Peter Brady, Law‘96, is the 2014 recipient of the Canadian General Counsel Award (CGCA) for Litigation Management. The award, co-sponsored by the National Post and ZSA Legal Recruitment, recognizes excellence in the in-house counsel community.

“Being nominated by my colleagues feels fantastic, since the recognition of one’s peers means so much,” says Brady, Deputy General Counsel at Toronto-based Vale Canada Limited, one of the world’s largest mining companies. He has been handling Vale’s base metals litigation globally for the past seven years. His high-stakes career successes include prevailing in Smith v. Inco in 2011, a long, complex legal battle that has served as a test case for environmental class actions in Ontario.

“Few jobs compare with the complexity and breadth of the work we get to do,” Brady confirms, “but what’s really key is working with colleagues I respect and being part of a team.”

The global nature of his job also keeps life interesting because his work with law firms around the world involves learning about different legal jurisdictions. Despite the years since graduation, Brady says he still draws upon what he learned at Queen’s Law. “It’s incredible to find myself applying these skills in India or Brazil or Africa.”

In addition, he says, Queen’s Law provided the foundations for the tactical thinking that his work as an in-house lawyer at a global company requires. “My approach to litigation management is that our work must always be in line with the business strategy. It was Doug Hamilton (Law’83) along with Justice David Stratas (Law’84, LLD’12) who taught me to think strategically and also showed me how enjoyable it could be to practise law.”

KIRSTEEN MACLEOD