Rebecca Torrance

Penny Georgoudis is a partner at Beard Winter LLP and a member of the firm’s Insurance Litigation Group. A seasoned civil litigator with more than 30 years of experience in the area of insurance defence, Penny acts on behalf of numerous insurers throughout Ontario on tort and negligence claims, property and casualty, product liability, coverage issues, commercial insurance, and general liability claims. She regularly appears before all levels of Ontario Courts, representing clients at t...

Charles is a senior Partner and head of the Construction Law Group at Shibley Righton LLP. Charles represents clients involved in construction defaults, delay claims, construction liens, trust claims, insolvency, surety bond and professional liability actions. He appears before all levels of courts in Ontario and has also appeared before several tribunals and inquests. Construction cases are regularly mediated as an efficient alternative to litigating and Charles has developed an expertise in...

Justice Harry S. LaForme is Anishinabe and a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation located in southern Ontario. He was born and raised mainly on his reserve where some of his family continue to reside and remain active in that First Nation's government. Justice LaForme graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1977 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1979. He articled with the law firm of Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt; joined the firm as an associate; and, after a brief time...

Ingrid VanderElst is co-chair of the Ontario region’s Life Sciences group. Regularly assisting clients in the health products and related service industries, Ingrid advises on regulatory and intellectual property issues. Clients include pharmaceutical, natural health product, medical device, cosmetic and food manufacturers, as well as pharmacy and laboratory services providers and agri-business operators. On the regulatory side, Ingrid has assisted clients with product licensing, establ...

Colin Smith is a partner in the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP. Colin’s practice covers all income tax matters relating to domestic and foreign business ventures and administrative appeals to the Canada Revenue Agency. However, Colin has a particular focus on the taxation of private corporations and estate planning for high net-worth clients. Colin is a frequent lecturer and contributor to various tax publications. Colin has published various articles in the Federated Press’...

Nate is a solution-oriented advocate with a broad commercial litigation practice across a wide range of industries, including renewable energy, commercial real estate, financial services and telecommunications. His experience includes major contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, director and officer liability, insolvencies and receiverships, class actions, tax litigation and advertising litigation. Nate is an effective advocate, both in and out of the courtroom. He has delivered results ...

John’s practice and that of his firm, McLeish Orlando LLP, is dedicated exclusively to representing individuals who have suffered serious personal injuries, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage. John also represents family members in wrongful death cases. John is a frequent lecturer and is published widely on continuing legal education programs on trial advocacy and matters related to actions for personal injury and wrongful death damages. He is a co-author of four te...

Kathleen Skerrett is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mining Law and Securities Law. Kathleen, who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kathleen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Clifford Cole is a partner at the firm's and head of the firm's Advocacy Department in Toronto. He is also a past leader of Gowlings' firm-wide Advocacy Group. Clifford's practice focuses upon complex commercial litigation with particular emphasis on contract disputes, shareholder litigation, professional liability claims and environmental law. His practice also includes cross-border disputes in the areas of environmental, product liability and class action litigation. Given his experience, h...

Christopher Steeves is the Leader of the firm’s Tax group. Frequently advising Canadian businesses in corporate restructurings and acquisitions, Christopher also assists with income tax aspects of complex domestic and cross-border financings, and financial instruments including derivatives, securities lending and collective investment funds. With expertise in transfer pricing and the resolution of disputes with Canadian tax authorities, Christopher has worked with clients and advisors o...