Stikeman Elliott welcomes Hartley Lefton to the National Insurance & Reinsurance Group in Toronto, the leading insurance sector practice in Canada
TORONTO, Oct. 29, 2026 /CNW/ — Stikeman Elliott is pleased to welcome Hartley Lefton as a partner in Toronto. He joins the firm’s National Insurance & Reinsurance Group, Financial Products & Services Group, and Mergers & Acquisitions Group.
Hartley is recognized by Chambers Canada as a Band 1 practitioner and widely regarded as one of Canada’s leading advisors to the insurance industry. He acts for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and investors on acquisitions and dispositions of insurers, brokers, and books of business, and guides clients through licensing, financing, outsourcing, product launches, and joint ventures. His direct experience with regulators helps clients anticipate how regulatory change will affect their business, so they can plan transactions and market entry with greater certainty. He also advises fintech and insurtech companies as they build and scale in Canada.
“We are delighted to welcome Hartley to our firm,” said Stuart Carruthers, partner in the National Insurance & Reinsurance and Financial Products & Services Groups. “Insurers and their partners are working through transactions, regulation, and new market entrants all at once. Hartley is expert in each and strengthens our reach and depth across insurance and financial services.”
Hartley’s arrival adds to the practice that Chambers Canada has ranked as Band 1 for Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory for 11 consecutive years and which now has more Band 1 lawyers than any other firm. Hartley joins Stuart Carruthers, Meaghan Obee Tower, and senior associate Tim Pavlov in our National Insurance & Reinsurance Group, which combines corporate, regulatory, transactional, and coverage expertise, and acts for insurers, reinsurers, and brokers on domestic and cross-border transactions, public offerings, regulatory matters and insurtech launches. From the first approach to a regulator through closing and beyond, clients work with a single team.
In Financial Products & Services, Hartley strengthens a multidisciplinary practice spanning structured finance, investment funds, asset management, and the regulation of financial institutions. There, Hartley also works alongside Alix d’Anglejan-Chatillon, Darin Renton, and Ramandeep Grewal, who also advise financial services businesses on corporate, regulatory, and transactional matters. Together, they provide our clients with coordinated advice on their most complex acquisitions, transactions, and financing matters.
ABOUT STIKEMAN ELLIOTT LLP
Stikeman Elliott LLP is a global leader in Canadian business law, offering creative solutions to clients across Canada and around the world. The Firm provides the highest quality counsel, decisive advice and workable solutions through offices located in Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, New York, and London. With an exceptional track record on multi-jurisdictional matters in the U.S. and internationally, Stikeman Elliott ranks as a top Firm in its primary practice areas, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, business litigation, banking and finance, competition and foreign investment, tax, restructuring, energy, real estate, project development, employment and labour, and pensions. www.stikeman.com
SOURCE S&E Services Limited Partnership (Communications)
