Stikeman Elliott Announces Changes to Competition/Antitrust Group

Stikeman Elliott LLP today announced several significant developments in its national Competition/Antitrust Group. First, the firm is pleased to announce that Paul Collins, currently head of the Group, will be joining the Competition Bureau in the role of Senior Deputy Commissioner of the Mergers Branch for a two-year term. Mr. Collins, one of Canada's most distinguished competition lawyers, has been with Stikeman Elliott for over 17 years and has been the head of the Competition/Antitrust Group since 2003. Mr. Collins will return to Stikeman Elliott in his current capacity at the end of his two-year term with the Bureau.

The firm is also pleased to announce that Lawson A.W. Hunter, Q.C., has agreed to assume leadership of the 17-member Group for the duration of Mr. Collins' absence. Mr. Hunter was previously head of the Group from 1993 to 2003 and, following five years in the private sector as Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Officer of BCE Inc., rejoined the firm in 2008 as counsel on federal regulatory matters. Widely regarded as one of Canada's pre-eminent competition lawyers, Mr. Hunter is also a former Commissioner of Competition.

Stikeman Elliott's competition litigation practice includes one of Canada's premier competition litigators, Katherine Kay, who is lead counsel on multiple antitrust class actions commenced in Canada, high profile Competition Tribunal proceedings and several cartel cases. The Group includes several other highly ranked partners, including Jeff Brown, Susan Hutton and Shawn Neylan on the advisory side, and Eliot Kolers and Danielle Royal on the litigation side. This team continues to attract some of the most challenging and high profile work in the country.

The Chair of the firm, Pierre Raymond, says "This appointment continues Stikeman Elliott's long tradition of engaging in public service. Paul has been a fabulous contributor to the firm. We are proud of Paul for this appointment and have no doubt his role with the Bureau will only enhance his stellar reputation as an advisor in the competition law field. This experience and the relationships made, both domestically and internationally, will be invaluable for advising clients in the future."

Stikeman Elliott's Competition/Antitrust Group is a highly regarded market leader in Canada, consistently recognized nationally and internationally for its in-depth knowledge and expertise in the practice of competition law and competition litigation. The Group has extensive experience acting on major national and international transactions, criminal investigations, class and other civil actions, and Competition Tribunal proceedings across a wide range of industries. Recently the Group has worked on such high profile Canadian competition mergers cases as Panasonic/Sanyo, Ticketmaster/Live Nation and Wyeth/Pfizer.

ABOUT STIKEMAN ELLIOTT

With over 500 lawyers in Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver, as well as London, New York and Sydney, Stikeman Elliott LLP is one of Canada's leading business law practices.

The firm is recognized as a leader in Canadian capital markets and in domestic and international M&A by industry league tables and directories. These core strengths are complemented by top-flight expertise in the areas of competition/antitrust, banking, real estate, tax, insolvency, structured finance, infrastructure, telecommunications, intellectual property and employment, with in-depth knowledge of industries ranging from financial services and insurance to energy, mining and technology.

The firm is also regularly recognized as having one of Canada's top business litigation practices. Stikeman Elliott was named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2009 and 2010 and one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2010.

MEDIA CONTACT

For further information, please contact:

Diana Lawrence
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(416) 869-7743

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