Canadian Lawyer

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C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 35 Total lawyers: 31 lawyers Office: Mississauga Core practice areas: Business law; commercial litigation; commercial real estate; construction; insolvency and corporate restructuring; employment and labour; wills, estates, and trusts Key clients: HOOPP Realty Inc.; Peel District School Board; Stew- art Title Guaranty Co.; Parmalat Canada; Bayshore HealthCare Ltd.; Business Development Bank of Canada Notable mandates: Significant mandate in the construction proj- ects for Pan Am Games venues; acted as litigation counsel for AECOM Canada Ltd. in the successful resolution of a multi-party negligence claim related to the design and construction of the Brant Street Pier in Burlington, Ont.; acted on a number of trans- actions involving the purchase and sale of residential development lands in excess of $20 million each; represented Collins Barrow Toronto Ltd. in its capacity as the court-appointed receiver in a complex receivership with assets valued at approximately $20 mil- lion; acted for a high-net-worth individual on the assembly of a real estate portfolio with an objective of net revenues exceeding $10 million annually that involved co-ordination with local and international tax consultants to effectively structure Canadian and offshore assets and holdings. Star alumni: John Pallett, MP from 1954-1962; Sidney Valo, found- ing director and the first CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority; Thomas Santram, vice president (legal) at Cineplex Inc.; Robert Wasserman, director of legal services for Canada and Latin America, Starbucks Coffee Co.; Suzanne Michaud, senior advisory counsel at RBC law group; Maria Tassou, vice chair- woman of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board; Liana Tur- rin, general counsel and secretary of Altus Group Inc. Affiliations: Integrated Advisory Group — International. Firm history: It began with the establishment of Pallett & Pallett in 1948. The firm merged with Millman Valo in 1980 to become Pallett Valo LLP. After 1997, Pallett Valo changed its historical focus as a real estate firm to become a business law firm with spe- cialized practice groups. Having an office in Mississauga, home to many corporations' headquarters, is a definite advantage, accord- ing to managing partner Bobby Sachdeva, who also says the firm has benefited from big firm mergers. "There's a market for the taking if a firm our size, or slightly bigger or smaller, can adopt to what the marketplace now wants from us," says Sachdeva. "We look to get clients who've tradition- ally used bigger firms." At Pallett Valo, "They get it," one survey respondent wrote. "Their concept of right-sized thinking means that their clients get excellent service and exemplary work undertaken by the right lawyer or team." Total lawyers: 82 Office: Toronto Core practice areas: Corporate, including tax, technology, banking and insolvency; litigation, including construction, health, estate, and insurance defence; commercial real estate; employment and labour relations; family law Key clients: Apotex Inc.; Canada Goose Inc.; Fulcrum Capital Partners; Imperial Coffee and Services Inc.; SmartREIT; Spin Master Corp. Notable mandates: Acted for Spin Master Corp. in connection with its IPO and on several acquisitions and related financ- ing transactions; represented Canada Goose Inc. in the sale of a majority stake in the company to Bain Capital; acted for KUBRA Data Transfer in a variety of day-to-day matters and related acquisitions and financings as well as the ulti- mate sale of KUBRA by Clairvest and its management team; acted for Concordia Healthcare Inc. in connection with the financing and acquisition of various assets, and in its reverse takeover of a CPC and listing on the TSX; represented Frank Stollery Ltd. on the sale of 1 and 11 Bloor Street W., which housed the landmark retail store Stollery's for 114 years. Star alumni: David Butt, the first Canadian prosecutor to spe- cialize in Internet child abuse cases and counsel to Kinsa; Anne Giardini, chancellor of Simon Fraser University; Kim- berley McVittie, vice president of business management at CIBC; Caroline Pinto, managing principal at Counsel Public Affairs Inc.; mediator and arbitrator Michael Silver; Ian Tod, former chairman of Deloitte Legal; Kathleen Waters, presi- dent and CEO of LawPRO; Jennifer Wood, private banker at RBC. Affiliations: International Alliance of Law Firms (IALF)/Ally Law Firm history: In 1974, Larry Torkin, a corporate and tax lawyer, founded Torkin Manes with litigator Ron Manes. The duo, which declined offers from large Toronto law firms to form their own partnership, expanded the firm to six lawyers in 1979, when it developed practices in corporate, tax, real estate, and family law. Over the years, the firm's litigation practice expanded to include insur- ance defence, health, construction, and medical malpractice, while the corporate department grew and became known for providing comprehensive services to mid-market owner-operated com- panies. At Torkin Manes, "our partners are encouraged to think of themselves as owner-operators," says managing partner Jeffrey Cohen. "Accordingly, as a firm we relate very well to our clients. Our clients have trust and confidence that we understand what they do and will work with them as a team to provide proactive, strategic advice that will advance the success of their business." PALLETT VALO LLP PALLETTVALO.COM 5 TORKIN MANES LLP TORKINMANES.COM 4 TOP 10 ONTARIO REGIONAL FIRMS

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