Honouring excellence in the field of tax law and litigation across Canada, Allison Whelan, Partner in our St. John’s office, is a 2023 recipient of the Lexpert® Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40 award.

Through her practice that uniquely engages tax and health law litigation, Allison has developed a robust tax group within our St. John’s office, with a unique focus on supporting the bespoke tax needs of high net-worth clients. Through Allison’s leadership, this cohesive group now meets regularly to work together to provide clients with seamless access to individual, corporate and estate tax planning advice across all Atlantic provinces.

While focused on the growth of the Firm’s tax practice, Allison is equally focused on the mentoring and development of Associates across the Firm. Through her superior litigation skills and educational background, Allison is able to support the growth and development of those around her. Her commitment to ongoing education, demonstrated by her return to law school in 2016 to obtain her Masters in Law (Tax) serves as an inspiration to team members across the Firm.

Allison is committed to business development, not only for her niche areas of practice, but for her colleagues across the Firm. She is very skilled at focusing her efforts to attract interesting, sustainable work. Allison’s methods are reflected in her business success – she manages a very large caseload that continues to grow, while supporting the growth and development of the work of other lawyers in the Firm. A natural convener of skills and experience, Allison actively engages other team members to ensure the full scope of the client’s ask is supported.

Allison is our St. John’s office leader of the Libby Project, a Stewart McKelvey initiative dedicated to supporting women lawyers in the Firm with achieving their career goals through leadership, education, mentoring and sponsoring growth. She has regularly volunteered her time supporting the growth of the profession, serving as Chair of the Audit committee and Commissioner of the Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission. She has served as Section Chair of the Canadian Bar Association, and as an instructor for the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Bar Admissions Course. In addition, she has supported many charitable organizations through tax options to maintain charitable status, and her pro bono work has supported a Ukrainian family moving business interests to Canada.

Winners of Lexpert Rising Star have demonstrated an outstanding track record of success in deals, cases or files, have made contributions to the legal profession, demonstrated organizational success in their place of work with a unique, innovative and effective approach to client service, as well as strong community involvement.