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2017
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LEXPERT 25
Leduc, Pierre-Yves Stikeman Elliott LLP
(514) 397-3696 pyleduc@stikeman.com
Mr. Leduc is a partner in the firm's Corporate and Securities group.
His practice focuses on securities, corporate finance and public/private
M&A. He advises issuers on questions concerning public offerings, M&A
and corporate governance, and counsels securities dealers in connection
with securities matters.
Lastman, Dale H. Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-4129 dlastman@goodmans.ca
Chair of Goodmans LLP. Practises corporate, commercial and securities law
and provides counsel in connection with public offerings, M&A and business
restructurings. Director of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., Governor
of the CFL's Toronto Argonauts and an Alternate Governor for the NHL and
NBA. Member of the board of directors of Roots Canada Ltd., RioCan REIT
and the CAMH Foundation.
Langlois, Martin R. Stikeman Elliott LLP
(416) 869-5672 mlanglois@stikeman.com
Mr. Langlois is a partner in the Toronto office and a former Co-Head of the
M&A and Private Equity Groups. He focuses on domestic and cross-border
mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate finance transactions as
well as corporate governance and other commercial matters. He currently
serves on the Management Committee and as Co-Chair of the Women's
Initiatives Committee.
Lampe, Jonathan Goodmans LLP
(416) 597-4128 jlampe@goodmans.ca
Mr. Lampe is a member of the firm's Executive Committee and Co-Chair of
its Corporate/Securities Practice. Former Ontario Securities Commission
General Counsel, he advises Canadian and international clients on M&A,
strategic relationships, financings, dissident shareholder activities and
governance and regulatory matters and investigations. Advanced Leadership
Fellow at Harvard University in 2016.
Lamek, Edmond F.B. WeirFoulds LLP
(416) 365-1110 elamek@weirfoulds.com
Mr. Lamek has extensive experience in all areas of Canadian and cross-
border insolvency and restructuring proceedings and transactions. He
advises secured and unsecured creditors, indenture trustees, DIP lenders,
debtors, suppliers, boards of directors, purchasers of businesses, receivers,
interim receivers, CCAA monitors, bankruptcy trustees and Chapter 11
Creditors' Committees.
Kufeldt, Kent D. Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
(403) 232-9727 kkufeldt@blg.com
Mr. Kufeldt's corporate and securities practice covers public and private
equity and debt financings, reorganizations and M&A transactions in oil
& gas, mining, real estate and other sectors. Clients include companies,
partnerships, private-equity firms and underwriting syndicates.
LEXPERT RANKED LAWYERS
could potentially make them better candidates for
more senior executive positions.
According to Horn, many of the issues around
increased gender diversity on public company
boards are also relevant to private company boards
— both because they may eventually be sold to
a public company or go public themselves in the
near future. "Private boards, like public boards, are
looking for the best people in order to manage and
guide the company in the best manner possible."
Over-boarding Danger
Yet as women increasingly take a higher propor-
tion of seats on the board, is there a danger the
choices might skew consistently toward the same
tried and true names? Is there a conscious or even
unconscious lean toward being overcautious — se-
lecting only women who have already proven their
mettle on boards?
Bradley says talented women directors are be-
ing approached by multiple companies. And
sometimes the answer is "'thanks, but no, as I have
maxed out on the number of boards that I can take
on.' Women who accept board positions want to
contribute at the highest level, and taking on too
many positions may impede their ability to per-
form to that standard or run the risk of having a
negative reaction from governance watchdogs."
is brings to the forefront the contentious
issue of over-boarding, says Bradley. "Institutional
Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, providers
of global governance services, have indicated they
will issue voting alerts on directors who serve on
more than a certain number of boards. e board
network has to be expanded."
Best Interests
Clearly, regulators are trying to encourage pub-
lic companies to look for more gender diversity
on their boards and in leadership. It's part of a
broader initiative in business circles, says Gibson.
He cites movements such as the 30% Club, where
he is an advisory board member. e goal is to per-
suade public companies and businesses to increase
gender diversity at the board and leadership lev-
els, he says, "not by virtue of quotas or rules, but
through a better understanding of why having
gender diversity is in the best interests of the busi-
ness organizations that we all lead."
When Kravitz talks with clients, he finds they
view diversity not just for diversity's sake, but be-
cause diversity is a strength for a board. He says
studies show a diverse group "makes better de-
cisions than a homogeneous group, even if the
members of the homogeneous group are on paper
'more capable.'" As a result, companies want to in-
crease diversity on their boards not just because it's
the right thing to do, or to comply with the rules,
but because it's also the smart thing to do.
