Bell Legal Department
Bell`s legal team often seeks outside help on a variety of issues, so they look for teams that offer quality work at a reasonable price. While there are some issues on which they will spend money on “the Cadillac of legal services,” Rubin says, “95% of the time we look for the sharpest arguments, the best drafting, the best advocacy, as well as high-quality work and efficiency at a price that reflects good value for money.” She also prefers lawyers who bring enthusiasm and energy to a case, especially since Bell`s team works closely with external legal partners and sometimes acts as co-counsel in litigation files. Rubin was promoted to Assistant General Counsel at Bell in 2018 and is now responsible for a bilingual team of approximately 14 lawyers, paralegals and support staff in Ontario and Quebec who assist all of Bell`s various businesses with issues such as litigation, risk mitigation and compliance and other disputes. Rubin uses caution, creativity and legal analysis to minimize the risk that Bell`s legal department will remain close to the company by assigning a small group to each new case. This group works closely with all related departments, creates engagement with other stakeholders in the company, and maintains communication to ensure all parties contribute to the initiative, Rubin says. “That way we can get things done faster and get everyone rowing in the same direction,” she says. “We try to work hand in hand with other departments at every essential stage of a project so that we always have a commitment from those departments.” The in-house legal department of Bell Canada, Canada`s largest communications company and part of BCE Corporation, is led by Michel Lalande, Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Bell Canada operates across the telecommunications sector, offering 4G LTE wireless technology through Bell Mobility and Virgin Mobile Canada, Bell Fibre Internet, satellite television and television, and home phone services. It is a leading technology innovator and source of cloud computing and data storage software in the enterprise, wholesale and residential industries.
The team expertly guides the company to success through its commitments and risks in all of these areas, as well as its media company Bell Media and its specific legal needs. Over the past year, the legal team has worked on many remarkable projects, including the announcement of a $500,000 grant to support the Bell MTS Innovations agriculture program at the University of Manitoba, which promotes the development of broadband solutions for the Internet of Things for the agricultural sector. In addition, the team helped the company launch Canada`s first cloud virtual network services platform in 2018. Prior to joining Bell Canada`s legal department, Heidi Rubin gained litigation experience at various law firms of various sizes, starting with Davies, where she first developed a passion for litigation. To gain more judicial and practical business experience, Rubin made the decision to move to a smaller law firm and spent seven years at Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP, where she honed her litigation skills while working on corporate governance issues for nonprofits and all, labour law class actions. Rubin then joined boutique litigation firm Dewart Gleason LLP before making the decision to try something new by using her skills in an in-house role at Bell, where she joined as senior counsel in 2014. When it comes to risk management, Rubin is cautious, creative and analytical while keeping the business objective in mind. Rubin is also working to help the team return to the culture of face-to-face interactions and face-to-face meetings with stakeholders before the pandemic. Rubin is also grappling with Quebec`s new French language law – Bill 96. “We always strive to stay one step ahead by complying with all relevant laws and laws that apply to us,” says Rubin. He is also interested in regulatory developments and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission`s initiatives to ensure that bells are compliant.
“We`re trying to make it easier for the company to do and improve shareholders and add value to them, so while we have a mandate to mitigate risk, we`re also trying as best we can to be partners in the business purpose and try to find a way around that risk to get them to the goal. that they want to achieve. Rubin says. Maintaining morale and helping the team regain the work-life balance lost during the pandemic are among Rubin`s priorities this year. This includes the search for efficiency by automating processes as much as possible to free up time for more strategic work.