Robert Slaughter joins Avison Young as Chief Legal Officer

Highly regarded legal professional joins to drive legal and M & A best practices as part of firm's strategic growth plan

TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today that Robert (Bob) Slaughter has joined Avison Young as a Principal and as the company's Chief Legal Officer.

Effective immediately, Slaughter will assume the role of planning and directing all aspects of Avison Young's legal affairs across all current and future Avison Young office locations. He will be based in the company's Chicago office.

"We are honored to have Bob as a teammate to provide leadership and legal best practices as we continue our torrid growth," comments Rose. "Bob is a highly regarded legal professional with an impressive background as a General Counsel for companies headquartered in Canada and the United States - and, specifically for real estate services companies."

Slaughter brings to Avison Young 30 years of broad experience in both executive in-house corporate legal positions and as a partner in leading law firms. He has advised both publicly-traded and privately-held companies with respect to complex corporate and commercial transactions (including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and financings) and corporate governance matters. Slaughter is currently a Senior Lecturer in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Before he joined Loyola's faculty in 2008, he was the Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Grubb & Ellis Company.

Rose continues: "It is exciting to partner with Bob again to grow Avison Young's footprint in North America and drive legal, M & A and risk-management strategies as the industry's recognized 'safe pair of hands'."

Slaughter holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics from Princeton University and earned his Juris Doctor from The University of Chicago Law School. Slaughter currently serves on the board of directors of the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education and regularly speaks at professional conferences. Most recently, he served as a panelist for Practising Law Institute's 2012 Corporate Compliance and Ethics Institute.

"I am extremely happy to join Avison Young and to return to the real estate services industry. Moreover, I am excited to have the opportunity to contribute to Avison Young's dynamic strategic growth plans," says Slaughter. "I look forward to working with Avison Young's talented management team and the company's Principals and leaders to build the platform of choice for clients and top performers."

In February, Avison Young was named a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business.

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Avison Young is also the largest Canadian-owned, principal-managed commercial real estate brokerage firm in North America. Comprising more than 950 real estate professionals in 32 offices across Canada and the U.S., the full-service commercial real estate company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

•Editors/Reporters: please click on link to view and download photo of Robert Slaughter:
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Avison%20Young%20Robert%20Slaughter.jpeg

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: (604) 647-5098; cell: (604) 726-0959

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: (416) 673-4028

• Bob Slaughter, Principal and Chief Legal Officer, Avison Young: (312) 957-7606

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young is a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business

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SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.