Torys wins multiple awards at the inaugural Canadian Law Awards

Torys is delighted to announce that we have been recognized in five categories at the 2020 inaugural Canadian Law Awards.

We would like to congratulate former Managing Partner, Les Viner, who was awarded Managing Partner of the Year. Les was Torys’ Managing Partner until March 31, 2020, a position he held for 22 years. 

We are also excited to announce that Chair of our Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, Linda Plumpton—who played a leading role in a number of high-stakes, complex litigation matters in 2019—was named Litigator of the Year.

In addition to the two individual awards, three deals Torys advised on in 2019 were also recognized:

Capital Markets Deal of the Year: TransAlta strategic partnership with Brookfield

Torys acted for Brookfield in its C$750 million investment and strategic arrangement with TransAlta Corporation for an equity ownership interest in Transalta’s Alberta hydro assets. Under the terms of the agreement, funds controlled by Brookfield invested C$750 million in TransAlta through the purchase of securities, convertible into an equity ownership interest in TransAlta's Alberta hydro assets in the future.

The transaction was led by Karrin Powys-Lybbe (corporate/M&A), Neville Jugnauth and Janan Paskaran (corporate/securities) and supported by Chris Christopher and Daniel Masliyah (corporate/securities) and John Tobin and Craig Maurice (tax).

Infrastructure and Projects Deal of the Year: Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project

The largest First Nations-led infrastructure project in Canadian history involving Wataynikaneyap Power, a partnership between 24 First Nations and FortisOntario Inc. The Wataynikaneyap transmission project is a 1,725 km system connecting 17 remote First Nations communities to the provincial electricity system in Northwestern Ontario. The project is due to be completed in 2023.

Torys is acting as project counsel to Wataynikaneyap Power with a team that includes Valerie Helbronner, Adam Banack, Henry Ren, Marshall Rossiter and Claire Chapman (projects), Charles Keizer, Jonathan Myers and Tim Pavlov (energy regulatory), Valerie Helbronner, Jonathan Weisz, Simon Williams, Jacob Weinstock and Erin Shin (financing), Dennis Mahony and Tyson Dyck (environmental) and Andy Gibbons (real estate).

M&A Deal of the Year: Air Canada acquires Aeroplan

Torys represented the consortium, consisting of Air Canada, TD Bank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Visa Canada, in connection with the C$2.4 billion acquisition of the Aeroplan loyalty program from Aimia Inc.

With more than 30 award categories, the Canadian Law Awards honour leading law firms, in-house legal teams, individuals and landmark deals over the past year. You can view the full list of winners on the Canadian Law Awards website.