Mary Thomson, a partner in the Toronto office of Gowlings, has once again been recognized as one of Canada’s top litigators by Benchmark Litigation in the fourth edition of The Top 25 Women in Litigation (Canada). The top 25 were selected after an extensive research process that included peer and client interviews, and an examination of their most recent casework.
One of Canada’s pre-eminent litigators, Thomson serves as head of Gowlings’ firm-wide Advocacy Group and leader of its Product Liability Group. Over the past three decades, she has represented clients in some of the country’s most high-profile legal matters, including class actions and mass tort litigation, public inquiries, and administrative tribunals. She has appeared in courts across Canada on matters involving product liability, particularly in the pharma and medical devices area, in health law, consent law, privacy law and more.
Thomson has been repeatedly singled out as a top legal practitioner by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Who’s Who Legal and other leading directories. In 2013, Thomson was awarded the prestigious Lexpert Zenith Award for her extraordinary leadership in the legal profession.
In addition to her legal practice, Thomson has taught both trial advocacy and negotiation theory. For more than a decade, she was an adjunct professor in the graduate department of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, instructing in ethical and legal issues related to health law. She also serves as chair of Outward Bound International.
Thomson is the latest Gowlings lawyer to be recognized by Benchmark Litigation and its publications, which identify leading litigation lawyers and firms around the world. This year, 36 Gowlings professionals were recognized as top-tier litigators in the 2015 edition of Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys.
Gowlings also had its strongest showing to date at the 2015 Benchmark Canada Awards gala, winning four of the evening’s top litigation honours — more awards than any other law firm. Gowlings was named the Canadian litigation “firm of the year” in two categories: Insurance and Medical Defence/Health. In addition, Gowlings partner David Bishop was named Canadian “litigator of the year” for Insurance, and “litigator of the year” for Alberta.