Risa M. Kirshblum

David graduated with Honours from Montreal’s McGill University in 1978. He next received his Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles. In 1982 he was admitted by the Supreme Court of California to practice as an Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law in the courts of California. After receiving his Certificate of Qualification through the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, in 1985 David was admitted by the Law Society of Ontario as a Barrist...

John is a partner at Sotos LLP. He is dean of the franchising, licensing and distributing bar – a recognition that caps a 40-year career acting for franchisors regionally, nationally and globally. Today, he continues to provide counsel to franchisors in all aspects of their businesses, including in franchise system or distribution chain design and implementation, system restructuring, international and domestic transactions, and franchise disclosure. He offers strategic support to franc...

Mark Joblin practises in the areas of Municipal Law, land use planning, and development law in Toronto, Ontario. At Loopstra Nixon , he advises municipalities, developers, landowner groups, businesses, and individuals on a wide range of planning and development matters across Ontario. Mark has appeared before the Ontario Land Tribunal, formerly known as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Ontario Municipal Board, as well as the Toronto Local Appeal Body. His experience includes matters...

Robert has extensive experience in a broad spectrum of real estate-based transactions, with an emphasis on complex and challenging matters. He acts on commercial, industrial and multi-residential acquisitions and sales; all forms of financings, including mezzanine, construction and permanent mortgage lending and equity participation for borrowers and lenders; complex joint ventures; construction and lease-back transactions; condominium development; non-profit housing development; life lease t...

Sandra Astolfo is a Partner at WeirFoulds with a practise devoted to infrastructure and construction law. She has worked with her clients for almost 25 years and is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs and industry conferences. From negotiating construction agreements, to providing contract administration advice, to litigating, mediating and arbitrating disputes, Sandra advocates on behalf of all project participants. She also assists her clients with protecting their int...

Mark Mason is a labour and employment lawyer in Hicks Morley’s Toronto office. His practice includes arbitration advocacy, employment litigation, human rights proceedings and the entire spectrum of collective bargaining, including interest arbitrations and strike management. Mark advises a variety of public and private sector employers and brings a practical and solution-focused approach to the legal services he provides. Mark is recognized as one of Ontario’s leading counsel in t...

Lisa Spiegel is a Partner with an advocacy practice in the health industry. Lisa works with public and private hospitals as well as other health care facilities on a broad range of professional staff matters, advising hospital Boards, Chiefs of Staff and Medical Advisory Committees. Lisa provides counsel on matters pertaining to, among other areas, professional staff credentialing, privileging and governance. She appears regularly before courts and administrative and regulatory tribunals, eng...

James Harnum provides counsel to unions, employees and boards of trustees on all aspects of pension and benefits administration and litigation. A significant part of his practice involves assisting employees of insolvent companies in recovering amounts owed to them, whether for wages, severance pay or post-retirement benefits. James also has experience in litigation involving the intersection of constitutional rights with labour and pension law. He has appeared before all levels of court in O...

Victoria Winter is a partner in the firm’s Trusts and Estate Planning Group and a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) as designated by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Victoria practises in the areas of estate planning and succession including the preparation of Wills, Powers of Attorney and Trusts (domestic, international, Henson), corporate reorganizations, business succession planning, advising clients on methods in which to minimize income tax and estate adminis...

John Prezioso, founding principal of Prescient Compensation Law, has over 20 years of experience in Canadian pension, benefits, and compensation law. He advises clients in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors on compliance, administration and governance issues relating to their pension plans and employee group benefits plans, and issues relating to pension plan investment, de-risking of defined benefit pension plans and decumulation issues in the defined contribution context. John h...