Vella & Pratt PC is an international law firm

Law firm

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...

 based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. The firm was founded in 1988 by George F. Vella and Christopher J. Pratt after the dissolution of Kennedy & Associates, a former, multinational Toronto law firm founded by businessman and champion thoroughbred breeder Richard R. Kennedy

Richard R. Kennedy

Richard R. Kennedy is a Canadian lawyer and businessman.Kennedy is currently the president of Health Products Canada Inc., having offices in Toronto and Buffalo. He is a venture capitalist, investing in small companies and taking them public. His areas of interest are medical technology and...

, who was indicted on several counts of fraud in 2003.

Vella & Pratt is consistently praised in Canadian law journals for successful partnership after the dissolution of Kennedy & Associates in the face of partnership tension and legal malpractice. The firm is also mentioned in James B. Stewart

James B. Stewart

James Bennett Stewart is an American lawyer, journalist, and author.-Life and career:Stewart was born in Quincy, Illinois. A graduate of DePauw University and Harvard Law School, James B. Stewart is a member of the Bar of New York and Bloomberg Professor of Business and Economic Journalism at the...

's bestselling book The Partners: Inside America's Most Powerful Law Firms

The Partners (book)

The Partners: Inside America's Most Powerful Law Firms is a bestselling book by James B. Stewart. The book is a product of two years of investigation of the role of prominent law firms in society. The book describes and discusses several famous cases. There have been five editions of the book as...

as a firm that became internationally renowned for its successful management and practice, representing IBM Canada

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 in cooperation with the prominent New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Cravath, Swaine & Moore

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a prominent American law firm based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the country, Cravath was founded in 1819 and consistently ranks first among the world's most prestigious law firms according to a survey of partners,...

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