Valerie C. Mann,

Inducted into the Women’s Executive Network – Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada -  Hall of Fame – 2018

Valerie (Val) is founder and Chair of the firm’s Technology Group and Chair of the Social Impact and Sustainable Business Group; her practice is transactional (mergers and acquisitions / corporate finance/private equity and venture capital) as well as advisory, including governance, as a trusted strategic adviser. After obtaining an honours bachelor of commerce degree, Val worked in marketing management with a large US based consumer packaged goods company, prior to obtaining her law degree. Val is the former Managing Partner of Lawson Lundell.

She has been involved in transactions for private and public companies including mergers and acquisitions, financing and corporate reorganizations as well as, strategic alliances and joint ventures.

Her practice includes acting for public and private companies as well as for private equity firms and large institutional investors. She has significant experience in private equity and venture fund formations. Val has been lead counsel on a number of large mid-market transactions including in the technology, resource/commodities, real property (acquisitions and joint ventures for the development of industrial, and other commercial property) and manufacturing and service sectors. She advices boards of directors and special committees on transactions and governance practices.

In 2017, Val obtained her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management.

Valerie has served and chaired many boards and board committees in the not for profit sector. She regularly teaches and speaks at conferences and law schools and has written and published articles and book chapters on M&A, venture capital, financing in the technology sector as well as leadership.

• Best Lawyers in Canada: Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law, and Technology Law, 2010-2025
• Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A Guide, 2024
• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recommended as a Leading Practitioner for,
  • Corporate Commercial Law, 2023-2024
  • Corporate Mid-Market, 2023-2024
  • Private Equity, 2023-2024
  • Technology Transactions, 2023
• Named for Commercial Law in Business in Vancouver’s BC500 List of the 500 most influential business leaders in British Columbia, 2021-2023
• Best Lawyers in Canada 2022 'Lawyer of the Year': Corporate Law (Vancouver)
• Business in Vancouver's 'Influential Women in Business' award winner 2021
• Named by BC Business Magazine (March, 2019) as one of BC's most influential women in Finance
• Women’s Executive Network: inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
• Named by the Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™ (2011, 2016, 2017)
• 2013 Lexpert Zenith Award: recognized as a leading woman lawyer in Canada
• Legal 500 Canada: recommended in 2016 for Technology, media and telecoms
• Named by BC Business Magazine (June, 2015) as one of BC's most influential women in Business.
• Selected as a Canadian Board Diversity Counsel (CBDC)2017 Diversity 50 member
• Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory: BV Peer Review rated

In addition to acting as counsel to clients engaged in the technology, manufacturing, forestry, and financial management industries, Valerie's recent M&A experience includes advising:

• Roivant Sciences Ltd. in the formation and financing of a jointly owned new entity known as Genevant Sciences
• On the formation of a $225M commercial real estate focused private equity fund
• On the formation of a private equity fund focused on social impact investing in affordable housing sector
• On the formation and transactions for venture fund focused on ESG
• Represented a private equity portfolio company in connection with the purchase of a Canadian manufacturer of chemical adhesive products used in construction
• Counsel to syndicate of investors in a US$60M Series A mezzanine financing of a private life sciences corporation
• Roivant Sciences Ltd. in its US$116M financing of Arbutus Biopharma Inc.
• OnCore BioPharma, Inc. on its merger with Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (now Arbutus Biopharma Corporation)
• Catalyst Paper Corporation in connection with its acquisition of two US paper mills
• Private equity firm in its acquisition of a rail services business
• Venture Capital general partner in the formation of a fund focused on social impact business investing including in food manufacturing and renewable energy
• Venture capital fund in its acquisition of an interest in a security technology company
• Dassault Systemes in its acquisition of Gemcom Software
• Ballast Nedam N.V., a publicly traded Dutch infrastructure and construction company in its sale of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort to Resorts of the Canadian Rockies Inc.
• Management, in a buy-out of a collection services business backed by a BC based private equity firm
• Temenos Group AP in its acquisition of Primisyn, a business intelligence software company
• Institutional investors in a joint takeover of a publicly traded timberlands company
• Joint ventures per development of commercial, industrial and multi-unit residential properties in Western Canada
• Dialogic Corporation in its acquisition of Veraz Networks, Inc.
• Taleo Corporation in its acquisition of Cytiva Software Inc.
• An electric utility in the $825 million acquisition of an interest in a hydroelectric dam and related assets
• An institutional investor in a $100 million private placement in a forestry company
• An alternative energy company in its financing and acquisition activities
• A US based public clean energy company in a strategic acquisition in Western Canada
• A resort company in its financing activities in Canada and the United States and its operational activities in Canada
• A private equity fund in acquisitions of manufacturing businesses in Western Canada
• A large publicly traded European construction company in its BC-based activities in the resort industry
• A food products manufacturer and brand company in its strategic acquisitions in North America and internationally
• Institutional investors in a $1.0 billion forestry acquisition
• A newsprint and directory company in its acquisition of a recycled paper facility
• A pension fund in a series of acquisitions in the hotel industry
• A BC public company in its $1.2 billion acquisition of a newsprint and directory manufacturing business
• A venture capital fund in the formation of a new $235 million venture capital fund which invests in technology companies
• Numerous investments by venture capital investors in early-stage technology companies
• A large forestry company in the outsourcing of information systems and other non-core functions

In addition, Valerie’s experience includes:

• Private placement financings for non-reporting technology companies
• Numerous licensing agreements on behalf of technology developers and customers of technology
• Corporate and technology law advice including clinical trial agreements and material transfer agreements to a publicly-traded biotechnology company
• Business formation, structuring and early-stage financings for several technology companies involved in wireless applications, software development and new media
• Numerous pre-merger notification applications and other competition advice in respect of transactions in the forestry, mining, manufacturing and real estate sectors