www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse 33
HOW WE DID IT
Last year, Canadian Lawyer
asked lawyers, in-house
counsel and clients from across
Canada to vote on the top tax
boutiques. They were asked to rank
their top firms from a preliminary
list, with a chance to nominate a
firm that was not included.
To qualify for our list and be voted
for in our survey, firms were
required to derive a minimum
of 80 per cent of their work from
as well as self-identify as focusing
on insurance tax law.
cutting edge to understand the CRA require-
ments and the intersection with our legal
requirements," says Michael Mostyn, CEO
at B'nai Brith. "We need to know that we are
conforming to all of the regulations provin-
cially and federally. We often need a creative
solution for issues that crop up and that
is something Adam thrives in. He is a very
creative thinker," adds Mostyn, who previously
worked as a litigation lawyer at his own firm,
Mostyn & Mostyn.
B'nai Brith went through a rejuvenation in
the last five years since Mostyn became CEO,
and Aptowitzer played a significant role in
ensuring tax law compliance and in improving
the overall corporate structure of the organi-
zation. As a charity, B'nai Brith must always
be cost conscious, so it benefits from Drache
Aptowitzer's specialization in the charitable
and non-profit sector.
"Adam understands the whole charitable
sector, so I don't have to waste a lot of time
bringing him up to speed about the business,"
says Mostyn. The rejuvenation involved broad-
ening public understanding of the organiza-
tion's activities and values.