The sky’s the limit for Gareth Gibbins, MIR’01/Law’04 (Com’00), Bo Rothstein, Law’04, and John Uhren, Law’08. They have been named to Canadian publisher Lexpert’s 2017 honour roll of “Rising Stars – Leading Lawyers Under 40.”
All three of these up-and-comers talked to Queen’s Law Reports about their career satisfaction, law school experience, and advice they give to students and new lawyers.
Gareth Gibbins, MIR’01/Law’04 (Com’00)
OMERS
Toronto
Gareth Gibbins is Vice-President, Pension Legal for OMERS. Among his contributions at OMERS, he is the legal lead of its Additional Voluntary Contributions program (in which there are more than $650 million in contributions). This requires him to draw on his intimate knowledge of the applicable legislation and existing AVC framework along with his ability to synthesize complicated regulatory and plan design considerations into an end product that is easy for plan members to understand. Having recently completed his term as Chair of the OBA Pensions and Benefits Law Section, Gibbins worked closely with his executive to refine the OBA’s pension education programs and introduced new initiatives to enhance the OBA’s public affairs outreach. In 2017, Gibbins was appointed to the FSCO Legal Advisory Committee, where he provides advice to the Deputy Superintendent of Pensions. He also actively participates in the CCCA Mentoring Program. (Lexpert, November 2017)
QLR: What do you find most fulfilling in your career?
GG: The thing I love most about coming into work every day is that I help look after the pensions for OMERS 470,000+ members. As a self-professed pension nerd, I thoroughly enjoy having the opportunity to provide leadership and expertise on plan design, administration and strategic pension initiatives.
QLR: How did Queen’s Law prepare you for your career?
GG: As a student in the combined Law and Masters of Industrial Relationships program, I started with a focus on labour law. After my first summer of articling, I quickly fell in love with pensions. Although Queen’s did not have a pension course at the time, my professors at Queen’s were beyond supportive in helping me pursue this passion and learn more about pension law.
QLR: What advice would you give law students and new lawyers for a successful legal career?
GG: Find an area of the law you are passionate about and then jump in with both feet! There are lots of opportunities to learn at Queen’s both inside and outside of the classroom – take advantage of these opportunities to pursue the area of law that you are interested in.
Bo Rothstein, Law’04
Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP
Vancouver
Bo Rothstein is a partner with Farris, practising M&A, securities, banking and corporate commercial law. Rothstein’s experience includes acting as the lead counsel on several acquisition and sale transactions, public and private company financings and strategic alliances. In addition, Rothstein has assisted senior counsel at the firm on some of British Columbia’s most significant hostile takeover bids and negotiated transactions. In addition to this transactional work, Rothstein regularly negotiates and drafts commercial agreements, shareholder rights plans (aka, “poison pills”) and continuous disclosure documents for public companies. Rothstein also advises in the areas of corporate governance and compliance in relation to the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act. Rothstein is a member of the Board of Directors of the Vancouver Talmud Torah school, where he also serves as the corporate secretary. He is a past member of the Senior Advisory Council of Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, which is a hospice for terminally ill children in British Columbia. (Lexpert, November 2017)
QLR: What do you find most fulfilling in your career?
BR: I love helping entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. Corporate lawyers can have an incredible impact on their clients’ success, and that makes every day challenging and fulfilling. I also get a lot of enjoyment out of training and mentoring our associates, and I’m always amazed at how much I learn from them.
QLR: How did Queen’s Law prepare you for your career?
BR: The clinical programs at Queen’s are outstanding. They really teach you what practice is like. I encourage all law students to take as many clinical courses as they can.
QLR: What advice would you give law students and new lawyers for a successful legal career?
BR: Don’t expect success to come quickly. Being a lawyer is a hard job and it takes years to become good at it. If you put your head down and work hard for a few years, success will come.
John Uhren, Law’08
BMO Capital Markets
Toronto
John Uhren is Senior Counsel and Director of the Legal, Corporate and Compliance Group within BMO Capital Markets Legal. He provides legal and advisory support to Global Structured Products (GSP), including through structuring and documenting a variety of investment solutions to retail, institutional and private-wealth clients. He played a key role in creating and manufacturing BMO’s recently launched Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Low Volatility Index Linked Principal Protected Note (ESG Note). The ESG Note was BMO Capital Markets’ first ever ESG-themed product and the first principal-protected note linked to an ESG-themed index in Canadian history. Uhren and a colleague recently organized a power of attorney clinic in partnership with Pro Bono Ontario, which is providing powers of attorney for 19 patients from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. (Lexpert, November 2017)
QLR: What do you find most fulfilling in your career?
JU: I love working with clients to resolve complicated issues. I support BMO Capital Markets and I’m constantly faced with complex problems requiring creative solutions in real time. I’ve worked hard to earn my clients’ trust, and I’m considered a true business partner.
QLR: How did Queen’s Law prepare you for your career?
JU: Queen’s Law provided a solid legal foundation for my career. The professors are strong subject matter experts, and they really do care about their students. I also loved Queen’s emphasis on legal aid and pro bono work, and it inspired me to volunteer extensively with Pro Bono Ontario.
QLR: What advice would you give law students and new lawyers for a successful legal career?
JU: Use your imagination. Challenge yourself to think outside the box. And don’t be afraid to fail. You’ll fall flat more often than you’ll care to admit, but learning from failure is critically important both in law and life.
Queen’s Law congratulates these three Rising Stars on their remarkable accomplishments.