She is well regarded as the go-to lawyer for complex, high-stakes regulatory and misleading advertising mandates for multinational institutional clients and emerging companies. Pei also has extensive experience providing health-care compliance advice to clients looking to invest in various health industries, including long-term care, dental, medical, optometry, physiotherapy and veterinary spaces.
As a published author, Pei has co-written articles and spoken on topics ranging from advertising to children, food labelling, health facility regulation and the rise of femtech. She has also been interviewed by leading publications as a thought leader about cutting-edge legal trends such as greenwashing.
Simon Seida is a recognized leader in commercial litigation, handling consumer, competition and product liability class actions, as well as disputes between competitors, professional malpractice and post-closing conflicts. Based in Montréal, Simon has appeared before all levels of Quebec courts, including class class-action merits trials and other precedent-setting matters. He also advises corporations and individuals on regulatory and criminal issues, including anti-corruption, competition, securities and financial enforcement actions.
Outside his practice, Simon is actively involved in the legal community, serving on his Firm’s diversity initiatives, acting as a mentor to McGill University students and judging moot competitions.
Max Shapiro is a future leader of the commercial litigation bar, specializing in complex contract, procurement and construction disputes. Based in Toronto, he has played a key role in many high-profile cases before all levels of courts and arbitral tribunals, and frequently speaks and writes on advocacy and commercial litigation topics.
In his pro bono advocacy, Max has represented a wide range of organizations, including the Canadian American Bar Association as an intervenor in the voting rights appeal by expatriate Canadians in Frank v. Canada (A.G.) at the Supreme Court of Canada. Max invests hundreds of hours each year in mentoring and professional development for students, associates and junior partners, including through his leadership of Pride@Blakes, the largest LGBTQ+ affinity group of any Canadian law firm.
Megan Shaw has built a leading corporate and commercial practice in Toronto, focusing on providing practical strategic advice to Canadian and international clients on complex corporate and commercial arrangements, distribution and manufacturing practices and Canadian expansion strategies. She also regularly advises clients on transformational procurement processes and business-focused risk management practices. She also advises clients across a broad range of regulated and unregulated industries, including health care, life sciences, food and beverage, consumer products, franchising, and automotive.
Megan has worked on industry-shaping transactions with leading Canadian and U.S. life sciences clients and has played a key role in many major projects, including the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Megan is committed to serving her community through pro bono legal advice with Blakes and has significant engagement in the mentoring and training of junior lawyers.
Chi Iliya-Ndule is developing a diverse corporate and commercial practice in Calgary, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and energy transactions. She has contributed to national and cross-border deals and is actively involved in the Firm’s Pro Bono Legal Advice Initiative.
In addition to her practice, Chi serves as the chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Environmental, Energy and Resources Law Section and actively mentors Black law students and internationally trained lawyers. She is also the co-founder of the Calgary Black Chambers and serves on the boards of the Alberta University of the Arts and Telus Convention Centre.
Blakes congratulates these accomplished lawyers for their hard work, dedication to our clients and remarkable achievements throughout their careers. This recognition from Lexpert underscores their impact and contributions as rising stars in the Canadian legal community.
The annual Lexpert Rising Stars awards recognize lawyers from law firms and in-house counsel aged 40 or under who are up-and-coming in the Canadian legal community. Lexpert selects the finalists based on several criteria, and an advisory board votes on the winning candidates.
