Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP is pleased to announce that Natasha vandenHoven will join the firm on February 5, 2007 as a partner specializing in the area of pension and benefits law.  

Ms vandenHoven joins Davies from Aon Consulting Inc., one of the leading global human capital and management consulting firms, where she managed Aon's Human Capital Practice area in the Central/Western Region of Canada and regularly provided advice to consultants and clients on matters related to pension and benefits law.  In addition to her operational role, as a member of Aon's Canadian Management Team, Ms vandenHoven held the dual roles of Senior Vice President, Research, Human Resources and Corporate Counsel, managing the national human resources function and national research department, and overseeing all of Aon's Canadian legal matters.  Prior to joining Aon, Ms vandenHoven practised pension, benefits, employment and labour law in private practice for four years.  She was also previously a pension analyst with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (formerly the Pension Commission of Ontario), where she reviewed pension plans and related activities to determine compliance with pension benefits legislation.  Ms vandenHoven brings to Davies over 15 years of experience in representing and advising clients on all aspects of the highly specialized area of pension and benefits law.    

"Ms vandenHoven brings to Davies exceptional knowledge and experience in an increasingly important area of practice, one that is highly complementary to our current core practice capabilities.  The diversity of her experience – as a practising lawyer, a regulator, a consultant and a senior executive – will greatly benefit our clients", said William O'Reilly, Managing Partner of Davies' Toronto office.  

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, with over 235 lawyers, practices nationally and internationally from offices in Toronto, Montréal, New York and an affiliate in Paris, and is consistently at the heart of the largest and most complex commercial and financial matters on behalf of its North American and overseas clients.  

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CONTACTS:                 

William O'Reilly (Toronto)                   Tel. 416 863 5573 
                                                           woreilly@dwpv.com

Pierre-André Themens (Montréal)       Tel. 514 841 6448
                                                           pathemens@dwpv.com

Richard Cherney (Montréal)                Tel. 514 841 6457
                                                           rcherney@dwpv.com

Peter Glicklich (New York)                 Tel. 212 588 5561
                                                           pglicklich@dwpv.com