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TOP ONTARIO REGIONAL FIRMS PALLETT VALO LLP PALLETTVALO.COM total lawyers: 31 office: Mississauga core practice areas: Commercial litigation; business law; insolvency and restructuring; construction law; commercial real estate Key clients: GE Commercial Distribution Finance Canada; HOOPP Realty Inc.; Peel District School Board; Stewart Title Guaranty Co.; Parmalat Canada Inc.; Bayshore Healthcare Ltd. Notable mandates: Counsel on Accor SA's sale of Motel 6 chain regarding Canadian assets worth about $30 million; litigation counsel to CourtCanada Ltd. in its multi-milliondollar lawsuit against the Ontario Government; acted in resolution of shareholder dispute in real estate holding companies valued at over $70 million; counsel to Harris & Partners Inc. in its capacity as CCAA monitor in restructuring of The Futura Loyalty Group Inc.; acted as vendor of assets of a Canadian company and U.S. affiliate valued at over $25 million to a U.S. private equity fund. star alumni: John Pallett, MP from 1954 to 1962; Sidney Valo, first CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority; Thomas Santram, vice president legal, Cineplex Entertainment LP; Robert Wasserman, director of legal services for Canada and Latin America, Starbucks Coffee Co.; BlaneyMcMurtry_CL_Sep_13.indd 1 Suzanne Michaud, senior advisory counsel at RBC law group; Maria Tassou, vice chairwoman of Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; Liana Turrin, general counsel of Altus Group Ltd. affiliations: Integrated Advisory Group — International the firm: The firm traces it roots to 1948 with the establishment of Pallett & Pallett, which merged in 1980 with Millman Valo to ultimately become Pallett Valo LLP. After 1997, Pallett Valo changed its historical focus as a real estate firm to become a business law firm with specialized practice groups. Pallett Valo feels it has benefitted from sophisticated clients seeing the value in using mid-market firms on substantial mandates. "In general most firms do not provide the corresponding value one should expect in light of the substantial costs of all legal matters," said one respondent, before praising Pallett Valo's "ability, talent, responsiveness, and reputation." Managing partner Anne Kennedy says there are positives to not having "layers of lawyers," and senior lawyers at Pallett Valo are often more involved in files than at larger firms. Being based in the Greater Toronto Area — outside Toronto but close to plenty of corporate headquarters — is another advantage, she feels. "Most of our work comes from Ontario — we're looking to expand our ability to provide services, or a network of referrals, in other jurisdictions," she adds. www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m 8 13-08-15 3:00 PM September 2013 43