The Benchmark Canada Awards have once again distinguished Gowling WLG as home to one of the country's top litigation practices, honouring the firm with one of four Impact Case of the Year awards at last night's gala in Toronto.

Gowling WLG was given the award for its representation of Ernst & Young Inc. in the appeal of its unprecedented oppression claim amid the corporate restructuring proceedings of Essar Steel Algoma Inc. - one of Canada's largest integrated steel mills.

Ernst & Young, the monitor in the restructuring, brought the claim against parent company Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), along with other related companies, with respect to a transaction that transferred Algoma's port facilities in Sault Ste. Marie to Port of Algoma Inc., one of EGFL's indirect subsidiaries.

Prior to this case, a monitor had never before acted as an oppression claimant. However, in December 2017, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that a court may indeed authorize a monitor to step beyond its traditionally neutral role to commence adversarial litigation connected to a corporate restructuring.

Clifton Prophet and Derrick Tay accepted the award on behalf of the Ernst & Young Inc. team, which also comprised Nicholas Kluge, Michael Watson, Mark Crane, Brent Arnold, Alex Zavaglia, Delna Contractor, Marco Romeo, and clerk Gretel Best. Articling students who assisted on the file included Olivia Lifman, Elizabeth Kurz, Connia Chen, Cathleen Brennan, and Adam Bazak.

Hosted annually by Benchmark Litigation - the only publication to focus exclusively on litigation practices - the Benchmark Canada Awards distinguish the leading litigators and top litigation law firms from around the country and across a range of practice areas.

With more than 1,500 legal professionals in 18 cities across Canada, the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Gowling WLG delivers comprehensive, practical and strategic solutions that address a broad range of litigation matters - both in the courtroom and through negotiation and alternative dispute resolution - so that clients can achieve their desired results as quickly as possible.