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time I dealt with her one-on-one — she was very tenacious and recognized the strengths and weaknesses of our posi- tion. I realized then what a fantastic lawyer she was." It was soon after Kiser asked Glendin- ning to build the litigation team for the cases coming along in Canada. Almost immediately, he says, he set out for her how he wanted the structure of the team to unfold. "We've got distinct roles: she's the field general, the boots on the ground — the one who will be trying these cases with her counterparts. My job is to make sure we're getting along with our par- ent company and that our strategies are aligned and communicating fully with our co-defendants at every level. It's all about getting everyone singing off the same sheet at the same time," says Kiser. "We want to make sure that when we do show up in court to say something we are in agreement, and we can agree to disagree with the other side as opposed to with ourselves." Osler represents Imperial on the litiga- tion front, supported by local counsel in the jurisdictions where Imperial is fac- ing legal challenges. Imperial has other firms that work on commercial litigation and business and tax matters, but on the tobacco litigation Osler is the primary firm. The legal team knows 2012 will be an exceedingly busy year on many fronts: the trials in the Quebec class actions and other challenges in other provinces will be ramping up quickly. While the international tobacco com- panies have been engaged in litigation around the world for many years and have established views and ways of doing things, Glendinning and Kiser It's not that I have to defer to them — they won't always agree with me but they always want me to push back as hard as I feel is ap- propriate so they get the benefit of my advice and my experience and that's not always the way it works. Actually, most of the time that's not the way it works. DEBORAH GLENDINNING, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP When you need a law firm that's plugged into your business... Your lawyer. Your law firm. Your business advisor. BennettJones-1_IH_Dec_11.indd 1 INHOUSE DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 • 11-11-25 10:29 AM 21