BlackBerry CEO John Chen holds up the unreleased Blackberry Classic device during the company's annual general meeting for shareholders in Toronto June 19, 2014.MARK BLINCH/Reuters
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP is building out its technology and innovation team, bringing aboard a lawyer who used to work for BlackBerry Ltd.
Stephen Whitney will take on a role as of counsel, and will be based in the tech hub of Waterloo, Ont., working with clients in the area as well as those in Toronto. Mr. Whitney used to head up both the global regulatory team and the devices and emerging solutions team at the smartphone maker.
Andrew Fleming, managing partner of Norton Rose in Toronto, praised Mr. Whitney's connections in the region and experience. " His work at BlackBerry gave him deep mobile and technology sector expertise and he completed innovative deals opposite a wide range of technology companies," Mr. Fleming said in a statement.
The global Norton Rose business has a focus on technology and innovation. Its sector-focused lawyers are stationed around the world to work with public and private sector clients, from startups to big public companies.
The firm's work on recent transactions in the wireless space include acting for Telus Corp. in $2-billion worth of debt and Terago Networks Inc. in arranging credit facilities of $50-million.
The firm noted that Mr. Whitney's work with BlackBerry also had an international component, which the firm expects to be a good fit for existing clients. His areas of experience include working on agreements in distribution, manufacturing and repair, licensing and out-sourcing, among other things.