About

Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Empire Company and Empire’s subsidiary company, Sobeys, Karin McCaskill is described as the ‘model’ general counsel. She is praised for her ability to execute transactions and deal with complex litigation. In particular, McCaskill has recently gained credit for her handling of the food giant’s $5.8bn acquisition of Safeway Canada, giving the national grocer an even wider geographical footprint. The Sobeys deal was by no means a simple M&A transaction, it was a complex cross-border deal that spanned a range of legal issues from competition, tax and intellectual property to real estate, leasing and employment. It included a series of notable lending, public offering and real estate deals. McCaskill had to successfully handle the diverse aspects of the transaction and coordinate her 50 strong team, parallel to her in-house duties. Before joining Sobeys in 2002, McCaskill accumulated over 20 years of experience in private practice at the law firm Stewart McKelvey Stirling Scales. McCaskill has also distinguished herself by winning several prestigious awards, including ‘General Counsel of the Year’ in the 2014 Canadian General Counsel Awards.