In a game-changing development, Cozen O’Connor today announced it has added a team of 22 — made up of 13 lawyers and nine support staff — greatly expanding its Canadian footprint and furthering its goal of becoming one of Canada’s foremost full-service, international law firms. All 22 come to the firm from Clark Wilson LLP and will work out of Cozen O’Connor’s fast-growing Vancouver office. The incoming group is led by international finance, M&A, and mining attorney Virgil Hlus, international finance and M&A attorney Cam McTavish, and family attorney Chantal M. Cattermole. All three join the firm as shareholders. In the past two and a half years, the Vancouver office has grown from three lawyers to 28 lawyers.
“Our long-stated goal has been to establish a top-tier presence in Canada comprising highly regarded and industry-leading lawyers; a firm that’s capable of servicing all manner of mid-market and large enterprises,” said Jeffrey A. Leonard, co-chair of the firm’s Business Law Department. “We have been very patient and strategic in targeting specific laterals and practices as we carefully build a strong full-service firm. With this group, we’ve greatly expanded our service offerings in Vancouver while significantly deepening our Canadian bench in areas of critical importance to our Canadian and U.S. clients. This is another pivotal chapter in our firm’s history, and I’m thrilled to be making this announcement.”
“Today’s international business clients not only need but demand an experienced, full-service law firm that can handle any type of cross-border matter, regardless of where they’re domiciled,” said Rory Godinho, member of Cozen O’Connor’s Canadian Executive Committee and co-chair of the firm’s Canadian Capital Markets & Securities Practice Group. “We are very familiar with the incoming Capital Markets/Securities team as we have worked on many transactions with them for many years. They share our work ethic, commitment, and dedication to client service, and our integrated group will be one of the largest west of Toronto. This certainly further establishes us as a leader in the venture capital marketplace and gives us the bandwidth to take on a transaction of any size. Whether the matter involves public company work for clients listed on Canadian or United States-based stock exchanges, international finance and trade, or a wealth management issue involving assets in the United States, we have the resources to quickly and efficiently fulfill the client’s business objective. This is a significant, tactical move for us, and I’m happy to welcome this talented group of lawyers and staff to Cozen O’Connor.”
Ranked in Best Lawyers in Canada, for Securities Law from 2021-2025, Hlus joins as chair of the firm’s Canadian/U.S. Cross-Border Practice Group. He brings substantial c-suite/capital markets experience and will focus on international/cross-border transactions, including public and private financings, cross-border shelf and public offerings, U.S.-only public offerings, cross-border private placements, and cross-border M&A and mining transactions. He has represented both companies and investment banks in numerous Nasdaq public offerings and has experience in qualifying transactions, reverse takeovers, acquisitions, dispositions, options, and joint ventures involving mineral properties across North, Central, and South America.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of a fast-growing, entrepreneurial law firm like Cozen O’Connor, and I’m looking forward to helping further expand our Canadian and U.S. practice in both the public markets and private equity sectors,” Hlus said. “Although today’s markets are increasingly international in scope, very few Canadian firms are developing the type of cross-border platform Cozen O’Connor already has in place. We are all excited to be here, and we’re very much looking forward to working with Jeff, Rory, and our other new colleagues.”
McTavish, who has extensive experience advising on M&A, capital markets transactions, and other complex corporate matters, joins Cozen O’Connor as chair of the firm’s Canadian M&A Practice. He frequently represents public and private companies on M&A, consolidation strategies, and capital raising activities, with a particular focus on the technology and med-tech sectors. Consistently ranked in Best Lawyers in Canada for Mergers and Acquisitions Law and Securities Law and Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Corporate Finance & Securities, he brings to the firm two-plus decades of helping clients execute a range of cross-border international deals.
As both a litigator and a solicitor with a strong background in family law, Cattermole will serve as chair of the firm’s Canadian Family Practice. She is a highly sought-after counsel and certified family law mediator, arbitrator, parenting coordinator, and collaborative lawyer, facilitating all manner of family disputes in negotiation and out-of-court settlement. Cattermole works closely with high-net-worth clients to establish, develop, and operate sophisticated, purpose-driven family offices that efficiently address the needs and priorities of each family.
“Joining Cozen O’Connor gives me a tremendous opportunity to play a leadership role in building our Family Office practice here in Canada,” Cattermole said. “Family support and intergenerational wealth transfer are important issues for many of our clients. Our Family Office group provides an unmatched combination of financial planning services and related state-of-the-art technical support. For those of us with strong Family Office backgrounds, Cozen O’Connor provides us with the platform we need to better serve our clients and build our practices. We’re all looking forward to hitting the ground running.”
About Cozen O’Connor Canada
Cozen O’Connor LLP, an affiliate of Cozen O’Connor, provides exceptional services for business law clients in areas including capital markets & securities, corporate and health sciences, intellectual property, white collar defense & investigations, labor & employment, tax, restructuring & insolvency, competition, regulatory, commercial and securities litigation, as well as investigation and pursuit of recovery for large property losses arising from construction projects, wildfires, product liability, and energy industry related losses. Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has over 850 attorneys across North America who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. Cozen O’Connor LLP has offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal.
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