General Counsel
Toronto/Mississauga On
Provided counsel on all legal-related matters including structuring and negotiating agreements, securities matters including all public company, corporate governance, board-related matters, regulatory compliance, employment issues and matters related to the company’s patent portfolio including litigation. Part of the senior executive team, providing advice and support for all areas of the business.Key Achievements• Substantially reduced the use of outside counsel by handling all licensing and contract matters in-house and directly managing all other outside counsel activities.• Directed a bought deal financing which raised over $26 million – including the legal aspects of the transaction and all due diligence matters.• Directly involved in both the business and legal negotiations for material license agreements with IBM, Motorola, Intel, NSA and General Electric.• Managed major patent litigation - brought against Sony Corp., including selection of litigation counsel, discovery, preparation for trial and settlement negotiations.• Involved in various acquisition matters including preliminary discussions, negotiations and due diligence.• Resolved numerous employment matters including negotiating and structuring senior executive employment agreements as well as sensitive/difficult terminations.• Successfully represented Certicom in several mediations on employment-related matters.• Selected outside counsel and managed the relationships with the firms.• Managed facilities portfolio including the search for a new head office in Mississauga, Ontario (called off due to RIM acquisition).• Directed all legal aspects related to the hostile and subsequently negotiated acquisition of Certicom by RIM.