The Weekly Brief: October 30, 2026

Bay Street's corporate benches grew this week. Osler added an investment funds partner and Torys added an energy and infrastructure deals partner, both in Toronto, and Miller Thomson launched a national defence, security and aerospace group led by partners in Toronto and Montréal. In British Columbia, the law society asked the province's new government to scrap the Legal Professions Act. Toronto's in-firm interviews start on Monday, and we close with what lawyers across Ontario earn.

Market and pay: two Toronto corporate partners and a new defence group

On October 27, Osler said Shalomi Abraham has joined its corporate group in Toronto as a partner. His work centres on investment funds, including ETFs, private equity funds, and venture capital funds. He advises asset managers, fund sponsors, and financial institutions on fund, securities regulatory, and corporate governance matters. The announcement does not name his previous employers (Osler).

The same day, Torys welcomed Kerri Lui as a partner in Toronto. Her corporate practice focuses on energy and infrastructure, and she will work closely with the firm's infrastructure and energy group. She acts for acquirers, investors, developers, and joint ventures on mergers and acquisitions, project development, and governance, and for lenders and borrowers on secured lending and project finance, including syndicated and cross-border deals. Torys does not say where she practised before (Torys).

Both are specialists on the deal side, in funds and in energy and infrastructure. If you have a focused practice like these and are weighing a move, our lateral business plan guide shows how to present your book to a new firm.

On October 28, Miller Thomson launched a national Defence, Security and Aerospace industry group, co-led by partners Kirk Emery in Toronto and Yves Rocheleau in Montréal. The firm says the group will help Canadian and international businesses pursue defence work and deal with the regulation around it The announcement lists the areas the group covers (Miller Thomson):

• Government procurement and public funding
• National security, foreign investment, and trade controls
• Mergers, acquisitions, and financing
• Infrastructure and major projects
• Intellectual property, technology, and cybersecurity
• Employment, tax, and dispute resolution

We log partner, counsel, and team moves in our partner moves tracker, each with a link to the source.

Regulators: BC's law society asks for repeal

British Columbia voted on October 24 and elected a Conservative majority. The party had already committed to repealing the *Legal Professions Act*, the law that sets up a single regulator for lawyers, notaries, and regulated paralegals in the province (Law Society of BC timeline).

On October 26, the law society asked the incoming government to repeal the Act as soon as it takes office. It argues that repeal would protect the independence of the bar and the public's right to impartial legal advice, and would stop the profession from paying further transition costs. It also says it looks forward to working with the new government on the justice system and on how lawyers are regulated (Law Society of BC statement).

The transition work is still under way. The statement refers to the transitional board, the Transitional Indigenous Council, the planned amalgamation with the Society of Notaries Public of BC, and the licensing of regulated paralegals. The law society's appeal of the BC Supreme Court decision that upheld the Act was first set for November 16 and 17, 2026, and is now scheduled for January 18 to 20, 2027 at the Court of Appeal (timeline).

If you practise in BC, two things decide what happens next: whether the new government brings in a repeal bill, and whether the appeal goes ahead in January. Until then, the Act remains law and the transition continues.

This week: Toronto in-firm interviews, November 2 to 4

Toronto's 2L in-firm interviews for summer 2027 run from Monday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 4, and offers may not be made before 5:00 p.m. Eastern on November 4 (Osler's Toronto student page). If your firm is recruiting, expect a busy week of interviews. Our Toronto in-firm interviews guide covers how the week runs.

By the numbers: lawyer pay across Ontario

The median lawyer in the Toronto region earns $69.74 an hour, or about $145,000 for a full-time year of 2,080 hours. Across Ontario the median is $65.21, about $136,000, and in the Ottawa region it is $58.46, about $122,000, slightly below the national median (Job Bank). These figures cover all lawyers, not only large firms, so partner and senior associate pay on Bay Street sits well above them. Our Toronto legal market guide has more on the city.

The Weekly Brief is published every week. Have news about a move, a new firm, or a change in pay? Tell us at will@laterallawreport.com and include a public source.