Three Common Law alumni have been named among the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers

By Common Law

Communication, Faculty of Law

Alumni
Three Common Law alumni have been named among the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers
Hats off to these three Common Law alumni, who have recently been named among the 2021 Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer magazine. Canadian Lawyer describes the winners as possessing the “ability to influence public opinion and to help shape the laws of this country and others, contribute to the strength and quality of legal services, involvement and impact within the justice community, and social and political influence and involvement.”

Being designated in this year’s Top 25 is particularly noteworthy as it recognizes the critical work these legal experts have been doing, while the country and the world have been immersed in the COVID-19 pandemic. It recognizes those who have not only been excelling at their practice, but also passionately contributing to the legal community.

Here is some praise for our winning alumni, from the Canadian Lawyer site:

Karine Grand'Maison, LLB ’02. Her tireless work to ensure Canadians have timely access to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was an invaluable service to the country this year.

Dr. Sara Gwendolyn Ross, LLM ’14, is considered one of the leading “urban legal anthropology” scholars.  She says her studies seek “to reach under existing legal frameworks to engage with the lived realities of how ‘the law’ shapes the everyday and ‘everynight’ realities of urban denizens.”

Matthijs van Gaalen, JD ’03, saw from the very beginning of his career that complex lending transactions could be fruitfully modelled in software.

This is the twelfth annual Top 25 Report by Canadian Lawyer. The final selections are based on the 22,409 votes received, for the 177 eligible nominees.