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FEATURE 14 www.canadianlawyermag.com CROSS EXAMINED want them to have to make six phone calls to get an appointment," she says. The program has received strong reviews from her asso- ciates, and Robitaille hopes other firms will follow suit. Diversity and inclusion were embedded in the firm's DNA before Robitaille took the helm, shaped by Marie Henein's prominent role on the national legal stage. "It is the house that Marie built," she says. Henein is an Arab Canadian, as is her brother, Peter, also a partner. "We have two proud Arab Canadians as partners in our boutique firm, which is really unusual," Robitaille notes. This orien- tation informs recruitment decisions across the board. "We receive just totally extraordi- nary diverse applications across the country. We have just a wealth of applicants to choose from," she says. Speaking of recruitment, Robitaille has grown more discerning about identifying which candidates will thrive specifically at her firm rather than simply being talented lawyers overall. "Will they be a great lawyer at my firm?" she asks herself. "Which is a slightly different question from 'Will they be a great lawyer?'" This discipline reflects lessons learned over three years of structured student recruitment and ongoing engage- ment with courts to hire clerks and lateral candidates. The firm operates at the high end of the legal practice spectrum, handling complex criminal trials, high-stakes civil litigation, regulatory prosecutions, and investigations into corporate compliance issues. Robitaille leads the investigations practice, with her firm serving as the first Canadian law firm appointed as an independent compliance monitor in a US deferred prosecution agree- ment. "It's big game stuff," she says. "People come to us who have really intractable issues, problems, [and] litigation." This cross-training between criminal and civil litigators creates advantages in strategy and critical thinking. Associates work on high-profile matters alongside partners while also developing their own smaller cases – a model Robitaille believes builds stronger lawyers more quickly than relying on supporting work alone. Looking ahead, she sees white-collar crime and corporate compliance as growth areas, particularly as US regulatory activity increasingly engages Canadian firms for cross-border mandates. "These big multi- national companies consider Toronto firms and Toronto lawyers as leaders in this area," Robitaille says, signalling opportunity for her firm and others positioned to serve global clients navigating complex investigations. When asked about balancing client work with management, Robitaille is refreshingly candid: she hasn't yet cracked that code. However, she's aware of a particular risk – that lawyers trained in problem-solving and crisis management tend to gravitate toward high-stakes issues at the expense of steady, daily management work. What emerges from her leadership is a practical vision: managing firms requires different skills from practising law, and "You're a team, you're to work and develop and work on your relationships with your fellow associates. And that's what makes life fun" KEY CASES 2020 R. v. Chan conviction overturned at the ONCA and upheld at the SCC, s.33 of CC declared unconstitutional; argued at the SCC in November 2021 − R. v. Sullivan, 2020 ONCA 333 2021 Charges withdrawn in casino case, Wei Wei 2024 R. v. Ali Nur, Court of Appeal enters an acquittal on first-degree murder charges − R. v. Shaw, 2024 ONCA 119; twin brothers granted new trial, alleged accomplice acquitted in 2016 "Pizza Pizza" murder case; court orders new trial in Toronto Pizza Pizza murder those skills can be learned. More impor- tantly, building a strong firm depends on understanding that partners, associates, and the work itself all thrive when someone is thoughtfully focused on creating the condi- tions for success behind the scenes.