An Ontario judge has decided which law firm will represent employees in Hudson’s Bay’s creditor protection case.
A court filing from judge Peter Osborne names Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP as representative counsel to the faltering department store’s more than 9,000 employees and 3,000 retirees.
Hudson’s Bay solicited interest from several firms, but selected Ursel in part because it was also involved in insolvency cases for defunct retailers Sears Canada and Nordstrom Canada.
Rival firm Koskie Minsky LP thought it was a mistake for Hudson’s Bay to not post an open callout for lawyers and requested former associate chief justice of Ontario Douglas Cunningham be appointed to recommend which firm should be used.
Osborne agreed to have the selection process reviewed but opted to use retired judge Herman Wilton-Siegel instead to remove any potential bias.
Court records show Wilton-Siegel looked at proposals from five firms but recommended Ursel because of its expertise, independence, interest in working with those guiding the Bay through creditor protection and experience communicating with large groups of employees in insolvency cases.
