Lexpert®Ranked Lawyers
Merrick, Jeffrey
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
(604) 631-3386
jeff.merrick@
blakes.com
Mr. Merrick's real
estate, business law
and project fi nancing
practice emphasizes
investment real estate
and fi nancing and
developing P3s and
AFP infrastructure
projects. His clients
include developers,
pension funds and
private-equity funds.
Mitchell, Craig
Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5509
cmitchell@
stikeman.com
Mr. Mitchell acts on
behalf of domestic
and foreign lenders
and borrowers on
acquisition, asset-
based, mezzanine
and project fi nancings
and debt restructuring
transactions across
a broad range
of industries.
Morrison, Patricia L.
Borden Ladner
Gervais LLP
(403) 232-9472
pmorrison@blg.com
Ms. Morrison
acts for owners,
general contractors,
subcontractors and
sureties in all facets
of the construction
industry, including the
negotiation and drafting
of P3 agreements,
procurement,
construction disputes
and environmental
matters.
Messinger,
Stephen J.
Minden Gross LLP
(416) 369-4147
smessinger@
mindengross.com
Mr. Messinger focuses
on commercial
development and
leasing. He acts for
developers, property
managers, trust
companies, pension
funds and retail chains.
A frequent lecturer,
he is recognized as
a most frequently
recommended
leasing lawyer.
Mondrow, Ian A.
Gowling Lafl eur
Henderson LLP
(416) 369-4670
ian.mondrow@
gowlings.com
Mr. Mondrow is a
partner practising in
the area of energy
regulation and policy.
He has represented
electricity generators,
transmitters,
distributors, competitive
energy retailers and
services providers,
electrical contractors
and energy consumers.
Morrison, Stephen R.
Cassels Brock &
Blackwell LLP
(416) 860-6624
smorrison@
casselsbrock.com
Mr. Morrison provides
practical advice
and advocacy to all
private and public
participants in the
land development and
construction industries.
He is a highly regarded
Chartered Mediator
and a Fellow of the
Chartered Institute
of Arbitrators.
Transit | 27
private-sector partners. "All of this needs to be factored
into the procurement planning and timetable, project gov-
ernance protocols and into the various project and related
fi nancing agreements," he says.
In municipal projects "the governance of the project is
potentially more complicated because municipal authorities
and elected offi cials sometimes like to have
more of a hands-on approach than those
involved in provincial or federal projects,"
says Shouldice.
In part, he suggests, this is because mu-
nicipal offi cials on these projects "some-
times interact in a more direct or frequent
way with aff ected stakeholders, including
property owners, transit users, public citi-
zen groups and businesses o en at a grass-
roots level." As an example, with a light
rail project going through the heart of the
city, "you are o en dealing with things
that are near and dear to people's hearts,
as well as stakeholders who will feel a more
direct impact from the project. ere's the
potential to disrupt private residences,
commercial businesses, even the general
population who are forced to deviate from
their normal transit routines."
As well, urban transit projects that cut a big swath through
large sections of a city can sometimes "really aff ect the city's
aesthetic features, which local citizens and politicians can
feel very passionate about, and at a level not generally experi-
enced with other projects," says Shouldice. " is can become
a much more signifi cant consideration in a performance-
based P3 procurement where proponents are usually given
much more latitude to be innovative with their designs,
meaning the authority may have less control over some or all
of the aesthetic outcomes, compared to a more traditional
procurement model, which can sometimes create apprehen-
sions with the public and aff ected stakeholders."
MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES
P3 urban transit projects can involve multiple municipali-
ties. Wilson, a former in-house lawyer with the City of Ot-
tawa, sees "a trend whereby many large urban areas are plan-
ning transit systems on a more rationalized regional basis;
for example, Ontario's Metrolinx."
It's the role of lawyers, she says, to deal with issues arising
PHOTO: REUTERS
