Partner
Maria McKenzie *
Office
Vancouver
Key Practice Area
Infrastructure Procurement & Finance
Year of Call
1992
*A LAW CORPORATION
Qualifications
Ontario Bar (1992)
British Columbia Bar (1993)
Education
University of British Columbia (LL.B., 1991)
University of British Columbia (B.Comm., Hons., 1990)
Maria practises business law with a particular emphasis on infrastructure, including public private partnerships. Maria has provided legal advice in the following matters: advising the public sector, private sector and lenders on public private partnership and other alternate financing and procurement transactions, advising on various secured and unsecured credit facilities and project financings for lenders and borrowers, advising on various mergers and acquisitions for private companies, advising on various commercial property purchase, sale and lease transactions, advising on various corporate reorganizations, and providing general corporate and commercial advice.
Maria joined Farris as an associate in 1995 and became a partner in 1999. Prior to joining the firm, Maria clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Madame Justice Beverley McLachlin from 1990 to 1991.
Maria is repeatedly named in Chambers Global and Chambers Canada as a Key Individual in the areas of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) and Infrastructure, has been selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers list for Canada in the area of project finance law, and is consistently named as one of Lexpert Leading Lawyers in Canada.
- Acting for the Province of British Columbia, Transportation Investment Corporation and/or South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority in a number of British Columbia transportation infrastructure projects.
- Acting for the lenders to successful and short-listed proponents in transportation, healthcare and other social infrastructure projects across Canada.
- Acting for successful and short-listed proponents in transportation, healthcare and other social infrastructure projects across Canada.
- Acting for borrowers and lenders in respect of secured and unsecured commercial credit facilities.
- Member of the Law Society of British Columbia
- Member of the Law Society of Ontario
- The Best Lawyers in Canada (2025)
- Chambers Canada Ranked Lawyers (2025)
- Chambers Global Ranked Lawyers (2024)
- Lexpert Leading Lawyers in Canada (2024)
- Lexpert Leading Infrastructure Lawyers (2024)
- The Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” in Public Procurement Law (2023)
- Supervising Lawyer for the UBC Law Students’ Legal Advice Program since 1992