Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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Peter Rozee named Western Canada GC of the Year Lisa Skakun, general counsel at He was a reluctant nominee, but Peter Rozee of Teck Resources Ltd., has been named the Western Canada General Counsel of the Year for 2011. Over the past 10 years Rozee, who is senior vice president commercial and legal affairs at Teck Resources, has been involved in a number of large transactions, including the company's $14.8-billion purchase of the Fording River coal mine and its $825-million sale of its stake in the Waneta hydro- electric dam. Rozee has been with the mining company since 2001. Prior to that, he was general counsel with mining company Inmet Mining Corp. Before going in-house, he was in private prac- tice with Torys LLP. He was nominated by François Tougas of McMillan LLP. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, took home the Western Canada Tomor- row's Leader award. As the first in-house counsel for Coast Capital, Skakun started the com- pany's legal department from scratch two years ago. Skakun worked to make the credit union's legal documents more user friendly by, for example, paring down its mortgage documenta- tion to eight pages in plain language from 37 pages. "To be seen as a strategic business partner in-house — that is my goal," says Skakun. "Then it's to get our out- side counsel on board with that, too. They need to be a strategic business partner and deliver their products in an innovative way." RELY ON THE OFFICIAL REFERENCE OF THE ONTARIO MINISTRY OF LABOUR EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS ACT 2000 – POLICY AND INTERPRETATION MANUAL PREPARED BY THE ONTARIO MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES BRANCH Written and used by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, this manual shows you word-for-word how the Ministry is interpreting and implementing every provision of the Act. This practical looseleaf is updated twice annually so you get the Ministry's view on new changes and developments as they happen. You get convenient access to the current legislation and the expert interpretation that will help you provide effective solutions for your clients. NEW IN 2010/2011 • Changes to the ESA claims investigation process Peter Rozee of Teck Resources Ltd. "He's smart, humble, and easy to work with. It's a wicked combination," says Tougas, noting Rozee originally declined to be nominated. "This is a guy who drives M&A deals, co- ordinates counsel, and does a lot of the legal work himself. He's operating at a whole different level than most GCs. A lot of GCs look like traffic cops. They get in litigation problems and then decide whom it should go to. That's not the way Peter operates. His footprint is all over that place." Rozee oversees a department of 11 lawyers spread across offices in Cana- da, the United States, and Chile. This was the second annual West- ern Canada General Counsel awards, which take place every two years. INHOUSE DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 • 45 • Clarification of policy regarding temporary lay-offs • Employment protection for foreign nationals • Regulations regarding temporary help agencies ORDER # 927712X-61654 $380 2 volume looseleaf annual subscription service 2 releases per year 0-459-27712-X Shipping and handling are extra. Price subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Order online at www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800