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Daniel Desjardins Senior vice president and general counsel, Bombardier Inc., Montreal Daniel Desjardins is a member of Bombardier's management committee and in that capacity is very closely involved in all strategic initiatives of the Montreal-based global transportation company. Desjardins is a very "hands-on" general counsel, being closely involved in corporate transactions (for example, two significant refinanc- ing initiatives in March and November 2010) as well as guiding the legal team. Of note, under his watch, Bombardier released its Corporate Social Responsibility report last November which was rated AAA by RiskMetrics and Bombardier is now included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index. He is very well respected by his colleagues at Bombardier, the external counsel around the globe with whom he works, and his peers in the Canadian corporate counsel community. Lori Evans General counsel, Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc., Toronto Lori Evans has been involved in a tremendous number of deals recently, including the 14-month effort that finally saw Birch Hill Equity Partners selling its 60-per-cent stake in Marsulex Inc. to Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund for $420 million in cash. Before joining Birch Hill, Evans was in-house counsel for companies with operations throughout North America. Prior to that she was in private practice with Goodmans LLP and McCarthy Tétrault LLP. She also sits on the international committee of Canada's Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. Evans was a finalist in the mid-market excellence category of the 2010 Canadian General Counsel Awards. Anne Giardini President and general counsel of Weyerhaeuser Co. Ltd., Vancouver Anne Giardini has used her significant influence to advocate for the presence of women in law and corporate Canada. She is also a bestsell- ing author and very active in her community. She has spent much of her career as in-house counsel. At Weyerhaeuser, one of the world's largest forest products companies, she works closely with senior management in Canada and the United States. She is also a member of Simon Fraser University's board of governors. Earlier this year she was honoured by the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association with an award recognizing her leadership and exceptional contributions to the devel- opment or promotion of the corporate counsel bar. "Her active involvement in the in-house community, along with her writing on substantive legal issues important to all corporate lawyers, combine to make her the ideal candidate and winner," said CCCA chairman Robert Patzelt. Martine Turcotte Executive vice president and chief legal officer, BCE Inc., Montreal In addition to guiding an in-house team of close to six dozen lawyers, Turcotte oversees the awarding of external work to the offices of nine big law firms with offices in Montreal. As a board member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, she has spoken out publicly about the need for better rates from big firms. In that capacity, she has also been instrumental in increasing the reach of the ACC in Canada and working to improve legal education for in-house lawyers. She first joined BCE in 1988 as legal counsel. She is also a board member at McGill University and a member of the University of British Columbia Dean's Advisory Committee for the National Center for Business Law. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com A U GUST 2011 33 W o P ha t er s v ies nif o t te hrs e haden t o g s a co era l y : " A e l la aw sy t s er ' un s s t a a l esma w y n.er " w i t h ex ce l len t b u sin es s in s t in c ts. W ha t v o t e rs had t o s a y : " W ha t a s t a r ; p er s o na b le a n d en er g et ic! " W r ha t W en df un oo ha t p v ; o t rs es a e don er w g o y ma had m eo v c n o t h t e er s ha p r y cr te hhie I yn o ac : a t a n e di er e b l v " n o o t ea et-n y 5-f " len t . e td; hin a o b g,un 100- d le Mus ho a e the ur t bin re . ins i d ie s p aa r t ne l T" a co t t e had le ue t o s ader y t: h " eTh C a in er a e nadi i s n a o n do in- u b t IN-HOUSE COUNSEL