmental initiatives. Before politics, McKenna was in-house counsel, worked in private practice, and was executive director of the Banff Forum.

Perell is considered one of the most prodigious and active judges on the bench. He has written many influential decisions relating to: physician-assisted death; civil sexual assault where the plaintiff was a male — he dismissed the case; the Indian Residential Schools class action settlement — he ordered a claimant’s file be destroyed after 15 years unless they consented to publication, and that decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal; numerous decisions to advance the development and operation of class action and mass litigation jurisprudence. His decisions and opinions are balanced, well thought out, and persuasive. Supporters call him the best class action judge in Canada with a keen sense of justice.

Elected Mayor of Toronto in October 2014, Tory has exerted his influence on the city in a number of ways including a key focus on improving transportation with a new plan for rebuilding the Gardiner Expressway, increased public transit infrastructure, and action on licensing Uber. However, critics say his initiatives for pedestrians and cyclists have been less than stellar and he faces many funding challenges. In June 2015, he announced the cancellation of the highly controversial practice of “carding,” calling it racially discriminatory. A poll released in June indicated 74 per cent of voters said they approve of the job Tory is doing as mayor — a marked increase over his predecssor’s approval ratings.

As a former regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, Wilson-Raybould brings extensive experience in law, public service, and First Nations governance to cabinet. She is Canada’s first aboriginal justice minister who has already changed the course of much litigation under the previous Conservative government. She is also tasked with making major changes to Canada’s law and justice system going forward on a variety of complex issues. She steered the controversial assisted-dying bill through amendments in the Senate to have it passed into law in mid-June. Since its passing, a constitutional challenge has been launched that she’ll have to address. Next up: medical marijuana legislation.

Bentley had an illustrious political career as a former Ontario attorney general and as a Liberal leadership candidate, but he has been making interesting waves in the legal industry recently. He is a staunch promoter of legal innovation and is pushing hard to bring change and innovation to Canada’s somewhat staid legal profession, particularly by instilling innovative sensibilities in potential and young lawyers. He runs the experimental Law Practice Program at Ryerson, where he also helped to establish the Legal Innovation Zone, which partnered with Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP earlier this year. Bentley is very active in the profession, making educators and practitioners examine what they need and how to work together to move the profession and practice of law forward.

This duo more than anyone helped educate the Canadian public on the pitfalls and issues of the previous federal Conservative government’s proposed anti-terrorism laws. Forcese and Roach’s approach to influencing public policy development also changed the way academics contribute it. They ditched traditional models in order to engage in real time on bill C-51, launching a blog about it (antiterrorlaw.ca), publishing their work on the world’s largest open-access database — the Social Science Research Network — sending it to public policy-makers, writing op-eds, and appearing before parliamentary committees. Their book False Security: The Radicalization of Canadian Anti-terrorism, will be published this fall.

Martin made the first ruling allowing a woman with ALS to have doctors help her end her life. It was the first decision under the process created by the Supreme Court of Canada in the interim period when the court’s decision made the old law invalid and before the government had introduced a new one. It set an important precedent that, while applicable for a short period of time, set out a process for patients seeking access to physician-assisted death. Martin had to decide how many doctors were needed to verify the applicant’s physical and psychological suffering and whether a psychiatrist was required to assess her mental competence. The Alberta decision also had to be applicable in British Columbia, where the patient would go for the procedure.

A Top 25 honouree last year, Sinclair’s Truth and Reconciliation report is having a substantial impact on Canadian society including law schools that are moving on its recommendations to include more aboriginal law and legal and cultural understanding of aboriginal dispute resolution. His recent appointment to the Senate of Canada means his strong voice continues to influence Canadian society and ensure the rights and needs of First Nations will always be heard. He was also among this year’s inductees to the annual Ka Ni Kanichihk elders’ list in Winnipeg. He is among seven others nominated by indigenous political and service organizations. Sinclair recently called on the city of Ottawa to adopt the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a means to engage with Canada’s First Nations.

In what was perhaps the second-most high-profile criminal case in the last year, Bayne represented embattled Senator Mike Duffy who faced 31 counts of fraud, breach of trust, and bribery over Senate expenses. Bayne’s arguments resulted in Duffy’s acquittal on all of them. The ruling was not appealed, but the senator is still facing a battle in the Red Chamber over repayments of some expenses. Because of the outcome of the trial, however, there is speculation the ruling could stave off attempts to charge other senators with similar crimes. Post-trial, there have also been changes to Senate spending rules. Bayne is a giant of the criminal bar with a four-decade career working on seminal murder, war crimes, and extradition cases as well as high-profile inquiries such as Somalia and Maher Arar.

A previous Top 25 honouree multiple times, Waldman’s influence is once again highlighted by the high-profile cases he’s worked on and brought to public attention. He was co-counsel in Ishaq v. Canada at the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal. The right of women to wear niqabs during their citizenship ceremonies became a major election issue throughout Canada. He was also co-counsel for JP and GJ at the Supreme Court of Canada in the November 2015 decision B010 v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) and was involved in litigation challenging changes to the Citizenship Act that allowed for the revocation of Canadian citizenship of individuals who had been convicted of certain crimes (treason, espionage, and terrorism).

Clarke was co-counsel for First Nations Child and Family Caring Society in Caring Society v. Canada, a case that led to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal finding that the federal government’s underfunding of First Nations child welfare programs discriminates against Canada’s aboriginal people. Described as “groundbreaking” from both legal and social perspectives, the case left the door wide open for similar applications around services such as education, health care, and policing. She has worked extensively with and for First Nations on child welfare and adoption proceedings. She has argued civil and family law matters before all levels of court in Ontario, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Currently, Goodier is the child abuse and sexual violence lead in York Region. She has had tremendous influence in the courts, essentially transforming the way cases of child abuse and sexual abuse are handled in positive ways. She is a skilled and fearless advocate, who invariably handles any serious — and often difficult to prosecute — criminal case involving sexual abuse of children in the Newmarket courthouse. Handling these cases effectively as a Crown involves intelligence, tenacity, dedication, and concern for the most vulnerable members of our community. She is frequently sought after by other counsel and police officers for advice and guidance in this area.

Cudjoe leads the operations of the legal, compliance, and investigative & security services groups for BMO. She has driven BMO’s external law firm management program including the creation of management tools and their governance model. She was the founding member of the Diversity Council of the legal, corporate & compliance group and is co-chairwoman of the talent development committee in the areas of recruitment and retention. She spearheaded efforts to align a fresh recruiting process with best practices for diverse recruitment and retention and is also an advocate for diversity in-house, which she does at BMO and with her work with the South Asian Bar Association.

Finkelstein has been particularly active in high-profile commercial litigation cases recently. Among them, he represented the successful appellant Harish Bhasin, in Bhasin v. Hrynew, in which the Supreme Court of Canada for the first time recognized a legal duty to act honestly and in good faith in their contractual obligations. It’s a landmark decision that dramatically impacts the obligations of all parties to commercial contracts in Canada. Finkelstein was also lead counsel to Abbott Laboratories in Charlton v. Abbott Laboratories, Ltd., which set an important precedent in the area of product liability class actions; and Uber Canada Inc. in Edmonton (City) v. Uber Canada Inc., where he defeated an application by the city for an interlocutory injunction to prevent Uber from operating in Edmonton.

Hansell was recently appointed by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government to chair the Business Law Advisory Council, where she’ll lead the team making recommendations to modernize the province’s business law framework. Over the past decade or so, Hansell has turned herself from an M&A lawyer into a champion of corporate governance. Expanding her horizons further, at the beginning of this year, Hansell LPP launched Hansell Board Evaluations providing expert, independent guidance to boards in identifying opportunities to enhance their effectiveness. In May, she launched a unique, powerhouse advisory firm, Hansell McLaughlin Advisory, which brings together legal, government relations, and communications teams.

Newbould, the team lead of the Commercial List Court in Toronto, has been lauded by all sides for his formidable work in the unprecedented and lengthy cross-border Nortel trial — the largest insolvency restructuring proceeding in Canadian history. He not only had to work with a U.S. judge hearing the complicated case from a Delaware court, he also embraced the technology that made it all happen in real time. His work on one of the most complex cases in the country was exemplary in a province that still struggles to introduce technology to its courtrooms. Leave to appeal his decision on the pro-rata allocation of assets among the Nortel estates was denied by the Ontario Court of Appeal in May.