Once again, Queen’s Law graduates who are shining brightly on the Canadian legal landscape are included on Lexpert magazine’s annual list of “Rising Stars – Leading Lawyers Under 40.” 

This prestigious honour celebrates young lawyers who have outstanding track records, are changemakers in the legal industry, are leaders in their communities, and are important contributors to the success of their firms and organizations. The five Queen’s Law grads who have earned this distinction in 2022 are:

HEIDI GORDON, LAW’10

Kingston-born and raised Heidi Gordon, is a partner in the Business Law Group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto. 

“I was fortunate to have incredible professors at Queen’s Law,” she says. “They opened my mind to things that were totally new to me at the time – contracts, negotiation, business law – and this exposure ultimately contributed to my decision to become an M&A/corporate lawyer.” 

Spending the summer of 2009 as a summer student at McCarthy Tétrault solidified that career goal for Gordon. And once she was called to the bar and began working in the field of business law, she knew for certain that she’d found her niche. Others agree. “With a clear sense for what can make or break a deal, Heidi’s practical approach to solving challenges is what clients value most,” one of her clients wrote in a letter to the Lexpert judges panel.

Says Gordon, “I owe my career accomplishments to date to my clients, and the opportunities they’ve given me. I’ve advised founders, private equity firms, and executive teams on complex multi-billion-dollar, high-stakes public and private M&A transactions of all sizes, and across all industries. I’ve also been fortunate to stay active in community involvement through teaching Corporate Governance at The Director’s College and teaching M&A at Western (where I went to undergrad), acting as pro bono counsel for not-for-profits needing corporate law advice, and serving on the Steering Committee for Women in Capital Markets in Toronto.”

Asked if she has any advice to offer law students or recent grads, Gordon volunteers a couple of timely suggestions. “Find work that you enjoy, and people you like working with, and who will teach, support, and promote you in meaningful ways,” she says. “If you end up with the opportunity to explore different areas of law, explore them.”

PAM HRICK, LAW’13

In her student days, Pam Hrick co-founded the school’s Feminist Law Students’ Association and sought out mentorship from feminist law professors at the school. 

After graduating with the Medal in Law (second-highest standing), she went on to write her LLM thesis at New York University on legal responses to technology-facilitated violence against women. She also clerked for – and “learned a lot from,” as she notes – two eminent alumni: Justice David Stratas, Law’84, LLD’12, of the Federal Court of Appeal, and then-Justice Thomas Cromwell, Law’76, LLD’10, of the Supreme Court of Canada. Afterwards, she practised with the boutique litigation firm Stockwoods LLP in Toronto for a time and then joined the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) in early 2021 as Executive Director and General Counsel. Doing so was a natural progression for her.

During her time at Stockwoods LLP, Hrick had volunteered with LEAF’s law reform efforts in the area she investigated for her master’s thesis and helped prepare a 2021 LEAF report that included recommendations for regulating social media platforms with respect to technology-facilitated violence. In her work with LEAF, Hrick continues working to advance feminist issues in the legal realm. 

If it was her efforts in this regard that won her inclusion on Lexpert magazine’s 2022 list of “Rising Stars,” Hrick says she’s delighted. “I like to think that’s a combination of my sustained work to use the law to advance the equality of women and girls, along with my advocacy for 2SLGBTQ+ communities.” 

That said, she hastens to credit her co-workers for successes she has had in this area and for any honours that have come her way.  “I love the brilliant staff that I work with,” she says. “We have a wonderful team of women, trans, and non-binary people who are all personally very committed to advancing gender equality and doing it from an intersectional feminist perspective.”

Earlier this year, Hrick was named the 2022 winner of the Queen’s Law Dan Soberman Outstanding Young Alumni Award. She also has “come home” to Queen’s Law as co-coach of the Laskin Moot team for several years, working alongside Professor Cherie Metcalf. And Hrick has also volunteered to serve as a mentor. Whenever she does so, she advises law students to find time for the work that interests them. “Make it a priority to find time to pursue what lights you up inside, whether through your legal work or outside of it,” she says.

BRIAN KOLENDA, LAW’10

Brian Kolenda, the 2018 recipient of the Dan Soberman Outstanding Young Alumni Award, is a Rising Star who continues to excel. Kolenda, who is partner in the Toronto firm Lenczner Slaght, has a busy civil litigation practice that includes a wide range of disputes, from complex business disputes to civil fraud and from professional negligence to defamation. He has a particular interest in cases involving fraud, securities, and complex financial instruments.

In his student days at Queen’s Law, Kolenda was the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Queen's Law Journal and he earned two major academic awards and prizes for the highest standing in several courses. He was also a member of the school’s Jessup International Law Moot team. Nowadays, he co-coaches the school’s Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association Moot team (which won the 2022 provincial championship in March), regularly acts as a judge at the Jessup moot, and teaches international law in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Those aren’t the only ways in which Kolenda “gives back.”

For many years, he was among the lawyers at his firm who assisted Legal Aid Ontario's Refugee Law Office on behalf of clients seeking emergency stays of deportation.

“[Brian] applies a rare combination of a broad, deep knowledge of the law, superb judgment, and an exceptional work ethic,” says Lenczner Slaght managing partner Tom Curry. “He’s a leader, change agent, and rising star.”

AMRITA V. SINGH, LAW’12

If you ask Amrita V. Singh the secret to a having successful legal career, she will tell you that it all comes down to two elements: people and time. 

Whatever it is that she involves herself in, she believes it’s essential to invest the time it takes to understand the people and to do the work well. That’s especially true in her role as a partner in the Toronto office of the international law firm Marks & Clerk, where she is Co-Head of the litigation practice group and her practice focuses on litigation in all areas of intellectual property (IP) – including patents, trademarks, copyright, confidential information, and trade secrets.

Says Singh, “I want to understand what motivates my clients and help them achieve their objectives using the legal tools available to us, which means I spend a fair bit of time learning about what makes them tick. 

“Similarly, I want to understand what challenges our legal system faces and how we as a profession can improve things like access to justice, and diversity, and inclusion. This means I spend a fair bit of time with colleagues to understand the issues they and their clients face, and giving back to the bar through involvement with various committees and professional associations.”

It’s Singh’s thoroughness, attention to detail, selflessness, and an “ability to make complex IP law easier to understand within the context of the arguments she is advocating,” as the Rising Stars judges noted, that has earned her significant wins in some recent high-profile cases for which she has appeared before all levels of Ontario and federal courts. For example, she recently acted as co-counsel for Hilton before the Federal Court of Appeal, maintaining its Waldorf-Astoria trademark registration for “hotel services” (despite having no bricks-and-mortar hotel in Canada), and as co-counsel for Glassdoor before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, staying a Norwich Order. It was her work in these and similar files that earned Singh inclusion on this year’s list of “Leading Lawyers Under 40.” 

She credits her career successes to her clients, mentors (including Queen’s Law alumni), and colleagues, as well as “the supportive learning environment at Queen’s Law, the academic excellence of my peers who pushed me to work harder, and the opportunity to better master time-management,” which helped prepared her for a productive and successful legal career. However, there’s one other intangible that Singh’s peers and colleagues also pinpoint. That’s her enthusiasm. That trait also comes to the forefront when she offers advice to law students and new grads. “Find something you’re passionate about, and invest in it wholeheartedly,” she says. “I’ve found that if you do so, it won’t really feel like work.” 

Earlier this year, Singh – who was the 2021 recipient of the Dan Soberman Outstanding Young Alumni Award – was re-elected to a second term as a University Council member, a role in which she continues to advise the University administration on issues relating to the prosperity and well-being of Queen’s.

EMILY TING, LAW’10 

The honours keep coming. Being included on Lexpert magazine’s 2022 “Rising Stars” is the third major distinction Emily Ting has garnered recently. The Ottawa native, who is a partner and co-head of a business law group at Goodmans, also has been recognized by IFLR 1000 as a “Rising Star Partner in Capital markets: Equity and M&A” and has been cited by The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in the area of corporate finance and securities.

“My Queen’s Law studies taught me how to think as a lawyer, and how to problem solve, analyze fact scenarios and information, pick out the relevant points, and make strong arguments,” says Ting. “But what was probably the most inspiring were the people – the professors, staff, and my classmates. I knew I’d be in good company with a career in the law, the friendships I made, the mentorship I received, and the network I built from QL have been so important to my development both personally and professionally.”  

Ting’s practice is transaction-based and involves all aspects of corporate and securities law, with a particular emphasis on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. She also assists companies with their corporate governance and continuous disclosure obligations. Among the high-profile transactions in which Ting recently has been involved were Northern Private Capital’s billion-dollar acquisition of space-tech firm MDA and the formation of Clairvest Group Inc.’s sixth private equity fund.   

Says Ting, “I just feel so honoured to have been considered as a ‘Rising Star.’ What I hope stood out is not only the work I’ve done, but my contributions outside of the files that I’ve worked on, such as being a part of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at my firm and my dedication to mentoring others.”

It is with that latter purpose in mind that a dozen years into her career she offers this bit of sage advice to any law students or young lawyers who seek to follow in her footsteps: “Always be curious. Come to work with a great attitude and be eager to try new things.” 

By Ken Cuthbertson, Law’83