WeirFoulds Women & Frank Walwyn Win 2016 Lexpert Zenith Awards
June 27, 2016
WeirFoulds is delighted to announce that the WeirFoulds Women (WFW) initiative and our esteemed colleague Frank Walwyn were both selected as 2016 Lexpert® Zenith Awards winners. This year’s Zenith Awards celebrate those who have demonstrated excellence, action and thought leadership in ways that have advanced diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and in society at large.
Established in 1990, WFW promotes a successful and diverse working environment, and hosts popular events covering hot-button issues. Recent events have included panels on women on corporate boards and women entrepreneurs, and a time management seminar. WFW events combine education, networking, and opportunities to meet local women business leaders. The latest WFW event, held on May 10, 2016, focused on personal finance and featured Lori Duffy, founder of WFW, as a panellist.
Frank Walwyn, senior litigation partner, is repeatedly named as one of Canada’s top lawyers in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation in Best Lawyers® in Canada. While maintaining a busy practice that often takes him to Caribbean countries, Frank devotes countless hours to championing to increase the number of minorities in law. A Past President of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), he recently gave the Opening Ceremony Keynote speech at the Black Law Students Association of Canada 25th Anniversary National Conference, with the message “Leverage your differences – diversity is an opportunity.”
Hilary Book, leader of WFW since 2014, and Frank received their honours at an awards ceremony in Toronto on Monday, June 20 alongside accomplished lawyers from across Canada. Fellow winner Rita Maxwell, legal counsel to the Court of Appeal for Ontario and adjunct professor at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, was also nominated by the firm.
We are also proud to announce that The Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network was also honoured at the Zenith Awards. Lisa Borsook, Executive Partner, signed the Statement of Principles of the Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion Network, as part of the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the legal community. Law firms in the Network aim to share ideas and work together to promote diversity and encourage a culture of inclusion in their firms and the legal professional generally, to attract and retain the best talent, and best serve their clients.
WeirFoulds congratulates all of the 2016 Zenith Award recipients and applauds their successes as champions of diversity and inclusion in Canada’s legal profession and beyond.
WeirFoulds LLP
www.weirfoulds.comFor more than 160 years, the lawyers of WeirFoulds have been proud to serve our clients in their most difficult and complex matters. We are the firm of choice for discerning clients within our core areas of practice: (1) Litigation; (2) Corporate; (3) Property; and (4) Government Law. Within these core areas, as well as key sub-specialties, we address highly sophisticated legal challenges. We have acted in some of Canada's most significant mandates and have represented clients in many landmark cases. Reflecting the firm's focus, our lawyers are consistently recognized as leaders in their chosen areas of practice and in the profession at large.