MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC (April 20, 2011) – Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) is pleased to announce the appointment of Robert Torralbo as Managing Partner of the Montréal office, effective June 1, 2011. Mr. Torralbo succeeds Norm Saibil, who played a significant role in the creation and growth of the office and who has been its Managing Partner since its inception in 2001. Norm will continue as senior counsel on corporate, financial services and real estate matters, and he will be involved as well in building and maintaining relationships with significant Firm clients.
“Robert has earned the respect of his clients and colleagues as a top litigator and as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee,” said Brock Gibson, Chair of Blakes. “We are very pleased that Robert has agreed to add this role to his active practice.”
“We are thankful to Norm for his leadership and vision over the almost 10-year history of our Montréal office. His efforts have been critical to our success in Montréal.” said Rob Granatstein, Firm Managing Partner of Blakes. “We are confident that Robert has all the skills required to succeed Norm and to effectively lead the Montréal office, and they will be working together to ensure a smooth transition.”
Throughout his career, Mr. Torralbo has distinguished himself as one of Quebec’s top litigators. He practises corporate commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on defending class actions, product liability, securities, banking, real estate and shareholder disputes. He is a member of the Montréal, Quebec and Canadian Bar Associations, the Defence Research Institute and the Canadian Defence Lawyers Association, as well as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.
Mr. Torralbo is recognized in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2011, The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2010, The Best Lawyers in Canada 2011 and in Legal Media Group’s Guide to the World’s Leading Product Liability Lawyers 2010.
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 2010, and for the third consecutive year, Blakes was named “Canada’s Law Firm of the Year” by Who’s Who Legal and “Law Firm of the Year: Canada” in the PLC Which Lawyer? Awards. For the last four years, Blakes was the busiest Canadian M&A law firm, according to Bloomberg, mergermarket and Thomson Reuters league tables.
More information on Blakes is available by visiting the Firm’s website at www.blakes.com or by following us on Twitter @BlakesLaw.
