News

Eight Roper Greyell Lawyers Listed in the 2023 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory

March 2023

We are proud to announce that eight Roper Greyell lawyers have been included in the 2023 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory.

The lawyers recognized as leading employment, labour, and workplace human rights law practitioners are:

The Directory can be viewed here: https://www.lexpert.ca/rankings

About the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory

The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (the Canadian Lexpert Directory), published since 1997, is based on an extensive peer survey process. It includes profiles of leading practitioners across Canada in 66 practice areas and leading law firms in 41 practice areas.

Roper Greyell Supports the Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of BC

February 2023

The Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of BC is committed to giving individuals, groups, and communities support and hope. Their distress services provide support to vulnerable individuals across British Columbia on 24/7 basis. They offer training programs for both youth and adults to increase awareness about suicide, strengthen intervention skills, facilitate growth and recovery after a suicide experience and provide empowering tools for resiliency.

We felt it was appropriate to contribute our 2022 holiday donation to the Crisis Centre following the release of the National Study on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada in October 2022.  This was the first comprehensive National study on wellness in the legal profession which was published by Sherbrooke University in Quebec. The study reported that legal professionals suffer, “significantly high levels of psychological distress, depression, anxiety, burnout and suicidal ideation”.

Alarmingly, 66.8% of the study participants who had had suicidal thoughts since the beginning of their practice did not seek help when they felt the need to do so. The report’s findings confirmed the urgency and importance of supporting a charity that offers vital mental health services to not only our colleagues within in the legal profession but to anyone who is feeling vulnerable and struggling with their mental health.

Roper Greyell COO, Adam Garvin, and Partner and head of the firm’s EDI committee, Sandra Guarascio, recently paid visit to The Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of BC where they met with members of the team in presenting them with their $10,000 holiday donation cheque. Sandra Guarascio reflects on her visit to the centre:

“Visiting the offices of the Crisis Centre was inspiring and we at Roper Greyell are honoured to support the important work of this organization that is fueled by passionate staff and volunteers. Their mission is to provide help and hope to individuals and communities through timely access to barrier free confidential support and education and training programs that destigmatize suicide and mental health concerns and increase awareness and skills for mental health.

While visiting, we walked through the hallway of recognition where volunteers who had generously dedicated thousands of hours of time were honoured. What an incredible difference this organization makes at a time when supports for mental health are increasingly in demand”.

For more information on the Crisis Centre of BC and how you can support their work, visit: https://crisiscentre.bc.ca

Roper Greyell Welcomes Associate Sarina Gill

February 2023

Roper Greyell is pleased to welcome Sarina Gill to the firm.

Sarina is an associate and practices in all areas of employment and labour law. She joins Roper Greyell, with experience in health law and insurance defence, and most recently practised with a boutique workplace law and commercial litigation firm in Vancouver.

Learn more about Sarina here.

Roper Greyell Celebrates the 2023 Lunar New Year

January 2023

January 22nd marks the start of the 2023 Lunar New Year with festivities ending on February 5th.

The RG team joined in celebrating the 2023 Lunar New Year. Through observing this festivity, we have grown to learn more about each region from East and Southeast Asia and the diverse, unique traditions they share as they welcome in the new year.

To our clients, colleagues and friends honouring this celebration, we wish you all a year filled with prosperity and good fortune.

Roper Greyell Welcomes Director of Marketing Sanam Bakhtiar

January 2023

Roper Greyell is pleased to welcome Sanam Bakhtiar to the firm as Director of Marketing.

Sanam brings over 20 years of strategic marketing leadership to her role at Roper Greyell. She is a collaborative leader and driven business partner with deep experience in leading marketing for regional, provincial and national organizations.

Learn more about Sanam here.

Roper Greyell Donates $10,000 to the Crisis Centre of BC

December 2022

At Roper Greyell, we are committed to having a positive impact in our local community. The year-end holiday season is meant to be a time of joy and celebration, however this can also be a challenging time for many individuals. This December, Roper Greyell is donating $10,000 to the Crisis Centre of BC to support their work in our community. The Crisis Centre of BC has been providing help and support to individuals, organizations and communities since 1969. This donation will help support their critical service offerings:

    1. Education to promote mental wellness
    2. Training programs for schools and organizations assist both youth and adults at risk of suicide
    3. 24/7 crisis lines (phone and online)

For more information on the Crisis Centre of BC and how you can support their work, visit: https://crisiscentre.bc.ca

Roper Greyell Named One of Canada’s Best Law Firms by The Globe and Mail

November 2022

We are pleased to announce that Roper Greyell has once again been named by The Globe and Mail and Statista as one of Canada’s Best Law Firms for 2023.

The list of Canada’s Best Law Firms was created based on more than 10,000 recommendations from lawyers (peer-to-peer) and clients (corporate legal departments). Only 200 law firms were recognized across 29 practice areas.

Roper Greyell was ranked within the top 3 firms nationwide for Labour & Employment Law and top 4 firms for Human Rights Law. These rankings are based on the number of recommendations received for a firm in a respective legal field.

To view the complete list, visit: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-best-lawyers-in-canada-our-complete-listings/

James Kondopulos Wins 2022 Client Choice Award, Presented by Lexology

November 2022

Congratulations to Roper Greyell’s James Kondopulos for winning the 2022 Client Choice Award for Labour & Employment – Canada: British Columbia, presented by Lexology. James was the only BC-based labour and employment lawyer to receive the award this year.

The Client Choice Awards recognize lawyers from around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service.

See the full list of 2022 Client Choice Award winners in the Labour & Employment category here.


About Client Choice

Established in 2005, Client Choice recognizes those law firms and partners around the world that stand apart for the excellent client care they provide and the quality of their service. The criteria for this recognition focus on an ability to add real value to clients’ business above and beyond the other players in the market. Uniquely, law firms and partners can only be nominated by corporate counsel.

Thomas A. Roper K.C. Receives 2022 Bora Laskin Award

November 2022

Thomas A. Roper, K.C. is one of two 2022 recipients of the Bora Laskin Award. Named in honour of the late Chief Justice Bora Laskin, who was a pre-eminent labour law scholar and labour arbitrator before joining the Supreme Court of Canada, this award was established by the University of Toronto to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian labour law.

Over the course of his 47-year legal career, Tom has had a significant impact on labour law in B.C through his counsel work, and as one of three special advisers to the Minister of Labour tasked with revamping the B.C. Labour Relations Code in 1992. As a leader within the legal community, Tom’s expertise is highly sought-after by clients, organizations, educators and colleagues. As the Chair of Roper Greyell, he shares his extensive experience and technical understanding of the law as a mentor of young lawyers in the firm.

As noted by the Selection Committee in announcing the award, Tom has “made an indelible mark in the labour relations community,” having “deservedly gained the confidence of both sides of the labour bar in British Columbia as well as universal respect from arbitrators and mediators in the province and beyond.”

Tom will be presented with the Bora Laskin Award on December 14, 2022, in conjunction with Lancaster’s Vancouver Labour Arbitration and Policy Conference.

Congratulations Tom!

Six Roper Greyell Lawyers Recognized in 2022 Edition of Who’s Who Legal: Canada

October 2022

We are pleased to announce that six Roper Greyell lawyers have been recognized as leading Canadian employment and labour lawyers in the 2022 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Canada in the area of  Labour, Employment & Benefits.

The lawyers named in this year’s Who’s Who Legal: Canada are:

Thomas A. Roper K.C.
Delayne Sartison K.C.
Gregory J. Heywood
Sandra Guarascio
Gavin Marshall
James D. Kondopulos

Thomas A. Roper K.C. has additionally been recognized as a WWL Global Elite Thought Leader, one of only five labour & employment lawyers in Canada to be included on this list. WWL editors commented that Tom is “a market-leading advocate renowned for his prodigious handling of employment-related litigation.”

The Who’s Who Legal: Canada – Labour, Employment & Benefits 2022 Guide can be viewed here.

About Who’s Who Legal

Who’s Who Legal has identified the top legal practitioners in multiple areas of business law since 1996. Lawyers are selected based upon comprehensive, independent survey work with both general counsel and private practice lawyers worldwide. Only specialists who have met independent international research criteria are listed.

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