Gowling WLG Canada is pleased to announce the admission of 19 professionals to its partnership. Spanning the firm's Canadian offices, the new partners have a diverse range of expertise in the areas of corporate commercial, employment, Indigenous, intellectual property and tax law, as well as commercial and civil litigation.
"Every day, these skilled professionals champion the firm's commitment to clients, delivering practical, industry-specific solutions to help them grow their businesses and succeed around the world," said Peter Lukasiewicz, Gowling WLG Canada CEO. "It's this steadfast dedication to client service - complemented by an extraordinary depth of expertise and diversity of industry experience - that makes these new partners such exemplary additions to the firm's partnership."
Gowling WLG's 19 new partners are:
Timothy Bailey - Patents/Intellectual Property, Calgary
Melissa Binns - IP Litigation, Hamilton
Nicolas Cayouette - Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Montréal
Michelle Easton - Trademarks/Intellectual Property, Ottawa
Michael Garellek - Securities, M&A and Financial Institutions Regulatory, Montréal
Josée Gervais - Employment, Labour & Equalities, Montréal
Laura Gheorghiu - Tax, Montréal
Colin Green - Tax/Corporate Commercial, Ottawa
Gregory Hoff - Insurance & Professional Liability, Vancouver
Jaimie Lickers - Indigenous Law, Hamilton
Neil McCormick - Corporate Commercial, Ottawa
Kevin O'Neill - Patents, Ottawa
Michael O'Neill - Trademarks, Ottawa
Scott Smith - Indigenous Law, Vancouver
Katie Stys - Medical Defence, Calgary
Faran Umar-Khitab - Corporate Finance M&A and Private Equity, Toronto
Laura Van Soelen - Commercial Litigation, Toronto
Benoit Yelle - Patents, Montréal
Alex Zavaglia - Commercial Litigation, Toronto
Patents/Intellectual Property, Calgary
Qualified in both Ontario and Alberta, Timothy Bailey advises clients on a range of intellectual property matters - with an emphasis on the oil and gas, cleantech, pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. A registered patent and trademark agent in Canada and the United States, he also advises clients on patent filing and enforcement strategies. He holds a PhD in physiology from Western University.
IP Litigation, Hamilton
An accomplished IP lawyer, Melissa Binns focuses her practice on patent and trademark enforcement and litigation, pharmaceutical regulatory law, and copyright litigation and licensing. Her experience spans a range of sectors, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, apparel, computer software and information technology, domain names, branding and famous trademarks. Melissa is also a registered trademark agent and regularly represents clients in trademark opposition and expungement proceedings.
Commercial Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Montréal
A seasoned civil and commercial litigator, Nicolas Cayouette specializes in insurance, construction, and environmental law, as well as manufacturer liability. Over the course of his career, he has cultivated a unique expertise in complex and technical disputes, particularly in the areas of engineering and construction. Fluently bilingual, Nicolas practices law in both English and French. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal.
Trademarks/Intellectual Property, Ottawa
Michelle Easton has more than a decade of experience in intellectual property law, with a focus on trademark searching, prosecution, opposition and cancellation proceedings, litigation, licensing, and opinion work. Michelle's expertise also includes managing and strategically advising on the global trademark portfolios of Canadian and international clients across a range of sectors, as well as Internet-related intellectual property issues, particularly with respect to enforcement.
Michael Garellek
Securities, M&A and Financial Institutions Regulatory, Montreal
With high-level expertise in financial regulation, compliance and corporate law, Michael Garellek focuses his practice on securities, mergers and acquisitions, and financial institutions regulatory matters - including issues related to insurance, banking, privacy, anti-money laundering and terrorist financing. A licensed chartered professional accountant, Michael served as an inspector with the Autorité des marchés financiers and an auditor with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada before joining Gowling WLG.
Employment, Labour & Equalities Montréal
Practising in both French and English, Josée Gervais advises and represents unionized and non-unionized employers in high-stakes employment and labour law matters. Her practice includes drafting employment contracts, creating and implementing employment policies and procedures, and negotiating collective agreements. Josée also counsels employers in the areas of occupational health and safety, pay equity, human rights, privacy legislation, and the application of labour standards.
Tax, Montréal
Laura Gheorghiu counsels individuals and businesses on international and domestic tax structures and tax dispute resolution matters. A frequent writer and speaker at the Canadian Tax Foundation, she serves as the editor of the Taxation of Executive Compensation and Retirement journal and is a co-author of Business Guide to Environmental Law. Laura holds a bachelor's of business administration and a master's degree in tax law.
Tax/Corporate Commercial, Ottawa
Colin Green's practice focuses on a range of intricate tax and corporate commercial law issues. In addition to providing general tax planning advice to corporations and individuals, Colin counsels clients on corporate reorganizations, inbound and outbound investments, and a variety of domestic and international transactions - including mergers and acquisitions, financings and restructurings. He is often sought by financial and insurance institutions to speak on tax-related topics.
Gregory S. Hoff
Insurance & Professional Liability, Vancouver
Gregory Hoff's practice focuses on insurance and corporate commercial litigation, as well as personal injury matters. A skilled negotiator with extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution, Gregory applies creative problem-solving to all aspects of the litigation process, and has appeared before all levels of court in B.C. Prior to joining Gowling WLG, he worked as in-house counsel for a large insurance corporation.
Jaimie Lickers
Indigenous Law, Hamilton
With appearances in landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada, Jaimie Lickers has emerged as one of the country's leading Indigenous lawyers. In addition to her litigation experience, she is a noted authority on drafting, structuring and amending First Nations trusts, and acts as counsel on First Nations tax matters, general construction matters and disputes, and regulatory and environmental issues.
Corporate Commercial, Ottawa
Neil McCormick works with diverse clients in Ottawa and beyond to draft and negotiate a variety of commercial arrangements. Neil also has extensive expertise in the not-for-profit sector, where he assists charities and other not-for-profit organizations with a broad range of matters, including incorporations, amalgamations, restructurings, dissolutions, compliance, member relations and other corporate governance issues.
Patents, Ottawa
A registered patent agent in both Canada and the United States, Kevin O'Neill focuses on patent and industrial design prosecution in the electrical and mechanical fields. His practice has an emphasis on originating patent drafting and prosecution for Canadian high-tech clients, from startups to large corporations. Kevin brings experience with a range of technologies, including optical networks, image processing and agricultural equipment.
Michael O'Neill
Trademarks/Intellectual Property, Ottawa
With a broad range of expertise in all aspects of trademark law, Michael O'Neill advises clients on the acquisition, protection and enforcement of trademark rights in Canada and around the world. An accomplished litigator, Michael has appeared before the Trademarks Opposition Board, the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal, and teaches a course on intellectual property litigation at the University of Ottawa.
Indigenous Law, Vancouver
Scott Smith has extensive experience advising Indigenous peoples and companies across Canada on Indigenous, environmental assessment, regulatory and constitutional issues for major energy and natural resource projects. Scott is involved in many high-profile regulatory hearings and related litigation, and has negotiated precedent-setting government-to-government and impact benefit agreements.
Medical Defence/Litigation, Calgary
With experience before regulatory bodies and all levels of court in Alberta, Katie Stys has developed an extensive civil litigation practice, emphasizing medical defence, health law, professional liability and commercial litigation. She represents the interests of physicians, psychologists, engineers and other professionals, as well as companies, including natural resource developers and utilities. She also serves as vice-chair of the Canadian Bar Association's Health Law Section for Alberta South.
Corporate Finance M&A and Private Equity, Toronto
With a growing practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate governance, Faran Umar-Khitab advises a range of clients on public and private M&A, equity and debt offerings, joint ventures, commercial agreements, and more. In addition to his legal training, he holds a bachelor of commerce degree from Trinity College at the University of Toronto, and is fluent in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Laura Van Soelen
Energy/Commercial Litigation, Toronto
Known for having a practical, solution-focused approach, Laura Van Soelen represents both domestic and international clients in the energy industry in regulatory proceedings, arbitrations, complex litigation and commercial negotiations. Her clients are leaders in the nuclear, renewable, and oil and gas sectors. Laura is also actively involved in pro bono work.
Benoit Yelle
Patents, Montréal
Recognized by Who's Who Legal as one of Canada's leading patent agents, Benoit Yelle works with a diverse Canadian and international clientele, helping them protect their intellectual property at home and abroad. Prior to joining Gowling WLG, he worked as a patent engineer and patent agent for a large telecommunications company. Benoit is fluently bilingual, and a registered patent agent in both Canada and the U.S.
Commercial Litigation, Toronto
An experienced litigator, Alex Zavaglia has successfully acted for clients in a range of commercial matters, from class actions and securities to competition/antitrust and general civil disputes. He has appeared in cases before the Supreme Court of Canada and all levels of court in Ontario, as well as the Ontario Securities Commission, representing clients in regulatory investigations related to fraud, misrepresentation and illegal distributions.