The Lawyers Weekly - June 24, 2011

n;Nathan Whitling has joined
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC)
as counsel in the firm’s Edmonton
office. Whitling will be focusing on
constitutional law as part of FMC’s
litigation team. He specializes in
commercial litigation, aboriginal
law and constitutional law. He has
also done pro bono work for Omar
Khadr, a Canadian detainee in
Guantanamo Bay.
n;Howard Burshtein has joined
Baker and McKenzie LLP’s Toronto
office as partner. He specializes in
mergers and acquisitions (M&A),
corporate finance, corporate gov-
ernance and works extensively
with clients in the mining sector.

MICHAEL BENEDICT

When Steven Trumper saw the Toronto in-house counsel ad, he knew it was time to consider ending his “wonderful life” in Bermuda. A few months later, in March, Trumper became the first general counsel for Build Toronto, a one-year old city initiative to maximize the value of its municipal property holdings.

He has no regrets about leav-
ing the island paradise in the
Atlantic, some 1,000 kilometres
east of North Carolina. “Bermuda
was always a chapter in our lives,”
says Trumper, 59. “The work was
great. There’s tremendous oppor-
tunity for tennis and golf. And you
meet terrific people from all over,
but you are always saying goodbye
to someone.”
This was not the first time the
adventurous Trumper and his wife,
a former public servant, said fare-
well to an exotic posting. In the
mid-1990s, he headed Osler
Hoskin & Harcourt’s Hong Kong
office. “You live only once, and we
would regret these opportunities if
we had not taken advantage of
them,” he says.

Now, his opportunity is to par-
lay three decades of private prac-
tice experience into his new public
sector job. “I knew I was well
suited to this position,” he says,
“because of my background work-
ing on large real estate projects
that involved both the private and
public sectors.”
Trumper has certainly worked
on some iconic projects. For a dec-
ade, he advised the Ontario gov-
ernment in connection with its
financial interests in SkyDome,
now the Rogers Centre. Subse-
quently, he helped the not-for-
profit Canadian Opera House Cor-
poration create that signature
structure through intricate deal-
ings with the private sector. “The
opera house was particularly inter-
esting because of its relationship
with the Four Seasons hotel chain,”
Trumper says. (The building was
formally called the Four Seasons
Centre for the Performing Arts.)

AWARDS
EVENTS

n;Judy Goldring, AGF Management Ltd.’s general counsel, COO and executive vice-president, is co-chairing the annual ride for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The ride features challenges among firms in different sectors, from investment management to legal to accounting firms.

The legal sector challenge is headed up by: Geoff Turner, a partner with Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg LLP and Jason Ser-noskie, an associate with Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP. This year’s focus is on families living with Type

1 diabetes, and organizers have set a target to raise $3.1 million for Toronto. For more information check out www.jdrf.ca/ride.

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NE WS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

Name: Steven Trumper Law school: Queen’s University Called to the Bar: 1982

Career highlights:

1988 Partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt

1995-1998 Managing partner, Osler’s Hong Kong office.

2006-2007 Chair, Dean’s Advisory Committee, Queen’s University’s law school

n;The Quebec Bar Association honoured Paul Martel of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP with a Mèrite du Barreau.” The award recognizes significant contributions to Quebec law and justice. Martel’s influence as a company law expert, professor, lecturer, and author has made him a regular consultant with government authorities undertaking major legislative reforms such as the Civil Code of Quebec, the Quebec Companies Act and the Canada Business Corporations Act.

LAWYER OF THE WEEK

2007-2011 Senior counsel and corporate department head, Marshal Diel and Myers, Bermuda

Steven Trumper

Adds Trumper: “There is a par-
ticular dynamic when a not-for-
profit, whether government or a
charity, is dealing with a for-profit.
At a for-profit, decision-making is
fairly focused on the bottom line.
But that process is more textured
at a not-for-profit.”
At Build Toronto, the sole
shareholder is Toronto City Coun-
cil. “Clearly, we have to be sensitive
to the political aspects,” Trumper
says. “We have a job to do, but city
council is obviously a critical factor
in our lives.”
While Build Toronto’s main
objective is to create a steady
revenue stream for the city
from developing its extensive
property holdings, the organiz-
ation has other goals as well.
“We want to create affordable
housing units, foster ‘green’
buildings and create jobs,”
Trumper says.

Born and raised in London, Ont., Trumper did his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario before moving to Toronto for a couple of years in public relations. “But I was always interested in law, politics and current affairs, so I applied to law school,” he says.

Queen’s accepted him and he
has remained devoted to the insti-
tution ever since. Says Trumper: “It
changed my life, and I am grateful
to this day for them taking me. I
support them as much as I can.”
He chaired the law school dean’s
advisory council for two years and
has helped raise more than
$150,000 from his 1980 graduat-
ing class, one of the school’s lar-
gest-ever class donations.

After articling, Trumper
joined Osler’s in 1982 but took
early retirement in 2007 to
embark on another foreign
sojourn. He joined the Ber-
muda firm of Marshal Diel &
Myers, which needed a senior
counsel to head its corporate
department. Three-and-a-half
years later, the lure of new chal-
lenges at Build Toronto was too
much to resist. “The great thing
about working in-house,”
Trumper says, “is the opportun-
ity to work closely with the
business team and be involved
in deals as they are initiated,
shaped and completed.”
Trumper’s goal over the next
five years is to “create a centre of
excellence for real estate develop-
ment and deliver a steady revenue
stream for the city.” After that, he
wants to hire a “new, young lawyer
to be my replacement.”
And after that? “Maybe we’ll go
back to Bermuda.” n

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Natalie Fraser, LL.B.

Acting Focus Editor

Natalie Fraser, LL.B.

Legal Business Editor

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Cristin Schmitz

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Tammy Leung

Production Coordinator

Pauline Braithwaite

Interns

Yuti Hu & Anum Lateef

Correspondents

Luigi Benetton, Toronto Arnold Ceballos, LL.B., Toronto Thomas Claridge, Toronto Christopher Guly, Ottawa Jeremy Hainsworth, Vancouver Geoff Kirbyson, Winnipeg Luis Millan, Montreal donalee Moulton, Halifax Gary Oakes, Victoria Mike Sadava, Edmonton

® THE LAWYERS WEEKLY VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

Vol. 22, No. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION December 6, 2002

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY

VOL. 22, NO. 27 NEWS FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION DECEMBER 6, 2002

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