Managing Litigation as a Project: Delivering Efficiency and Value

The CBA is a professional organization that provides educational and networking opportunities for lawyers. Representing more than 36,000 lawyers, judges, notaries, law teachers, and law students from across Canada, the CBA is committed to enhancing the professional and commercial interests of a diverse membership and to protecting the independence of the judiciary and the Bar.

Working with clients such as retailers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, service providers, financing companies, technology firms, and energy companies, Daniela helps her clients navigate the complicated worlds of intellectual property disputes, arbitration proceedings, corporate commercial disputes, and class action suits. She has: Acted in one of the most high-profile intellectual property cases brought in Atlantic Canada over famous trademarks and related copyrights; Acted for an international energy firm in a large-scale, clean tech project to address environmental, regulatory, and stakeholder disputes at federal and provincial levels; Acted in cross-border, multi-jurisdictional proceedings in consumer and wholesale sectors – involving trade, marketing, and competition disputes; Acted for a European-based multinational company in a dispute over the manufacture and supply of large-scale industrial equipment from Italy to Canada; Acted for a Nova Scotia company and its affiliates as part of an international, multi-firm legal team in connection with disputed assets and transactions of over $1 billion. Education: Harvard Law School, LLM, 2002; Osgoode Hall Law School, LLB, 1996; University of Toronto, BA (high distinction), 1993; University of Siena (summer term), 1991.

Sean Smyth, K.C., is a partner in Calgary Litigation Group. Known for his pragmatism and keen eye for detail, Sean's practice focuses primarily on domestic and international arbitration, corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, class actions involving securities and product liability, construction litigation including claims against suppliers to major projects, and claims involving contract, tort and statutory interpretation. Sean works with a broad range of clients across industry groups including financial services, oil and natural gas, construction, pharmaceuticals, agro-sciences, telecommunications, manufacturing, and real estate. Recognized for being the first point of contact in contentious matters, clients value his ability to handle adversarial situations by swiftly and effectively getting to the root of the issue to achieve winning resolutions. Sean recently earned a Master of Laws degree in Litigation Project Management from Baylor University. His clients benefit from a disciplined, project management approach to litigation and arbitration, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of legal services. Sean is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and a member of the ADR Institute of Canada and the ADR Institute of Alberta. Sean regularly leverages his depth of experience to represent clients in high-stakes disputes involving commercial contracts, shareholders' rights, directors' liabilities, securities, real estate transactions, product liability, intellectual property rights, class actions, and other matters related to corporate law, commercial transactions and commerce. He has appeared before all levels of courts in Alberta, the superior courts of Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, the Federal Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, and a variety of regulatory, disciplinary and arbitral tribunals.

Wendy Sun specializes in foreign investment, competition law, and litigation. With a unique combination of regulatory expertise and dispute resolution skills, she guides clients through the complexities of investing in and operating businesses in Canada. Her linguistic and cultural fluency enables her to bridge communication gaps and deliver tailored advice that aligns with the needs and expectations of international clients. Wendy frequently assists investors from China and the broader Asia Pacific region in key industries such as technology, automotive, mining, and retail. Her work spans the full lifecycle of foreign investment matters under the Investment Canada Act—from planning and filings (including mandatory and voluntary notifications, net benefit reviews, and national security reviews) to responding to information requests and engaging with authorities in complex regulatory investigations. She partners closely with cross-border deal teams to anticipate regulatory issues early, design coherent multi-jurisdictional filing strategies, and align regulatory milestones with transaction timelines. She has also acted as litigation counsel challenging government decisions on national security matters before the Federal Court. As an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association's Foreign Investment Review Committee, Wendy engages with regulators and the bar to provide practical insights on evolving domestic and international developments. In her competition law practice, Wendy advises on merger control, including assessing pre-merger notification requirements and securing clearances under the Competition Act. She also counsels clients on deceptive marketing matters and litigates abuse of dominance cases and defends class actions involving competition law issues. With a keen interest in leveraging legal technology to streamline her practice, Wendy holds an Executive Certificate from the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists and is a member of Women in eDiscovery. She has extensive experience managing large-scale E-Discovery projects spanning multiple jurisdictions. She advises businesses on legal issues arising from AI and technology-driven disputes, helping clients mitigate risk and resolve challenges efficiently.

Jennifer Thompson is the Head of Osler Works – Disputes, which houses Osler's Discovery Management Services, along with many other innovative litigation solutions. Jennifer's previous commercial litigation, project management and knowledge management experience make her uniquely positioned to facilitate Osler's efficient and effective delivery of cutting-edge legal services. Jennifer and her team accomplish this by working with all members of the Litigation Department to ensure that the legal, intellectual and practical expertise of each member is captured and readily accessible to all legal professionals at Osler. Jennifer also leads the continuous assessment and development of legal technology in the Litigation Department and facilitates the education and training of Osler litigators and clients with respect to new developments in this area. As Head of Osler Works - Disputes, Jennifer leads an experienced team of interdisciplinary discovery specialists who possess a broad range of legal, technology and management skills and experience. Jennifer and her team collaborate with clients and litigators at the outset of each litigation matter to strategically design customized discovery solutions for clients. They provide invaluable advice and assistance on a host of discovery-related issues such as: initial preservation of data; data collection; formulating comprehensive discovery plans; data processing and hosting; the use of data analytics and AI capabilities to reduce review sets and increase efficiencies during review; review of data on first instance, for confidentiality and/or privilege issues and quality control review; presentation and preparation for discovery and trial; and much more. Jennifer's previous practice focused on a broad range of corporate-commercial litigation matters with experience in contractual disputes, class actions, franchise litigation and construction litigation.

Paul is Stewart McKelvey's first Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer and Partner. Paul is responsible for driving strategies for Firm growth through innovation, continuous improvement, change management, Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, business development, external consulting, financial data analysis and application development, and Partner coaching, compensation and knowledge transfer. This includes facilitating the development and execution of Stewart McKelvey's strategic plans and staying up to date on legal industry trends and best practices. Paul partners with lawyers, staff, and business professionals both internal and external to the firm, to solve problems by implementing strategies and developing new tools and processes. Paul's work, and that of his team in the firm's Practice Innovation team, results in streamlined processes, reduced costs, and increased profitability. Using his background in IT and an innovative approach to the practice of law, Paul applies his technical skills to offer clients greater efficiencies. He does so by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and creative problem solving to maximize client value while minimizing costs and waste. Paul is an expert in process improvement, legal project management, pricing, profitability analysis, data analytics, financial dashboards, law firm partner compensation redesign, database design, application development, MS Excel, SharePoint, automated document assembly, and other related fields and technologies. Ten years of corporate practice experience, specializing in M&A and coordinating large corporate transactions, combined with eight years as a member of the Firm's senior leadership team in an innovation role, has enabled him to develop countless solutions that have had far reaching benefits for the firm and its clients.