Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A u g u s t 2 0 1 4 35 CORPORATE-COMMERCIAL What voters had to say: "Simon is an incredibly inspirational leader, he is humble and approachable, he takes the time to get to [know] employees, he is committed to employee advancement, and has a keen passion for people. He is a role model and a leader." MOST INFLUENTIAL TOP THE THE FORMER PREMIER OF ONTARIO and MP for Toronto Centre is an aboriginal rights activist on a mission. Rae resigned from his role in Parliament in July 2013 so he could join Olthuis Kleer Townshend, a law firm that specializes in aboriginal law. The former interim head of the federal Liberal Party is now the chief negotiator for nine dif- ferent First Nations groups in talks with the Ontario government on opening up their land for development of the Ring of Fire. He is also a senior adviser to the Mississaugas of the New Credit, and works with the First Nations Group Ltd. Partnership in British Columbia. What the panel had to say: "Bob Rae has re- ally moved beyond the political and is using his skill and knowledge in a new and important role." SENIOR PARTNER, OLTHUIS KLEER TOWNSHEND LLP, TORONTO BOB RAE SIMON FISH GENERAL COUNSEL, BMO FINANCIAL GROUP, TORONTO NAMED CANADA'S GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE YEAR in 2013, Fish "is reshaping the external counsel relationship model, encouraging greater diversity, and being a leader in sustainability." At BMO, Fish is responsible for the overall legal affairs of the bank, including the compliance, corporate security, and corporate secretarial functions. In 2013, under Fish's guid- ance, BMO became one of the first financial institutions in Canada to ask its external law firms to report on diversity metrics of their workforces. Last year, he advised the bank's board on a new board diversity policy which it adopted: this policy commits BMO to board composition in which each gender comprises no less than one-third of the independent directors and the promise of public disclosure. BMO also now expects 40 per cent of its executives to be women by the end of 2016. Prior to working at BMO, Fish served as executive-vice president at Vale Inco, worked as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Shell Canada, and practised cor- porate and securities law with international law firm Dechert LLP. MANAGING PARTNER, LENCZNER SLAGHT ROYCE SMITH GRIFFIN LLP, TORONTO PETER GRIFFIN GRIFFIN IS A TOP LITIGATOR, with experience in corporate-com- mercial litigation, class actions, securities matters, insolvency, and professional and director/officer liability. He also has experience in complex cross-border litigation, where he has appeared before fellow Top 25 honouree Justice Geoffrey Morawetz. Griffin was lead counsel, with Peter Osborne and Shara Roy, for the defendant auditors of Sino-Forest Corp. in connection with a $9-billion shareholder class action. They negotiated the settlement and a CCAA settlement structure, which was resolved against EY at $117 million with no possibil- ity that claims for contribution and indemnity by co-defendants or claims by opted-out class members could ever arise against EY after the settlement was completed. What the panel had to say: "Griffi n, who has experience in the growing area of cross-bor- der litigation, was a major force in leading his team to achieving the EY settlement, considered the largest ever by an auditor in Canada to settle a class action lawsuit." SaNdRa StRaNGemoRe blaiR Gable/ReuteRS

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