Tim B. Haney

First Year of Call
Alberta, 2003

Areas of Practice
Capital Markets

Description
As CEO, Tim (he/him/his) leads the strategic direction of the Firm in Canada, driving forward the Firm’s strategy as Canada’s leading global law firm. Leveraging his prior experience as a Managing Partner and National Board member, together with years of practice experience as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in corporate finance, M&A and private equity, Tim has a bold vision for the future. Through programs and initiatives aimed at inspiring and igniting the power of its people, Dentons delivers creative and intelligent solutions to support client success.

Dentons is purposefully different. Combining unmatched global reach and deep local connections in leading centres across the country with market-leading innovation, the Firm provides a truly exceptional client experience. Leading with clear direction and focus, Tim is ensuring clients benefit from the breadth of the Firm’s global connections while staying rooted in leading business centres across the country.

Tim is also committed to ensuring clients receive tailored and effective advice and solutions, supporting clients in meeting their objectives as they grow, protect, operate and finance their businesses. Dentons prides itself on being trusted advisors to clients here in Canada and around the world.

As a committed people leader, Tim promotes a high-performing culture that encourages innovation, supports wellbeing and community involvement, and makes meaningful progress on its inclusion, diversity and equity goals.

A key priority for Tim is to continue to leverage data-enabled insights to further support the Firm’s people and clients, building on the Firm’s strength as a disruptor and an innovator. Tim is steadfast in his commitment to ensuring Dentons remains at the vanguard of the rapidly evolving professional services sector – looking forward to the immense array of new possibilities as data, artificial intelligence and automation impact the future practice of law.

Tim’s strategic direction for the Firm is centered around its greatest and most important enabler – its people. By actively listening and being responsive to the needs of its people, the Firm continues to invest in market-leading benefits and robust health and wellness programs. One tangible example of putting this listening into action is Dentons’ enhanced parental leave benefits for all of its people (Canadian Lawyer) – a first for law firms in Canada. As a passionate advocate for meaningful change, Tim encourages and supports discussions to break down barriers relating to mental health and mental illness.

Tim is also strongly committed to advancing inclusion goals. Working together with the Canada Director of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity, Tim is leading a renewed ID&E strategy that adopts a multi-pronged approach focused on systems, policies and processes, as well as education and connection through a number of programs, activities and affinity groups (including the Firm’s Black Professionals Network, WomenLEAD (Leadership, Entrepreneurism, Advancement, and Development) group, Indigenous Inclusion Working Group, and 2SLGBTQ+ affinity group, GLOW Canada). Together with the entire leadership team, Tim is driving change, leading by example and fostering a sense of belonging for all Dentons team members.

Tim is exceptionally proud of the recognition the Firm is receiving as a top employer, including:

being recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the second consecutive time,
being named as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People, Canada’s Top 20 Family-Friendly Employers, Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, and Canada’s Greenest Employers.
In 2023, Tim was named CEO of the Year by the Canadian Law Awards. He graciously acknowledges the remarkable contributions of the entire Dentons Canada team in achieving this accomplishment.

Outside of his work at Dentons, Tim lends his time to numerous local, provincial and national organizations committed to making a positive impact in communities across the country and around the world, including:

As a board member with Right to Play, a global non-profit working to empower children with opportunities to rise above adversity using the power of play (as part of his involvement, Tim sits on the Steering Committee for the Right to Play Indigenous Program)
As an advisory board member of Catalyst Canada, a global non-profit collaborating with organizations around the world to accelerate women into leadership
As a member of United Way’s Inclusive Local Economic Opportunity (ILEO) Leadership Table, which brings together the private, public, and community sectors in partnership to find innovative ways to reduce gaps in economic prosperity at the neighbourhood level
Tim is a member of the Dentons Global Management Committee and Global Board.

Prior to assuming the CEO role, Tim held various national leadership positions at the Firm, including Managing Partner of the Calgary office, member of the National Management Committee, Chair of the Dentons Canada Audit Committee, two terms on the Dentons Canada Board, and Head of the Calgary Securities Corporate Finance and M&A Group. Recognized as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in corporate finance, M&A and private equity, Tim has extensive experience advising clients on all matters pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, securities, corporate finance and corporate/commercial transactions, having represented public companies, underwriters and private issuers.