Course Chairs
Fred R. Pletcher — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Leo Raffin — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Fred Pletcher is chair of the Mining Group and a partner in the Securities and Capital Markets Group at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Fred advises public companies and underwriters in connection with a broad range of transactions and issues, including mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, continuous disclosure and general commercial matters. He has a particular focus on companies in the mining industry, both domestically and internationally. He also has considerable experience in the field of shareholder activism.
Fred is recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers Global, Chambers Canada, The Best Lawyers in Canada, IFLR 1000 - The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms, The Legal 500 Canada, The Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and Acritas Stars. He has degrees from Columbia University (LLM), University of Toronto (LLB), and Harvard University (AB) and was called to the BC bar in 1993. He is a member of the TSX Listings Advisory Committee and is a director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Leo Raffin is a partner in McMillan LLP's Vancouver office and is co-chair of the firm's national Capital Markets Group as well as co-chair of the Public M&A Group (BC). His primary practice areas are securities and corporate law—acting for technology, industrial, and natural resource issuers. His experience includes public and private offerings, mergers, acquisitions and take-over bids, proxy contests, corporate reorganizations, business alliances, licensing transactions, and corporate governance matters.
Leo was listed in The Legal 500 Canada 2015 as a leader in Corporate and M&A and in Best Lawyers in Canada 2015 as a leading lawyer in the areas of Securities Law and Technology Law. He was recognized as a leading lawyer in Global Mining in the 2014/15 Lexpert Special Edition and received a "BV" Peer Review Ranking from Martindale-Hubbell. Leo was called to the BC bar in 1987.
Planning Committee
Rory S. Godinho — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
Jennifer Hansen — Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Vancouver
Sven O. Milelli — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
James R. Munro — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
Teresa Tomchak — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver
Faculty
Alan Bayless, ICD.D — Longview Communications Inc., Vancouver
David Babstock — Senior Manager, Listed Issuer Services, Toronto Stock Exchange, Vancouver
Charlotte P. Bell — Senior Policy Counsel, TMX Group, Vancouver
Karen L.M. Carteri — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
John Hinze — Director, Corporate Finance, BC Securities Commission, Vancouver
Jamie Litchen — Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, Toronto
Daniel M. Miller — Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Vancouver
Steven McKoen, QC — Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver
Amandeep Sandhu — Zargar Lawyers + Business Strategists, Vancouver
Anna Serin — Director, Listings Development — Vancouver, Canadian Securities Exchange, Vancouver
Teresa Tomchak — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver
Sarfraz Visram — Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions, BMO Capital Markets, Toronto
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