Toronto Women Partners Accelerate Cross-Border Reach in Life Sciences, Technology, and Private Equity
As the Canadian technology and life sciences markets continue to soar, the three women Partners in our Toronto office are bolstering work involving clients on both sides of the border. While they expand their practices and collaborate with colleagues to attract new clients, they’re equally committed to embedding Mintz’s collaborative and entrepreneurial culture in the Toronto team.
Cheryl Reicin, a founding Partner of the office and the firm’s International Chair of Life Sciences, has been instrumental in expanding the office since its March 2023 launch. The firm’s 28-attorney Canadian presence now includes Tax Partner Katy Pitch, who came to Mintz after creating and leading a six-attorney group at her prior firm, and Debt Financing Partner Alex North. Collectively, the Toronto team has significantly amplified the scope of Mintz’s Global Life Sciences practice and fortified its Private Equity, Capital Markets, and Employment practices.
“We’re going to continue to grow, but we’re doing it at the right pace to keep the culture and the quality of work at the highest levels.”
-Cheryl Reicin
Entrepreneurial Focus
Moving to Mintz has empowered the Toronto women Partners to do more for long-standing clients — and enlarge their own practices. Along with the chance to join a forward-looking organization and work with colleagues she can trust, Alex, for example, was enticed by the opportunity to develop an entirely new platform. In her six-month tenure, she’s taken on more borrower-side clients and delved into private equity investment reviews of complicated fund structures, supporting clients tackling mandates to grow in areas Mintz focuses on. Like those clients, she’s eager to leverage Mintz’s extensive work with the technology, life sciences, and health care sectors and on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
“Mintz pivoted years ago into the sectors that are now at the forefront of the US and Canadian economies,” Alex said. “I also want to be where the action is and continue to build on my capabilities in the industries that my clients are looking to lend into.”
Cross-Border Might
As a powerhouse attorney in the life sciences ecosystem, Cheryl plays an outsized role in ramping up Mintz’s cross-border work across the sector. While building the only legal group entirely focused on life sciences corporate work in Canada, she’s leveraging the reach and resources of other Mintz practices. She and her life sciences team work closely with health regulatory, intellectual property, intellectual property litigation, and securities attorneys across Mintz’s US offices to bring multifaceted deals to the finish line. In many instances, she also leverages the firm’s financing and tax attorneys, including her women colleagues in Toronto.
“The collaboration, depth of experience across the firm, and US branding have increased the type of work we can do,” Cheryl said. “It’s enhanced our practice in significant ways, besides making it so much more fun.”
Leveraging their highly specialized focuses, Katy and Alex also extend the office’s international reach. In Alex’s case, the Canadian financial services giants she advises on lending deals are seeking introductions to Mintz’s lawyers in the United States. And Katy has focused almost exclusively on cross-border transactions since her arrival. As the office’s only Canadian tax lawyer, she provides an invaluable perspective that often serves as the missing piece of the client service puzzle, particularly in matters involving mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, investment funds, and corporate finance. In addition to participating in pitches, Katy works closely with US attorneys in signing up new clients seeking assistance with Canadian tax issues.
“I’ve been able to answer questions or provide advice, and we often get the client because we now provide the full range of services they need,” Katy said.
Culture Matters
Even before coming to Mintz, Cheryl and her founding colleagues from Canadian firms were attracting US clients dissatisfied with the lack of attention they were getting from senior attorneys in US life sciences groups. Mintz’s team-oriented and entrepreneurial focus was an ideal match for them, and they’re dedicated to maintaining those values while growing the office. Weekly lunches for the whole office and twice-a-month social gatherings for attorneys create a collegial culture as the ranks of attorneys and professional staff grow.
Each of the women Partners is also making her mark on the office. Cheryl leads weekly luncheons for life sciences lawyers where the attorneys talk about their practices or learn from speakers. Meanwhile, Alex is actively involved in office recruitment efforts along with serving as the Mintz Women’s Initiative Partner for the office, and Katy is gearing up to establish a Canadian tax group.
“Coming to Mintz felt like joining a well-funded start-up where I would have the chance to leave my mark on something bigger than me,” Katy said.
Cheryl Reicin speaking at Mintz’s April 2023 matchmaking program for early-stage life sciences companies and leading investors, a networking event hosted by the firm during the week of Bloom Burton & Co. Healthcare Investor Conference.