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Bay Street law firm Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP has announced big changes to its senior leadership team, appointing two senior partners as new co-chairmen and hiring a high-profile strategic adviser.
Calgary partner Shawn Denstedt and Toronto partner Steven Smith are the firm's new co-chairmen, replacing Toronto-based Clay Horner and Montreal-based Brian Levitt, who will both stay on as vice-chairmen, the firm said in a statement issued Monday.
Mr. Denstedt brings his energy and mining industry expertise to the top of the firm, an obvious reflection of the preoccupations of Osler's national and international clients. Mr. Smith is a corporate finance and mergers-and-acquisitions specialist who launched Osler's British office.
The departing co-chairmen they replace will "remain part of the firm's broader leadership team," the firm said, with Mr. Horner continuing to serve as a key mergers-and-acquisitions adviser who is the "first call" for many of the firm's global clients.
The firm also announced that it was hiring former Deloitte Canada chief executive officer Alan MacGibbon as a strategic adviser to the firm, whose international view, the firm says, will help with its business strategy.
Dale Ponder, the firm's managing partner and chief executive, said the moves reflect what she says is Osler's culture of listening to its clients – a key component of the role to be played by the new co-chairmen.
"Their job is to go out and engage, and to come back and say … look, this is what this client needs, this is what's keeping this client up at night," Ms. Ponder said in an interview.
Jeff Gray