Norton Rose Fulbright wins two gold awards at 2020 Canadian Law Awards

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright was named the gold winner of both the 2020 M&A Deal of the Year and the 2020 Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm at the inaugural Canadian Law Awards, presented by Lexpert and supported by Canadian Lawyer and InHouse. 

M&A Deal of the Year – Air Canada acquires Aeroplan – Gold winner

Our leading M&A lawyers acted as counsel to Aimia Inc. in the sale of all shares of Aimia Canada Inc. (now Aeroplan Inc.), the owner and operator of the Aeroplan loyalty program and business, to Air Canada, for a total enterprise value of over C$2bn (including future redemption liabilities). 

The team was co-led by Elliot Shapiro and Stephen J. Kelly and included Amar Leclair-Ghosh, Peter J. Wiazowski, Meghan Stewart, Stephen Nattrass, Julia Godolphin and Carl Boulva.

Elliot Shapiro commented: 

“The Aeroplan transaction is one of a handful of transactions involving the sale of a loyalty-points business which also happens to be an iconic retail Canadian brand and program having more than 5 million members, making this transaction both significant and unique.”

Stephen Kelly added: 

“Our M&A team grasps the market challenges that clients face and possesses the legal knowledge and strategic business acumen to better help them achieve their goals. We appreciate this recognition – though the sense of excitement and accomplishment of being part of this deal was a reward in itself.”

Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm – Gold winner

Norton Rose Fulbright is the first Canadian law firm to employ a low-code platform designed to build bespoke applications that solve complex business problems often faced by our clients.

The platform, NRF Transform NCode (NCode), is the first app-building platform where production-ready applications are created by coders and non-coders alike within a safe environment and within parameters established by information security and compliance professionals. NCode is part of Transform, our global change and innovation program. 

Sukesh Kamra, national director of knowledge and innovation in Canada, commented: 

“NCode is modernizing the way we service our clients, complimenting and enhancing the traditional lawyer-client relationship. Utilizing the innovative NCode platform allows our firm to anticipate client needs and deliver highly valuable and tangible business solutions. We are honoured to have been named the inaugural winner of the Best Use of Technology in a Law Firm award. ”  

Additionally, Norton Rose Fulbright was named Excellence Award Recipients in the following eleven categories: 

Deal and case awards

• Canadian Deal of the Year- Paulson & Co. replaces Detour Gold's board 
• Capital Markets Deal of the Year - Aquilini/Enthusiast merger  
• Capital Markets Deal of the Year - Home Trust Company residential mortgage-backed securities trust program 
• Capital Markets Deal of the Year - Keyera hybrid notes offering 
• Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year - Brookfield buys Enbridge's natural gas business 
• Infrastructure & Projects Deal of the Year - SNC-Lavalin sells interest in 407 
• M&A Deal of the Year - Canadian Natural acquires Devon Canada assets 
• M&A Deal of the Year - Aphria's takeover defence of Green Growth's hostile bid 
• M&A Deal of the Year - First Air and Canadian North merge 
• Private Equity Deal of the Year - Onex acquires WestJet

Legal profession awards

• The Bereskin & Parr Award for Diversity Initiative of the Year – “Achieving greater representation of women in leadership and partnership” 

The Canadian Law Awards is in its first year and is run by Key Media, the organizers of the Australasian Law Awards and New Zealand Law Awards, where awards are presented to the best lawyers, firms and in-house legal teams across the region. To view the full list of winners and finalists visit the Canadian Law Awards site.