Canadian Lawyer Magazine quotes Toronto lawyers Marcia Mills and Andrew House in an article on national security and critical infrastructure.
The idea to put together such a practice came before the current worldwide novel coronavirus pandemic erupted in January, says Fasken’s Marcia Mills, a veteran procurement and government contract lawyer who co-heads the practice. However, the national security concerns resulting from the pandemic put into focus the need for a coordinated response to legal issues clients might be experiencing now.
“We needed to find a way to bring national security issues into focus and consolidate our expertise in a way in which readily accessible,” she says. “When you’ve got an element of national security, clients don’t have time to wait for a response.”
Andrew House, co-lead of the unit with Mills, agrees that the pandemic was “the final catalyst” that brought the national security group into being. Clients needed this kind of integrated service in areas such as supply chain assurance, business regulation, and critical infrastructure protection.
