Top Lawyers In Canada

Justice Ian Nordheimer

Judge, Ontario Supreme Court, Toronto, Ont. Nordheimer's name is becoming synonymous with class actions suits largely due to his ruling, which overturned Justice Edward Belobaba's conclusion in a high-profile situation on carriage in the Barrick Gold class action lawsuit. Nordheimer given the losing coalition of law firms leave to appeal Belobaba's decision at the Divisional Court. He is likely the strongest Superior Court degree judge in the nation using a decade on the bench and produces perhaps the greatest number of thorough judgments each year in comparison to some trial level estimate. He's famous for his quick wit and sharp conclusions. In the last year, Nordheimer has made a significant splash from the legal community by upholding a professional discipline penalty for present LSUC bencher Joe Groia and releasing data that revealed Rob Ford was the topic of a police investigation.What that the panel had to say: He is the sort of judge that should be on the Court of Appeal... or greater. A judge of complete integrity.

Sara Cohen

Creator, Fertility Law Canada at D2Law LLP, Toronto, Ont. Cohen has devoted her career to two actions that have changed the practice of fertility legislation to the better in Canada and beyond. She has spent hundreds of hours training and teaching on the field of fertility as a adjunct professor, at home and overseas. Her collegiality in a notoriously competitive region of the law, really underlines Cohen's dedication to improving the practice of fertility legislation. More importantly she pushes for change she wishes to see in this burgeoning area of law. Current lobbying attempts are certain to pay off; one of them to obtain coverage for in vitro fertilization services through Ontario's health plan in addition to changes to the family law legislation that would explain a sperm donor is not a parent only by virtue of being a donor. Finally, she is the very first adjunct professor in the country to offer a course solely dedicated to reproductive law in Canada, helping clear the route for future field professionals. What voters had to say: Sara has been instrumental in improving the legislation in assisted reproductive technologies. Genuinely cares about her field of expertise. This isn't just a task for Sara, it is her passion.

Justice Murray Sinclair

Chairman, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg, Man. A rare write-in candidate winner with this season 's Best 25, Sinclair was on the list this past year, making headlines in June with the release of the summary of the record of the TRC along with 94 recommendations to remedy the cultural genocide of Canada's residential college system. Over six years, Sinclair directed the TRC hearing the tales of over 7,000 survivors of sexual, physical, and psychological abuse. Sinclair, that had been the first aboriginal judge in Manitoba, was initially appointed to the provincial court in which he became associate leader in 1988 and then elevated to the Court of Queen's Bench in 2001. He was co-commissioner of Manitoba's Aboriginal Justice Inquiry in 1988 and presided over a 2000 inquest into the deaths of 12 infants at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre. Sinclair expects to complete the commission's full report in the not too distant future, after which he will choose whether to return to court or retire and advocate for indigenous rights full-time, canada immigration startup visa.

Mark Tamminga

Partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Hamilton, Ont. Tamminga has committed his career to automating lawful practices. His information technologies focus began in 1986 while he was still a law student and has been given the task of systemizing the manufacturing environment for files. Ever since that time, Tamminga's capability for legal technology has only grown with Gowlings LLP. Three years back, he had been named Gowlings' Innovation Initiatives leader. He's in charge of automating the Gowlings recovery services clinic. He's designed and built a number of additional practice systems in the fields of debt collection, loan positioning, and civil litigation. His role has demanded re-thinking the thornier aspects of large business operations: managing cultural change, inducing client-side believing, and building the compensation mechanics, which drive new behavior. What the panel had to say: Tamminga has shown real vision in tackling tough issues that many law firms aren't quite prepared to take on.

Lorne Waldman

Waldman & Associates, Toronto, Ont. Waldman is a great defender of refugees, immigrants, and human rights. He's won a variety of significant successes, such as healthcare for refugees in Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care v. Canada along with a woman's best to wear the niqab whilst producing her citizenship oath at Ishaq v. Canada with his partner Naseem Mithoowani. He also contended at the Supreme Court of Canada at J.P. v. Canada and G.J. v. Canada, that Canada's anti-human smuggling provisions should consist of asylum seekers participating in mutual assistance. In addition to Peter Edelmann, he acted on behalf of the CBA from the Harkat case prior to the SCC in 2014. On the international stage, he symbolizes Mohamed Fahmy (along with Amal Clooney), the Canadian journalist working for Al Jazeera. He's also been a vocal opponent of Bill C-51 and changes to Canada's citizenship law. What voters had to say: Lorne educated us all, especially today, to preserve democracy and to maintain the rule of law.

Murray Klippenstein

Creator, Klippensteins Barristers & Solicitors, Toronto, Ont. Back to the second year on the Top 25, Klippenstein's ongoing representation of 13 members of this indigenous Mayan Q'eqchi' population from El Estor, Guatemala, continues to make waves. Three related suits are before the Ontario courts against Canadian mining firm Hudbay Minerals over the brutal killing of Adolfo Ich along with the gang rape of 11 women from Lote Ocho. In a precedent-setting judgment in July of 2013, an Ontario court determined that lawsuits could proceed to trial in Canada over the objections of Hudbay Minerals. At home he's also taking on the big guys in a situation against Encana Corp. which 's hard the law and practice of hydraulic fracking at Canada. What voters had to say: Kudos for standing up for, upholding Canadian values, wherever we operate.