Bennett Jones lawyers Sophie Virji, Ilan Ishai and Jessica Horwitz are winners of the prestigious Lexpert Rising Stars awards for 2024. This distinguished honour celebrates leading Canadian lawyers 40 and under who have made outstanding contributions to their organizations, communities and the legal profession.

This year's awards were announced at a gala ceremony in Toronto on November 19. Congratulations to Sophie, Ilan and Jessica on this illustrious recognition of their legal excellence as 2024 Lexpert Rising Stars.

Sophie Virji

Partner, Calgary

Sophie helps private and public corporations manage their tax controversies and formulate litigation strategies. She handles all aspects of the tax dispute resolution process and advocates complex written and oral legal positions for appearances before the Court of Queen’s Bench, the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. Sophie shows exceptional leadership in the legal profession through collaboration and knowledge sharing. She regularly writes and speaks on taxation matters and is on the board of directors for the Canadian Petroleum Tax Society and Women in Law Leadership. She is also a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Association of Women Lawyers and the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers. Sophie is a dedicated mentor to the next generation of legal professionals.

Ilan Ishai

Partner, Toronto

Ilan’s practice focuses on class actions, commercial disputes and appellate advocacy. He acts on complex and multi-party commercial, product liability, competition, fraud, director/officer liability and oppression matters. He has appeared as lead counsel before all levels of court in Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada, providing strategic advice to clients at all stages of high-stakes litigation. In his pro bono work, Ilan represented the National Self-Represented Litigants Project in an intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark case of Pintea v. Johns, in which the Court agreed to endorse the CJC's Statement of Principles on Self-represented Litigants. Ilan is a formal mentor to associates and an informal mentor to many others. He is a member of the Advocates' Society, the New York State Bar Association and the International Association of Defence Counsel, and sits on Practical Law's Corporate & Commercial Litigation Advisory Board.

Jessica B. Horwitz

Partner, Toronto

Jessica is an advocate and business advisor for Canadian and international clients on complex and high-stakes matters relating to international trade, customs, import and export regulation and economic sanctions. She works with clients across a broad range of industries to creatively solve problems and resolve disputes concerning imports, exports and international investments. Jessica is an active member of legal organizations and trade associations including the Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association International Law Sections, the American Bar Association Section of International Law, the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, the Inter-American Bar Association, the International Compliance Professionals Association, and serves on the board of directors of I.E. Canada and the Organization of Women in International Trade-Toronto. She is a mentor to younger lawyers and has been recognized for her mentorship of undergraduate students interested in legal careers.

About Bennett Jones

Bennett Jones is one of Canada’s premier business law firms and home to 500 lawyers and business advisors. With deep experience in complex transactions and litigation matters, the firm is well equipped to advise businesses and investors with Canadian ventures and connect Canadian businesses and investors with opportunities around the world. Serving clients since 1922, we are proud to be the firm that businesses trust with their most complex legal matters.