Shara Roy joins EY Canada as chief legal counsel
Shara Roy, an experienced commercial litigation lawyer, has joined EY Canada as chief legal counsel. She remains based in Toronto.
Roy, who has nearly two decades of experience in legal services, succeeds Doris Stamml, who will retire this year. Stamml joined EY Canada’s general counsel’s office in 1988 and was appointed chief legal counsel in 2008. She has also served as executive managing partner of law firm affiliate EY Law LLP since 2016.
“I’m honoured to be passing on the reins to a passionate, highly respected leader, in and outside of the courtroom, with a strong track record of building the next generation of leaders by placing empathy and diversity at the heart of what she does,” Stamml said.
Roy spent the last 11 years as a partner at law firm Lenczner Slaght, where she focused on commercial litigation matter, including professional liability, securities litigation, class action suits, and insolvency and restructuring.
While at the firm, she co-created the ReferToHer.com website, which aims to level the playing field on referrals in the legal profession. Roy also helped establish name-anonymized hiring for law students at Lenczner Slaght.
“I’m thrilled to start this new chapter at EY,” Roy said. “I have long admired EY’s culture of inclusivity and collaboration and look forward to rolling up my sleeves to support continued growth for the firm and its clients.”
Earlier in her career, Roy was a lawyer in the commercial litigation practice of Bennett Jones, as well as a lawyer at Rueter Scargall Bennett. She holds a law degree from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree from McGill University.
“Navigating the increasingly complex business landscape will require the knowledge, passion, and diverse thinking that Shara brings to the table and we’re incredibly excited to have her join the EY team,” said Jad Shimaly, chair and CEO of EY Canada. “As we welcome a brilliant new leader, we also bid farewell to Doris, a remarkable member of our executive leadership team who has led with integrity every step of the way, helping to enforce our purpose and create a legacy of building a better working world for all of our stakeholders.”
Big Four rivals Deloitte and KPMG also recently appointed new legal heads: Sarah Qadeer was named chief legal officer of Deloitte Canada in December 2020 and Rebecca Burrows was named general counsel of KPMG Canada in October 2020.
