Our Partners
George L. Cooke
President, Martello Associates Consulting
In 2012, Mr. Cooke retired after a tenure of more than 20 years as the CEO and a Director of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, one of Canada’s oldest and largest general insurance companies. During that time, he served as both an Executive Vice President and Director of E-‐L Financial Corporation (The Dominion’s parent).
When he retired from The Dominion, Mr. Cooke established Martello Associates Consulting, specializing in business strategy. He serves as an advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of IMS, a telematics company based in Waterloo, Ontario.
Mr. Cooke is Chair of the Board of Directors of OMERS Administration Corporation. He began serving as Chair on October 1, 2013. He currently also serves as a Director of Hydro One.
Mr. Cooke is one of three panel members undertaking a review of the mandates of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, the Financial Services Tribunal, and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario for the Government of Ontario, announced in March 2015 with a report anticipated during the winter of 2015/16.
Mr. Cooke has also served as a Director and Chair of The Insurance Bureau of Canada; Director of The Facility Association; and Director and Chair of Property and Casualty Insurance Corporation. He also participated as a member of the Ontario Government-appointed Auto Insurance Anti-Fraud Task Force and is currently the Board Chair of CANATICS, an industry-owned, insurance fraud analytics company. Past director positions also include Empire Life and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. His directorships have provided him with broad exposure to audit, human resources, investment, public policy and regulatory matters.
Mr. Cooke enjoys a profound interest in public policy and, earlier in his career, was a Special Advisor on Policy to the Honourable Robert F. Nixon, Ontario's former Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, and subsequently Vice President of S.A. Murray Consulting, a government relations firm.
Mr. Cooke has an MBA and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens University. He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree (LLD) from Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario. He also was awarded a HCIP (Honourary Chartered Insurance Professional) designation by the Insurance Institute of Canada.
Mr. Cooke is a former Director and President of the Empire Club of Canada. He is also involved with a number of not-for-profit organizations, the most prominent being Spinal Cord Injury Ontario (SCI). This work helped him earn the Ken Langford Honourary Lifetime Membership from SCI. In 2014, he was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame.
Maureen Campbell
Group Benefits Advisor, Adriatic Financial Services
Maureen Campbell is a Group Benefits Advisor with 25 years of experience supporting Business owners and HR professionals to create corporate cultures that attract, retain and reward talent. Her focus is to build sustainable, long-term client relationships through value creation, exemplary service, transparency and integrity. Leveraging strong industry expertise, product knowledge and vendor partnerships; Maureen delivers Benefit and Talent Management solutions to meet the aspirations of companies and their employees. Maureen’s clients are small to mid-sized employers committed to investing in their employees' health and welfare while demanding manageable programs and controllable costs. Whether a company is implementing health and wellness coverage for the first time or revisiting an existing program, Maureen follows a disciplined process to thoroughly understand the company’s requirements and research the best options available to manage the continuity of their business. Her design solutions integrate Benefits coverage into the client’s employment-promise and total compensation strategy. She supports her recommendations with full-service implementation and ongoing consultation and reporting. Ease of program management and minimal business disruption are key outcomes for every client engagement.
Maureen is an agent of Adriatic Financial Services who are specialists in employee benefits, corporate insurance policies, administrative service-only and health spending account programs. In business for 70 years, Adriatic Insurance is an independently owned and operated brokerage. Adriatic acts on behalf of its clients not the Insurer. Their business priority is to deliver the most appropriate and cost-effective product with the highest quality of service to meet the specific financial and risk protection needs of every client.
Shields O’Donnell MacKillop, LLP
Malcolm MacKillop
Malcolm is a founding member of SOM LLP and has practiced exclusively in employment law for over 25 years. He is a member of both the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Law Society of Upper Canada. Malcolm represents employees and senior executives in all areas of employment law, including wrongful dismissal, human rights, and employee obligations. He has particular expertise fiduciary litigation.
Malcolm is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has represented client before all levels of court in Ontario, including in appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal and Federal Court of Appeal. He has also appeared before the Human Right Tribunal of Ontario and in adjudications under the Canada Labour Code.
Malcolm has been Lexpert ranked in the Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. He has also achieved the highest Peer rating (BV) by Martindale-Hubbel. Malcolm has authored a number of acclaimed texts in employment law, and has published columns in the Globe & Mail and Toronto Star newspapers. He has provided on-air commentary to radio broadcasts as well as CBC and CVT. Malcolm was awarded the Queen Elizabeth medal for philanthropy abroad by the Governor General of Canada. He is a past board member of the National Ballet of Canada, the Toronto Human Resources Professional Association, and the National Club.
Hendrik Nieuwland
Hendrik is a partner at SOM. He is a litigator with significant experience for his year of call, who solves his clients’ problems in a practical, efficient, and cost-effective manner.
Since joining the firm in 2007, Hendrik has represented individuals and businesses in a wide range of employment and labour disputes, including wrongful dismissal litigation, employment standards complaints, Canada Labour Code unjust dismissal complaints, human rights applications, union grievances, and fiduciary litigation. Hendrik has served as counsel at several trials, appeals, arbitrations, and injunctions. Hendrik advises businesses in a number of sectors, including manufacturing, banking, financial services, health care, publishing, retail, charities, government, and technology.
In addition to his litigation practice, Hendrik is a frequent writer and speaker on employment and labour law matters. Hendrik has authored and contributed to several legal texts, and has written for Canadian Lawyer In House magazine, HR Professional magazine, Canadian HR Reporter, and the Financial Post. Hendrik has presented at the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Bar Association, the Institute for Professional Management, the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) Annual National Conference, and at HRPA Chapters across the GTA.
Before joining the firm, Hendrik received his law degree from Queen’s University, and clerked for the judges of the Ontario Divisional Court in 2006. Hendrik is from the small Niagara town of Port Colborne, Ontario.
Todd Weisberg
Todd articled with Shields O’Donnell MacKillop and joined the firm as an associate in 2012.
Todd represents employers in all areas of employment and labour law, including wrongful dismissal litigation, employee discipline and termination, employment standards complaints, human rights complaints, labour arbitration, fiduciary litigation, and drafting employment policies and contracts.
Todd has a strong interest in entrepreneurship and has worked for a variety of small businesses, including previously running his own construction business. As a result of these experiences Todd understands the practical issues that come with managing a workforce.
Todd enjoys Toronto’s restaurant scene, travelling, snowboarding, and cheering for the Leafs, Jays, Raptors and Bills.
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown articled with Shields O’Donnell MacKillop and joined the firm as an associate in 2013.
Stephanie practices in the areas of employment standards, wrongful dismissal litigation, employee discipline and termination, human rights complaints, labour arbitration and occupational health and safety. Stephanie appears regularly before arbitrators, mediators, various tribunals and the Superior Court of Justice.
Stephanie received her J.D. from Queen’s University in 2012 and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2013.
Stephanie is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, th e Advocates’ Society, the Toronto Lawyers’ Association and Young Women in Law.