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It was one in one out in the BLG finance department last year with Joanne Foot leaving for Miller Thompson in November 2010 and Carlo Vairo joining from Cassels Brock & Blackwell in April 2011.

Leading the team is partner Ken Atlas and he had a role last year advising the lenders in regard to $390 million in term and revolving facilities granted to Gateway Casinos and Entertainment. He also advised another set of lenders including the Royal Bank of Canada on the refinancing of the Dollarama Group. This consisted of $600 million in credit facilities including a $525 set term facility and a $75 million revolving facility.

One long-term client, who works primarily with partners Ken Atlas and Jeremy Bolger, describes them as, "responsive, available, thorough".

More lender side mandates were to follow and Howard Silverman took the lead as the firm acted for a syndicate including Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and The Bank of Nova Scotia on a $250 million bridge facility granted to the Noranda Operating Trust.

The firm's regulatory team led by Rebecca Chan was slightly reduced in December 2010 when partner Ron Bozzer left for Hungerford Tomyn Lawrenson and Nichols. The department is focused on providing advice on the regulatory aspects of M&A transactions. Examples include advice to Elavon and Elavon Canada on their acquisition of another credit card provider. Similar advice was given to Bank of New York Mellon as it acquired wealth advisory firm 13 Advisors.

BLG's public-private partnership group (PPP) comprises 50 lawyers in offices in throughout Canada, with a focus on health, transportation and energy. The firm has helped to shape and restructure policy framework for Canada's energy, water and hospital infrastructure. "Borden's claim to fame is working for the Ontario government," explains one competitor.

BLG has also featured on cross border work including advising SNC Lavalin, one member of a consortium made up of the Indian companies Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Communications, which was chosen as the preferred bidder for the Mumbai Metro II PPP, an underground railway line in India. Financing closed for the $2.55 billion project in March 2011. It will entail the construction of 38km of metro line for a 35-year build-operate-transfer (BOT) concession from Charkop to Mankhurd, via Bandra.

In addition, BLG acted for Infrastructure Ontario and St Joseph's Regional Mental Health Care on two regional projects providing services to individuals experiencing severe and persistent mental illness. One facility will be constructed adjacent to the Parkwood Hospital in London and the second venue, in St. Thomas, will focus on forensic mental health. The deal was valued at an initial $830.5 million.

The two key figures at BLG are department heads Patrick McCarthy and Michael MacNaughton and both led on most of the firm's key work last year.

One of McCarthy's biggest mandates saw him act for Ernst & Young as the court appointed monitor in the CCAA (Companies' Creditors Arrangements Act) proceedings of the Canadian subsidiaries of the SemGroup. MacNaughton was also involved in CCAA work, this time acting for tobacco manufacturer JTI-Macdonald as it sought creditor protection with debts of C$1.36 billion ($1.31 billion). MacNaughton also acted for the noteholders in the restructuring of AbitibiBowater. The case involving the pulp manufacturer was one of the largest cross border mandates of the last year.

Partner Craig Hill is also recognised in the market as one of the firm's stars and this was demonstrated last year through his work on the high profile Nortel restructuring. Hill acted for the UK Pension regulator on the CCAA and Chapter 11 proceedings of the company, one of the largest liquidating CCAA's ever completed.