TORONTO (September 13, 2012) – LawFuel.com The Law Newswire – Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), one of Canada’s leading business law firms, today announced that Connie Reeve has received the 2012 Catzman Award for Professionalism & Civility. The award was presented at the Opening of the Courts Ceremony on September 12, 2012.
“Connie advocates forcefully on behalf of her clients, but she does so with grace and civility,” said Bradley Berg, the Practice Group Leader for the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group in Toronto. “She pursues her clients’ interests and she strives for what is right. This imbues her approach to practice and has benefited everyone fortunate enough to practise with her.”
Ms. Reeve leads the Firm’s Employment & Labour Group in Toronto and co-leads the national Employment & Labour Group. She has more than 25 years of experience as an advocate, including 14 years as a specialist in employment law. She has extensive knowledge of every facet of employment and labour law, acting in both an advisory capacity and as litigation counsel. She has specific expertise in restrictive covenants litigation and executive employment agreement negotiation. She has appeared before the Ontario courts at all levels and at numerous arbitrations and mediations. In addition, Ms. Reeve has always been a generous mentor and inspirational leader, particularly of women, both within Blakes and the larger profession. She has taught at both Osgoode Hall and Queen’s law schools and co-chaired the Law Society’s Return to Practice Working Group. Beyond the legal community, she has given her time and commitment to agencies such as the Bruce Trail Conservancy and Second Harvest.
About the Catzman Award for Professionalism & Civility
The Catzman Award was created in 2008 by the Catzman family, together with The Advocates’ Society and the Chief Justice of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism, in memory of the Honourable Marvin A. Catzman. The annual award recognizes individuals who demonstrate the qualities exemplified by Justice Catzman throughout his distinguished career: knowledge of the law, integrity, fairness, civility, generosity of time and expertise, and dedication to the highest ideals of the legal profession through writing and lecturing. The Catzman Award is presented annually by the Chief Justice of Ontario at the Opening of the Courts Ceremony.
About Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
At Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, we serve a diverse national and international client base and our integrated office network provides clients with access to the Firm’s full spectrum of capabilities in virtually every area of business law. Blakes has offices across Canada and in New York, Chicago, London, Bahrain, Beijing and associated offices in Al-Khobar and Shanghai. In 2012, Blakes was named “Canada Law Firm of the Year” for the fourth consecutive year by Who’s Who Legal and “Law Firm of the Year: Canada” for the third time by Chambers and Partners. For the last five years, Blakes was the busiest Canadian M&A law firm, according to Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters league tables.