Congratulations!

Congratulations to Lexpert’s 2015 Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers under 40. Windsor Law is very proud of our Rising Star graduates. 

Recipients were recognized for their accomplishments within the legal profession as well as their contributions beyond their own careers.  Click here to see the congratulatory advertisement that appeared in the Globe and Mail on November 20.

The Windsor Law alums recognized were: Rebecca Bush '01, Karen Hennessey '04, Rebecca Kacaba '06, Sunita Mahant '05, Timothy McCormick '05, Sundeep Sandhu '06, Kadey Schultz '99, Jay Strosberg '01, Ryan Jacobs '03

Rebecca Bush '01

Rebecca is a partner in BLG’s Litigation Department with a proven track record of successfully managing a high volume litigation practice. She advocates for her clients in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Human Rights Tribunal.

Rebecca’s practice focuses on public authority litigation and complex tort litigation for large institutional clients. She has expertise in municipal and police liability, product liability and harassment claims. Rebecca has specialized expertise defending employment torts including workplace-based psychological injury and mental distress damages claims in the employment and human rights context. Rebecca also manages a significant cross-border referral network.

Rebecca frequently provides advice on sensitive matters which are the subject of public and media scrutiny. She defends the reputational interests of her clients in policy and precedent setting cases.

Karen Hennessey ‘04

Karen is a partner in Gowlings' Ottawa office and national leader of the firm’s Corporate Commercial practice group.  Her practice covers all aspects of corporate and commercial law including mergers and acquisitions, the structuring, organizing and reorganizing of her clients’ businesses and drafting a range of general commercial agreements. She often acts as the client’s “legal quarterback” by providing practical advice on an ongoing basis for their day to day  business law needs and coordinating the client’s other legal needs by bringing in Gowlings’ professionals in specialty or niche practice areas as needed. Her practice covers a wide range of industries and she works with companies of all sizes including start-ups, owner-operated and family-run businesses as well as large national and multi-national corporations. In spring of 2014, she was recognized by the Ottawa Business Journal and the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce as a Forty Under 40 award winner.

Karen lives in Ottawa with her husband, Paul Hennessey, and their two young children, Tyler, 5 and Kaitlyn, 3.  She sits on the Board of Directors of the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa, and on the board of the Hnatyshyn Foundation, which supports emerging and established artists in Canada.  She says that what she found most memorable at Windsor Law was the great friendships that she made and which continue to this day.  She also fondly remembers all of the staff and faculty, who always made the school feel welcoming and that they really cared about each student who came through the doors.

Ryan Jacobs ‘03

Ryan Jacobs is a partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency Group at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. A former New York practitioner with one of the most active bankruptcy groups in the United States, Ryan has developed a leading cross-border restructuring practice in Canada. He is routinely retained to act on behalf of ad hoc and official creditor groups, debtors, DIP Lenders, boards, institutional and distress investors, bidders and stalking-horse purchasers and other interested parties across a broad spectrum of industries.

Ryan has been a trusted advisor for significant stakeholders in many of the largest and most complex in-court and out-of-court reorganizations, recapitalizations and restructurings in recent history including such matters as Nortel Networks, Essar Steel, Colt Defense, Catalyst Paper, Worldcom and Delta Airlines. Ryan is also an advisor to a number of boards of public and private companies in Canada and the United States.

Ryan currently lives in Toronto with his wife and two daughters.

Rebecca Kacaba ‘06

After being called to the bar in 2007, Rebecca joined Aird & Berlis LLP as an associate in their Corporate Finance Group. Over the years, she has advised a wide range of clients from startups to multinationals on complex corporate and securities matters, including public and private offerings, private placement financings, mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations.

Her expertise and interest in advising emerging growth companies and entrepreneurs inspired her to establish the firm’s Startups Team. She maintains startupsource.ca, a blog which features timely information and commentary on startup news, events and developments.

Rebecca is living in downtown Toronto with her husband and their 15-month old daughter Sophie.  She keeps in touch with a number of Windsor Law alumni, many of whom work at Aird & Berlis LLP or in neighbouring buildings.  They try to make do with the local watering holes, but, she says, “there is no substitute for Rock Bottom.”

Sunita Mahant ‘05

Sunita leads a large legal team at Ivanhoé Cambridge, one of the world’s largest real estate development companies, with more than $40 billion in assets. She acts on many large, high-profile, complex deals, including the Target bankruptcy; the acquisition, development, leasing and operations of Canada’s largest open-air outlet shopping centre, Outlet Collection at Niagara; the development and leasing of new retail outlet projects in Canada, including Tsawwassen Mills, the Outlet at Winnipeg, and the Outlet Collection at Edmonton International Airport; redevelopment and expansion of Bayshore Shopping Centre, Vaughan Mills and Oshawa Centre; the development and leasing of new office project Bay Park Centre, a world-class, downtown Toronto office tower; and the acquisition of greenfield development property.

Sunita’s community service includes Covenant House, the Daily Bread Food Bank and Evergreen Downsview Park.

 

 

Tim McCormick ‘05

Following his graduation from Windsor Law, Tim was hired as a summer student at Stikeman Elliot where he has remained for his entire legal career. His practice is mainly focused on M&A and Corporate Finance, mostly with public companies but some private work as well.

He does a lot of cross-border work with U.S. and European based companies. He’s had the opportunity to work on some of the most complex M&A deals over the past ten years, as well as a number of challenging transactions that keeps his practice exciting. He says, “We have a great core of Windsor Law alumni at Stikeman Elliott, many of whom have been formal and informal mentors through my time.“

 

 

 

Sundeep Sandhu ‘06

Sundeep is a partner at Blaney McMurtry.  Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions and other corporate work. She is always well-prepared, knowledgeable and shows legal acumen beyond her years. Sundeep has worked on very complex matters, both large and small. She has assisted and/or taken the lead on negotiations, drafting and coordinating team members and clients in the share sale of a mutual fund company for $110 million; the share sale of contaminated-soil management facilities and a waste transfer station for $48 million; the share sale of a laundry facilities servicing company for $17 million; the share acquisition of controlling interest in a construction company for $53.8 million; and the share acquisitions of aerospace parts manufacturing companies.

Sundeep serves on the Executive Committee and Advocacy Committee  with the South Asian Bar Associations of North America and acts as Blaney’s ‘Firm Representative’ in the Law Firms for Diversity & Inclusion Network. Sundeep consistently gives her time, energy and insight to issues she is passionate about, including mentoring new lawyers and addressing diversity issues that face the legal industry.

Kadey B.J. Schultz ‘99

For many years following her graduation from Windsor Law, Kadey was a partner with an insurance firm. Recently, she opened Schultz Frost LLP, a full service insurance firm in Toronto. Kadey has argued at all levels of the Ontario Courts, and recently won a precedent setting case at the Court of Appeal changing the landscape of commercial auto insurance in Ontario. She was also recognized as a US/Canada Litigation Lawyer to Watch.

Outside of her practice, she is a dedicated adjunct professor at Windsor Law, teaching the PILS first year course and the Lawyer as Conflict Resolver course.  She dedicates much of her time to not-for-profit work, fundraising and educating for important causes, particularly the Biggar Endowment for Muscular Dystrophy with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital in an effort to bring an end to her son’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  

She attributes much of the fun and success she has had since graduating from Windsor to the generous mentorship she received from Dr. Julie Macfarlane, and from the “incredible and enduring friendships” she formed in law school.

Jay Strosberg ‘02

Following his graduation from Windsor Law, Jay articled at a Bay Street law firm. He soon recognized that he was more of a Main Street (and not Bay Street) kind of guy and he returned to Windsor to practice law at Sutts, Strosberg LLP,  joining his sister Sharon and his father Harvey.

Jay practices in the area of class action litigation. The class actions he prosecutes are varied and include claims on behalf of shareholders of publicly-traded companies, consumers who were overcharged for online tickets to entertainment events, youths who were kept in solitary confinement and taxi drivers who allege they suffered financial harm as a result of Uber-X’s entry into the Ontario market.

Jay lives in Windsor with his wife Stephanie and their son, Max. He is Vice-Chair of the Windsor Essex Community Foundation and is a long time supporter and fundraiser for the Windsor Essex Humane Society.

Check out more stories and our latest Access Windsor Law newsletter.