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Fasken
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Employment & Labour

About

Provided by Fasken

Appropriately navigating the labour, employment, and human rights landscapes is essential to attracting, retaining, and motivating your employees and by extension successfully maintaining and developing your business.

With offices in all the major city centres across Canada, our Labour, Employment & Human Rights (LEHR) lawyers work with clients to provide proactive and pragmatic advice. Whether you need help to conclude innovative collective agreements or create risk management and compliance programs, we have the in-depth knowledge and experience required. In the event disputes arise, we will help you defuse tension among stakeholders and skillfully represent your interests in court, before tribunals or at arbitration.

As one of the largest national labour, employment and human rights practices in Canada, we are able to comprehensively assist clients with their LEHR needs across the country in a coordinated manner. We represent major federally regulated employers including banks, airlines, telecommunication companies and Crown corporations. We also advise many significant employers in a broad range of provincially regulated sectors including retail, manufacturing, mining, agriculture, education, health, financial services, among others.

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Employment & Labour - Ontario

1
Band 1

What the Team is Known For

This highly respected employment and labour team operates on both a provincial and federal level. Fasken's Toronto office has established a deep practice able to service high-profile national clients including private corporations and government entities. The group is active across a range of sectors, including transportation, telecommunications and banking, and often assists clients with international labour issues. It has extensive experience working with the government and employers on provincial labour and employment legislation, as well as handling significant mandates for noteworthy education and healthcare industry clients.

Work Highlights

  • Fasken became the first legal services provider to Team Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, providing day-to-day employment law advice, including contract review, employment policy updates and hiring and terminating employees.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Their service levels and responsiveness are very strong. We have always had exceptional turnaround times.

Employment & Labour respondent
Canada

I very much appreciate working with Fasken. I like that they bring a pragmatic and thoughtful approach to the advice they provide. Service levels and responsiveness are strong and also client-focused.

Employment & Labour respondent
Canada

Practical and knowledgeable and extremely timely. The depth and breadth of their team is strong.

Employment & Labour respondent
Canada

The lawyers at Fasken have always been excellent at understanding complex situations and providing strategic advice. They are also always available to provide top-notch service.

Employment & Labour respondent
Canada

Excellent advice, above and beyond expectations. All lawyers from Fasken are excellent and provide superior service.

Employment & Labour respondent
Canada

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

Brian W Burkett
S
Brian W Burkett
S
Senior Statespeople

Toronto-based Brian Burkett is a highly experienced senior employment lawyer, who continues to advise high-profile federal clients on collective agreements and bargaining. He is also esteemed for providing companies with strategic employment advice, including on policy and legislative initiatives.

They don't get much better than Brian, he has wisdom, extraordinary customer focus, his advice is always spot-on. He is top of my mind.

Brian is a powerhouse.

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Douglas Gilbert
S
Douglas Gilbert
S
Senior Statespeople

Douglas Gilbert continues to be widely respected for his skills in assisting federal clients with a broad range of labour and employment matters. Based in Toronto, his work includes advising on employment policy, collective agreements and other employment matters resulting from organisational changes or restructurings.

Douglas is an outstanding lawyer.

Douglas is a tremendous senior practitioners and highly regarded.

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Karen Sargeant
1
Karen Sargeant
1
Band 1

Karen Sargeant is the managing partner of Fasken's Ontario offices. She wins praise for representing both provincial and federal clients in the healthcare, education and industrial sectors and is particularly skilled in collective bargaining agreements, arbitration and employment-related litigation. She also advises on the employment aspects of corporate transactions.

Karen is simply the best. She is smart, kind, creative and knowledgeable of our industry. She understands our union partners and has excellently defended our position on many occasions.

I have really enjoyed working with Karen on several matters. She is thoughtful, smart and solution-oriented.

She has great knowledge and great service.

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Jackie VanDerMeulen
4
Jackie VanDerMeulen
4
Band 4

Jackie VanDerMeulen is a well-regarded labour and employment lawyer, who has notable experience in contentious employment matters, such as wrongful terminations and discrimination claims. Based in Toronto, she represents both provincial and national clients, and her expertise also extends to workplace human rights and collective bargaining issues.

Jackie is wonderful to work with. An overall stellar lawyer.

Jackie is an absolute delight - practical, responsive and thinks about what we really need as a company. And she is a really good listener. I would trust her with my eyes closed.

Terrific lawyer with exceptional skills.

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Christopher Pigott
5
Christopher Pigott
5
Band 5

Christopher Pigott is a highly regarded labour lawyer, based in Toronto. He is well-versed in collective bargaining and employment-related disputes, providing strategic advice to both federal and provincial clients. He is particularly skilled in human rights cases and advising on federal policy initiatives. He is singled out for his representation of clients in court.

Chris is a better litigator than you would expect from his year of call. I am blown away by his litigation and cross examinations. He is thoughtful and not a surface thinker.

Chris is responsive, thorough and willing to help. He is very good.

Chris is a highly knowledgeable lawyer who understands the complexity of our business and is always willing to support.

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Alix P. Herber
6
Alix P. Herber
6
Band 6

Alix Herber is based in Fasken's Toronto office and advises clients on employment issues related to transactions and assists with labour union negotiations and contentious matters.

Alix is an extremely knowledgeable and practical partner when dealing with complex cases.

Alix is a pleasure to work with. She is responsive and knowledgeable and provides timely and practical advice.

Alix has has in-house experience, she knows her stuff and how to deliver. She is excellent, responsible, capable and my go-to person.

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Erin Porter
6
Erin Porter
6
Band 6

Erin Porter is based in Toronto and is the chair of Fasken's labour, employment and human rights practice group. With experience as in-house counsel, Erin has specific expertise in the health care sector, offering clients advice in all employment, labour and human rights matters.

Erin's knowledge and level of service is excellent.

Erin provides us with superb service, advice and counsel. She is a fantastic litigator and strategist. I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Erin is supportive, smart, knowledgeable of our industry, creative, a great communicator, very understanding and fun (which is important in stressful situations).

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Ian Campbell
6
Ian Campbell
6
Band 6

Ian Campbell is based in Fasken's Toronto office and has a wide employment, labour and human rights practice. He has experience representing unionised employers in labour arbitrations before federal and provincial labour and human right tribunals. He also advises clients on all manners of employment law matters, including wrongful dismissal, restricted covenants and collective agreements.

Ian is very easy to work with. He is very pragmatic and provides trusted advice to us. He is an excellent lawyer and is extremely well-regarded by the company.

Ian is responsive and knowledgeable of our business. He always makes himself available knows how we operate internally too.

Ian is very knowledgeable of our business and provides excellent legal and business advice.

Ian Campbell is very practical and strategic and always cuts to the heart of the issue. He is also always willing to sacrifice his own time and do whatever he can to assist.

Ian is available and flexible with his time to meet our needs. He understands how the organisation functions in terms of providing the best advise that aligns with the organisation vision and values.

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Jacob Wagner
Jacob Wagner
Associates to watch

Jacob Wagner enjoys a rising reputation for his management-side practice, advising on a wide range of labour, employment and human rights issues.

Jacob always provides insightful information and great customer service.

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Ranked Lawyers at
Fasken

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Band

Ontario

Employment & Labour
Brian W Burkett
S
Brian W Burkett
S
Senior Statespeople
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Douglas Gilbert
S
Douglas Gilbert
S
Senior Statespeople
View Profile
Karen Sargeant
1
Karen Sargeant
1
Band 1
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Jackie VanDerMeulen
4
Jackie VanDerMeulen
4
Band 4
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Christopher Pigott
5
Christopher Pigott
5
Band 5
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Alix P. Herber
6
Alix P. Herber
6
Band 6
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Erin Porter
6
Erin Porter
6
Band 6
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Ian Campbell
6
Ian Campbell
6
Band 6
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Jacob Wagner
Jacob Wagner
Associates to watch
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