Gowling WLG and its clients received multiple awards at the inaugural Canadian Law Awards, which were presented yesterday in an online ceremony.

The firm took home the prizes for "Class Action Team of the Year" for its work in the historic Day School Class Action and "Insolvency & Restructuring Deal of the Year" for its contribution to the Catalyst Paper Restructuring, both of which are highlighted in greater detail below:

Day School Class Action

In August 2019, the Federal Court approved the $1.47-billion Day School Class Action settlement agreement, which recognizes the harms suffered by Indigenous students who attended Federal Indian Day Schools and Federal Day Schools across Canada. Until the settlement of the DSCA, the significant harms experienced by day school students had not been recognized by Canada.

A national team led by partners Robert Winogron, Jeremy Bouchard, Mary Thomson and Brian Crane were honoured as serving as counsel to the plaintiff class in this landmark case.

Catalyst Paper Restructuring

Gowling WLG acted for the syndicate of senior secured lenders to Catalyst Paper, a large manufacturer of diverse papers headquartered in British Columbia, in connection with two major transactions. These transactions resulted in the sale of all of Catalyst Paper's operations in Canada and the United States and a significant return to its shareholders after repayment in full or assumption of all of its indebtedness and liabilities.

The firm's team was led by Lilly Wong and Clifton Prophet, and included Christopher Alam, Joel Camley, Kelby Carter, Thomas Gertner and Ian Macdonald.

In addition to the above-mentioned awards, the firm is pleased to share that the clients listed below were also distinguished at this year's ceremony:

  • BMO received the "Banking & Financial Institutions Law Department of the Year" award
  • Bell Canada received the "Canadian Law Department of the Year" award
  • Kerry O'Reilly Wilks of TransAlta Corp received the "Law Department Leader of the Year" award

Hosted by KeyMedia and presented by Gowling WLG, the Canadian Law Awards distinguish Canada's leading law firms, in-house legal teams, individuals and landmark deals over the past year. Gowling WLG extends a warm congratulations to all of this year's winners and finalists.