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The 16th edition of Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers proves beyond a reasonable doubt that being influential means changing how the system works.
As someone who’s had the privilege of working closely with some of Canada’s most influential legal minds, Thomson Reuters’ general manager of global large law firms, Steve Assie, remarks that several qualities distinguish these exceptional practitioners:
mastery of legal craft
adaptability and creativity
relationship-building
commitment to nurturing the next generation
“The legal community has an uncanny ability to identify authenticity and character. Influence ultimately gravitates toward good people – those who use their platform not merely for personal advancement, but to elevate others,” he explains. “These lawyers understand that true influence is measured not by what you achieve alone, but by what you enable others to accomplish.”
Kirsti McHenry, Pro Bono Ontario executive director, adds that recognition by peers, including legal media, regulators, and law associations, is a clear marker of influence, as is being invited to speak at notable legal gatherings.
Significant achievements such as leading high-profile cases, contributing to law reform, mentoring, and sustained commitment to the profession all signal lasting impact.
Each year, Canadian Lawyer invites nominations from readers, legal associations, and editorial contributors to recognize those driving meaningful change. This year’s shortlist was selected through a national survey, followed by voting from the publication’s editorial board, who assessed each finalist’s influence on the legal system over the past 18 months.
The final 25 influential lawyers represent five categories where legal impact is being redefined by action, connection, and purpose.
The work of this year’s winners shows where legal influence is headed:
Business: These awardees are shaping the future of Canadian commerce. They are overhauling legal service delivery, steering billion-dollar deals, leading precedent-setting litigation, and strengthening Canada’s position in global capital markets. Their work embeds legal strategy into high-growth companies, enables cross-border investment in critical sectors, and brings practical innovation to complex business challenges.
Changemakers: The winners in this category are setting national precedents on AI ethics, developing trauma-informed legal service models, mentoring future professionals, and creating peer networks for in-house counsel. Their efforts stretch from courtrooms to frontline reform, challenging outdated systems and expanding the role of legal influence.
Government, non-profits, associations, and judiciary: Those honoured are rethinking how justice is delivered across Canada. They are redesigning court systems, confronting systemic bias, expanding digital access, and leading new approaches to mental health in law and policy. Their work spans legislation, major rulings, AI governance, and civil rights – all with a focus on improving transparency and inclusion at every level.
In-house: The lawyers recognized for leadership in this area are setting a new standard for corporate counsel. They are leading transformative M&A, integrating ESG into business strategy, strengthening AI oversight, and building legal teams that reflect Canada’s diversity. Their influence reaches into public policy, operational design, and ethical leadership inside some of the country’s most powerful institutions.
Human rights, advocacy, and criminal law: These leading lawyers are confronting Canada’s most urgent human rights challenges. They are defending trans youth, challenging antisemitism, advancing gender justice, and leading class actions that test the limits of the law. Their work builds national coalitions, drives reform, and pushes courts to rethink how they respond to abuse, discrimination, and systemic harm.
In Canada’s legal profession, the definition of influence is broadening – and fast.
“The most influential lawyers I’ve encountered share one defining characteristic: they are builders,” says Assie.
This manifests in various forms:
developing emerging talent
securing transformative clients and matters
expanding practice groups
leading firms through periods of growth and change
“What sets builders apart is their magnetic quality,” he adds. “Influence inherently attracts people, and these lawyers leverage that draw to create opportunities for others. They understand that their success is inextricably linked to the success of those around them.”
McHenry notes that influence is also reflected in how lawyers live their values.
“Mentors cultivate and foster their values in others and share their experiences with a new generation – a powerful way to pass on values and support new lawyers,” she says.
This year’s Top 25 winners lead on ESG, tech transformation, mental health, and social equity. These efforts are transforming how law is practised, who it serves, and how talent is cultivated.
For McHenry, pro bono work and community service are integral to that blueprint.
“It’s a natural opportunity to demonstrate leadership, live by your values, and ensure access to justice is real and available to people who cannot otherwise afford a lawyer,” she says.
Lawyers who do pro bono learn more about their communities and legal needs, and this deeper knowledge draws others to them for insight.
Assie sees these traits clearly in the profession’s rising leaders. He says, “The lawyers who will maintain and grow their influence are those who can bridge generational divides, leveraging their experience while embracing new methodologies and perspectives.”
That includes fluency in emerging technologies such as AI, openness to hybrid work, and a deeper understanding of what new talent expects from legal culture.
“To remain influential and relevant, lawyers must become conversant in these approaches. Those who resist or dismiss these evolving expectations risk being perceived as disconnected from the future talent pipeline of their firms,” Assie explains.
Assie’s view on mentorship was shaped early in his career, when he noticed that the most successful lawyers were invariably the most patient and earnest mentors. That insight stuck with him.
Years later, he sees a clear throughline between those early mentors and the recognition they’ve earned in the profession. “This isn’t coincidental. It reflects a fundamental truth about influence in the legal profession.”
Within law firms, especially, mentorship takes on even greater significance. Senior lawyers build the next generation of partners, shape firm identity, and pass on institutional knowledge.
Mentoring keeps leaders sharp, he says. “Teaching others forces you to articulate your knowledge clearly, stay current with evolving practices, and see familiar challenges through fresh perspectives.”
McHenry agrees and sees mentorship as a way to sustain influence over time. “Find mentors, build community, get involved in pro bono work, and find your own path to success and happiness.”
Canada’s legal profession is entering another turning point in how it defines legal talent and leadership. Thomson Reuters’ Assie compares it to the rise of the billable hour in the 1960s.
“That earlier shift occurred because legal practice had become sufficiently complex that time spent became the most reliable measure of value delivered,” he says. “Today, technological advances are making legal practice dramatically more efficient.”
As AI and automation reduce the hours required to produce high-quality legal work, time is no longer the dominant measure of value. Lawyers are increasingly judged by what they deliver.
“Outcomes achieved, problems solved, and relationships built will take precedence,” says Assie.
That turn is also shaped by generational change. “Generation Z brings distinctly different expectations and capabilities that influential lawyers must understand and embrace.”
From hybrid work to AI literacy, younger lawyers view flexibility and mental health as prerequisites. Those who resist these expectations risk losing influence in their firms and across the profession.
The most influential lawyers are those who combine deep legal knowledge with human connection, and lead with:
emotional intelligence
strong communication
relationship-building
leadership capabilities
These are not traits that can be outsourced or automated, and they’re fast becoming the legal profession’s new standard.
Canada’s legal services market is on track to expand at a 4.5 percent CAGR through 2030, hitting US$35.4 billion. Litigation remains the largest segment, while corporate and commercial law grew fastest. In 2024, Canada accounted for 2.6 percent of global legal revenue.
Canada’s legal technology sector was valued at US$714.6 million in 2023. It’s expected to hit US$1.26 billion by 2030, growing at a rate of 8.4 percent as firms continue investing in automation, data analytics, and AI-enhanced tools.
GenAI use doubled in 2024, with 26–28 percent of legal professionals incorporating it into their workflow. Adoption is projected to rise again throughout 2025, as firms explore everything from research to drafting support.
Courts are already issuing guidance and, in some cases, penalties over the misuse of GenAI. Inaccurate citations and hallucinated content have prompted new federal rules requiring human oversight and full disclosure in AI-generated legal documents.
Clients are increasingly looking for niche expertise across AI regulation, cybersecurity, environmental law, and Indigenous and reconciliation law. These areas are fast becoming growth engines for Canadian legal practices, particularly in response to ESG and public policy complexity.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s 2025 Litigation Trends survey found that 36 percent of legal departments reported a rise in cybersecurity and data privacy litigation last year, more than any other area. Nearly half expect continued exposure in 2025, while another third anticipate further increases.
As of May 2025, the unemployment rate for legal professionals was just 2.2 percent compared to 6.7 percent nationally. Law firms and legal departments continue to report challenges hiring mid-level lawyers and legal technicians. Eighty-six percent cite difficulty attracting skilled talent.
Called to the bar: 2019
At just 35, the associate lawyer has influenced two of the most consequential areas in Canadian law: family law and the responsible use of AI in the justice system. As lead counsel in Zhang v. Chen (2024 BCSC 285), Canada’s first reported case involving hallucinated AI-generated legal authorities, MacLean sparked a bigger conversation than he ever expected on legal ethics in the digital age.
🎯 A defining moment arrived in 2024, when he uncovered fake legal citations generated by ChatGPT in a BC Supreme Court matter. The ruling in Zhang v. Chen became a national first and triggered a wave of reforms. Law societies and courts across Canada have since adopted new requirements for disclosing AI use in legal filings, a direct result of MacLean’s advocacy.
“We didn’t go into it thinking we were going to set a national precedent on AI and legal practice,” MacLean says. “But when the issue of fake citations came to light, it quickly became clear that we were facing a new kind of risk to the justice system – one that most of us hadn’t yet encountered.”
His position is principled and clear. “As lawyers, we’ve always had a duty of competence and candour to the court. Generative AI doesn’t change that, but it does add a new layer of responsibility. For me, this has always been about protecting the integrity of the system, not stopping innovation.”
MacLean believes AI has the potential to improve access to justice if applied responsibly. His work on this front has been covered by the media in Canada and abroad, positioning him as the country’s leading legal voice on AI’s risks and responsibilities.
Across emerging technology and family law, he has built a reputation as a trusted advocate. In Zhang v. Chen (2023 BCSC 2206), he secured one of British Columbia’s largest interim support awards in a $90-million family law dispute.
MacLean successfully challenged a foreign USA custody order in SSCM v. ACW (2024 BCSC 1694), overturned summary judgment in Cho v. Kim (2023 BCSC 780), and prevailed in long-running trials involving parenting time, spousal support, and parental alienation.
The human side of the law and the systems that support it continue to guide his legal approach. Family law allows him to advocate for individuals, especially children, while his ethics and policy work gives him the chance to improve the tools and rules that govern practice.
“What ties it all together is the idea of trust. That trust is earned. I see it as a privilege to do this work and a responsibility to do it right,” says MacLean.
🌊 At MacLean Law, he leads wellness programming, including a confidential coaching initiative for young lawyers, an increasingly necessary response to burnout in legal practice.
“To me, influence in 2025 isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about using whatever platform or opportunity you have to do some good,” he says.
He also improves firm-wide client service strategy, delivering compassion and clarity to families in crisis. A committed legal educator, MacLean lectures regularly at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Faculty of Law, where he also founded two scholarships for future lawyers. His written work appears in Westlaw, Law360, and national CLE materials, and his precedents have been cited in Payne on Child Support (2024).
Community service reflects the same sense of purpose evident in his professional life. A regular contributor to Union Gospel Mission and Dress for Success, MacLean brings depth and consistency to every aspect of his professional life.
➡️ MacLean continues to lead his firm’s mental health initiative and is a member of the management team, where he helps shape lawyer development and client service strategy. He remains active in legal education through national CLE programs and ongoing support for TRU Law.
His community engagement through Union Gospel Mission and Dress for Success rounds out a career defined by service. MacLean views family law as foundational to social stability and believes the justice system must help families move forward with compassion. His work reflects that conviction and sets a standard for the profession to follow.
Called to the bar: 1986 in Quebec, 1990 in Ontario
A widely respected voice in Quebec’s legal community, Druker brings four decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions, finance and corporate law, along with a sustained commitment to equity, mentorship, and governance to her role as a partner at Robinson Sheppard Shapiro (RSS) and the head of its corporate services department. Druker also plays a role in reinforcing professional standards, as liaison partner for colleagues facing professional liability or disciplinary claims.
Through her work in private practice, bar associations, and community leadership, she is helping to build a legal profession that is more inclusive, accountable, and future-focused.
🎯 Widely recognized for advancing mentorship, diversity, and professional ethics within the legal field, Druker co-authored the 2025 RSS mentorship program policy and is a member of the firm’s training and mentorship committee. Whether guiding new lawyers or advocating for women in leadership, Druker brings an authentic approach to mentorship.
“To me, influence means speaking from and sharing your lived experience,” she explains. “At work, I supervise, train, and mentor formally and informally. I contribute to community institutions I care deeply about. It’s about saying, ‘I’ve been around the block a few more times than you. If you’re willing, let me share what I’ve learned. Maybe it can help you.’”
In addition to mentoring McGill law students through the Law Inspiration Network and offering informal guidance to aspiring lawyers at key stages of their careers, Druker co-founded RSS au féminin, which fosters support among women professionals in her firm, and serves as the firm’s representative for two core Barreau du Québec initiatives: Projet Justicia, focused on advancing women in law, and Projet Panorama, which promotes inclusion across the profession.
“When I had my first child [while working at] a boutique firm in 1999, I was their first pregnant lawyer and since they had no maternity policy, I had to help create it,” she recalls. “When I had my second child as a partner at a different national firm, their policy was only for employees, so I had to negotiate my own. Although these things are common now, we still need to make it easier for lawyers seeking to balance work and family responsibilities so they can remain in the profession.”
Her expertise is both locally and internationally recognized. She co-authors the Canadian chapter of Establishing a Business Entity: An International Guide and the Quebec chapter of Buying & Selling Real Estate: An International Guide, both annual publications of the International Lawyers Network.
In 2020, Barreau du Québec named her an Advocatus emeritus, a title awarded to lawyers with an outstanding career record, whose contribution to the profession and social and community influence are worthy of recognition.
🌊 At the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, Druker is vice-chair of the governance committee and serves on the nominating committee. She is also a long-time supporter of Hope & Cope, a cancer support organization, where she serves as board member and governance chair, and volunteers as a peer mentor.
Her philanthropic involvement runs deep. She fundraises through Federation CJA’s Lion of Judah (Diamond) designation and participates in Women in Networks (WIN), which connects women professionals across sectors.
She serves on the professional advisory committee of the Jewish Community Foundation and helps organize legal programming on philanthropic legacy. She is a past president of the Lord Reading Law Society and remains active as a board advisor and chair of the governance committee.
Within the synagogue Shaare Zedek Congregation, Druker chairs the governance committee and serves on the board, executive committee, and sisterhood board.
➡️ Druker is the incoming vice-chair of the board of directors and chair of the governance committee of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec. In 2027, she will take on new roles as chair of the governance committee and as a Foundation board member at the Jewish General Hospital.
She also remains active in legal education, serving as a judge for the John Molson School of Business’s annual MBA International Case Competition, and sharing her expertise as a panelist on ethics and non-profit governance.
“I believe it’s good to have more than one mentor,” she says. “One might guide you through having a family, another might support your public speaking or writing ambitions. As you grow, your mentors grow. And it’s okay to outgrow a mentor. Keep in touch but recognize when you need to reach out to someone new. Stay open to mini-mentorships in specific areas and for specific skills.”
Whether advancing governance frameworks, mentoring the next generation of legal professionals, or promoting inclusion across institutions, Druker’s influence reflects a sustained commitment to service and ethical leadership.
“Life is short. You’ve got to take calculated risks. If you don’t move out of your comfort zone, you don’t grow,” she says. “I love gardening, but if you don’t repot a plant every so often, it gets root-bound and stops blooming. We’re like that, too. If we don’t stretch our roots, we stop flowering.”
Called to the bar: 1993
The senior partner is one of Canada’s most influential criminal defence lawyers. Over a 32-year career marked by courtroom excellence, social advocacy, and public education, Neuberger has helped shape Canadian criminal law while mobilizing the profession around justice, equity, and legal literacy. His litigation record, leadership within community and professional organizations, and contributions to legal discourse position him among the most impactful legal figures in the country.
🎯 Neuberger’s trial work continues to influence the evolution of criminal law in Canada. In R v. FZ (2023 ONSC 3159), a precedent-setting case, he successfully defended a male client by introducing expert evidence of intimate partner violence against men. The ruling identified the husband, not the wife, as the victim of coercive control. It reinforced the importance of gender neutrality in legal interpretation and expanded how abuse is understood in Canadian courts.
His role in this and other complex matters reflects a deep command of criminal defence. That expertise has been recognized by peers, courts, and the media, most recently in Law Society of Ontario v. Corcoran, where his analysis was cited in tribunal findings.
For years, Neuberger has also shaped the development of emerging criminal litigators, many of whom have gone on to become judges.
“I’m quite proud of the impact we’ve had on the careers of individuals who’ve come through our firm. That’s a major one,” he says.
Neuberger’s Not on Record podcast furthers that influence, offering open dialogue on the fault lines within the justice system, persistent myths about criminal law, and the erosion of public trust.
“More than ever now, I see that there is this attack undermining confidence in our justice system, which concerns me greatly,” he says. “We have one of the best criminal justice systems in the world. It’s very well-functioning and I think people should be proud of our system.”
🌊 As a founder of the Canadian Jewish Law Association (CJLA), which came into fruition in conjunction with the work of other groups, including the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, Neuberger has helped establish a national platform to address antisemitism, hate, and discrimination in all forms.
From the outset, his goal was to go broader than identity-based advocacy. “We wanted to take on a broader role in addressing hate in general,” he says.
His public commentary highlights the threat of rising incivility and disinformation.
“There’s a fair amount of uncivil dialogue and other types of commentary that are extremely harmful to our values as Canadians,” he says. “I do believe it tears away at the fabric of our society.”
He sees the CJLA as a venue for education, equity, and bridge-building – one that can reinforce shared values across the legal profession.
➡️ Neuberger’s advocacy extends into tangible community support. As a longtime supporter and past president of the Toronto Lawyers Association, he has played a leading role for its Feed the Hungry program. The annual Billiards with the Bar event, which he has shepherded for 11 years, has become a cornerstone of those efforts.
“It’s such a wonderfully run program, where essentially 90 cents of every dollar goes to feed the hungry,” he says. “There’s very little wastage of donated dollars, and high-quality food is provided to people.”
In 2024, the event raised over $17,000. With expanded outreach through his social media platform, he hopes to exceed $20,000 this year.
Between his litigation practice, continued leadership in the CJLA, and wide-reaching podcast platform, Neuberger remains a powerful voice for justice, accountability, and legal education in Canada.
Called to the bar: 1994
The senior counsel is a driving force behind how mental health is understood and supported within Canada’s legal profession. At the Ministry of the Attorney General, she brings deep expertise in civil and mental health law, human rights, and Coroner’s inquests. But it is Beattie’s candour about living with bipolar disorder, along with her strategic advocacy, that has positioned her among the most influential lawyers in the country.
🎯 In 2024, Beattie co-edited The Right Not to Remain Silent: The Truth About Mental Health in the Legal Profession, a bestselling anthology of unfiltered personal accounts from 15 lawyers and two judges.
Her own essay, detailing her experience with bipolar disorder, helped break a long-standing silence in law. The book has become a landmark contribution, influencing legal culture and modelling inclusion in practice.
She also co-founded Voices for Mental Health, a mental health advocacy group within government that has delivered over 50 sessions on topics such as depression, anxiety, intersectionality, addiction, and imposter syndrome.
Beattie is quick to credit her collaborators. “I’ve played a major role in these initiatives, but I’m not one voice. There’s strength in numbers, and we have each other’s backs. That’s when the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts,” she says.
This work has already received recognition, including the Deputy’s Award of Excellence in 2019. But Beattie remains focused on outcomes. She cites a recent Université de Sherbrooke study revealing that lawyers experience significantly higher levels of psychological distress than the general population. Nearly 60 percent report symptoms of depression, 35.7 percent experience anxiety, and 24 percent have had suicidal thoughts.
“The numbers are remarkable,” she says. “That’s why it’s absolutely urgent to address these issues now, because lawyers are suffering.”
Structural issues persist. Long hours, a culture of overwork, and what former Chief Justice George Strathy described as the “gladiator litigator model” still define many legal environments. Beattie sees signs of progress, however, including regular meetings among large Bay Street firms to share mental health strategies.
She remains realistic about the obstacles. “Many lawyers don’t have time or energy at the end of the day to address their own mental health. The structure of practice makes it hard to get those needs met,” she says. “That’s why the change must come now. We’ve made real progress in starting the conversation; now we have to follow through.”
🌊 For the past five years, Beattie has co-chaired the Law Society of Ontario’s Mental Health Summit for Legal Professionals, now the most attended CPD program in the regulator’s history, drawing over 6,000 participants annually. The summit has become a cultural touchstone, helping normalize mental health dialogue in law offices, courthouses, and law schools.
Her thought leadership blends legal rigour with storytelling, an approach that has encouraged professionals across the system to seek support, offer help, and advocate for systemic change.
The summit’s success lies in its diversity of voices. Judges, in-house counsel, Bay Street partners, solo practitioners, and academics speak candidly from their own experiences.
Beattie also emphasizes the value of everyday honesty, not just about mental illness but about the emotional toll of legal work.
“It’s about building a more compassionate culture,” she says. “You start hearing people say, ‘I’ve got terrible imposter syndrome,’ and others respond, ‘I’ve got that, too.’ That’s how we normalize it – by telling the truth.”
➡️ Beattie remains at the forefront of reorienting the profession’s view of wellness and success. She will continue to lead the Mental Health Summit and guide peer-driven initiatives within government.
Her voice remains central as legal workplaces reconsider how to support inclusion, flexibility, and psychological safety.
“Fundamentally, this change is being driven by people speaking publicly, senior lawyers, judges, even younger professionals, sharing their lived experience,” she says. “Some go even further, offering practical strategies for changing the profession. And that’s where transformation begins.”
Canadian Lawyer’s 16th annual Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers called for nominations between March 24 and April 18 from legal groups, readers, and our panel of writers and editors. Qualifying nominees were then included in a reader survey in the following areas: changemakers; human rights, advocacy, and criminal law; business; in-house; and government, non-profits, associations, and judiciary.
Based on the reader survey results, a short list of nominees was then sent to our Editorial Board members to vote for a maximum of five winners in each category. Board members who are on the shortlist are excluded from voting in that category. The board was asked to select winners who had most significantly influenced the legal system over the last 18 months.
16th edition of Most Influential Lawyers survey
128 nominees
13,053 votes
