The most widely read magazine for Canadian lawyers
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1547060
18 www.canadianlawyermag.com TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS 2026 A MANAGING PARTNER rebuilt her firm's compensation system around who actually mentors the next generation. A lawyer funded a disability-rights program himself rather than wait years for a grant. A litigator turned a coroner's review into provincial law. A firm became the first in Canada to put AI in front of every lawyer it employs. An immigration lawyer fought the same case in two courts at once – one judicial, one public. None of them waited for the profession to catch up. Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influen- tial Lawyers in Canada honours the 25 people BUILDING THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN LAW building what the profession needs before anyone asks them to: new departments, new compensation models, new legislation, new technology. Artificial intelligence runs through part of this year's list, adoption has more than doubled in 12 months, and it's forcing hard questions about what a lawyer is actually for, but it's one current among several, not the whole story. Now in its 17th year, Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, were selected across five categories. The names change every year, but the pattern doesn't. Last year's roster shows the throughline that connects both editions. As Hilary Young, PhD, professor and acting associate dean at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) Faculty of Law, puts it, today's legal leaders have to find ways to work efficiently without closing off the path future leaders need to develop the same skills and knowledge. That balance, using new tools without hollowing out the profession's future, runs through every category on this year's list. This year's winners cluster in seven cities, and Toronto alone accounts for more than half the list, weighted heavily toward human rights and in-house leadership. The other three categories spread out from there. Business This year's business honourees are steering Canada through a period of real market pres- sure. Martha Harrison and Raj Juneja, both at McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto, are carrying the trade law and tax files that matter most as Canada-US trade tension reshapes cross- border deal-making. In Montreal, Shahir Guindi at Osler and Claudia Desjardins Bélisle at Miller Thomson LLP are anchoring the country's two largest deal markets outside Toronto, while Yola Ventresca in London, ON, shows that business influ- ence increasingly means firm governance, not just billable transactions. Her overhaul of Lerners' advancement and mentorship structures is as much a business story as a changemaker one. SEVEN NUMBERS BEHIND THIS YEAR'S TOP 25 17,862 reader votes helped select this year's 25 winners from 121 qualifying nominees in the report's 17th annual edition #1 theme this year is artificial intelligence, touching ethics, bias research, policy, and contract automation alike 7 cities are represented across the list, though more than half of winners cluster in Toronto alone 69% of legal professionals now report personal use of generative AI, more than double last year's adoption rate 61% of Canadians trust the courts, and that trust is being tested by major rulings still under appeal or reserve 5 categories define this year's list, from litigation and policy to in-house leadership and firm governance 0 winners were chosen for title or seniority alone; influence this year belongs to those building new structures from nothing SPECIAL REPORT