Debbie Weinstein

An Ottawa business lawyer who has overseen some of city's biggest high-tech deals over the past seven years insists she is a "reformed rebel".

As a youth, Debbie Weinstein's rebellious approach to life earned her a few suspensions from high school. The 45-year-old co-founder and partner in Ottawa's LaBarge Weinstein smiles as she recalls her student days in Toronto's posh Forest Hill neighbourhood.

In one instance, a teacher was lamenting that the staff was not being paid enough and would likely go on strike.

"I took some loose change out of my jeans and tossed it at her," recalls Ms. Weinstein. "She was not impressed."

The young Ms Weinstein also made her presence felt in an after-school Hebrew class she was required to attend.

"I hated it and the teachers knew it. Let's just say I was continually disruptive."

Despite these early transgressions, Ms Weinstein was admitted to Toronto's Osgoode Hall Law School in the early 1980s and was called to the bar in 1985.

But her youthful persona has not completely disappeared.

"Inside of me is a shit-disturber troublemaker," she says from her Kanata office.

"But despite my aggressiveness or competitive nature, I am as human as the next person. As my husband reminds me, 'You put your underwear on one leg at a time just like everyone else'. He has shown me that sometimes you can achieve more by doing and saying less."

It's this softer approach Ms Weinstein tries to embrace when dealing with clients, saving her aggressive side for the deal-making activities for which she and her partners are known.

Among other recent transactions, LaBarge Weinstein acted as Canadian counsel for Ciena Corp. when it purchased Ottawa-based Catena Networks in February. The blockbuster deal was worth US$487 million in stock.

In July, the firm oversaw Ottawa-based Tropic Networks' fourth round of financing, worth about $41 million. With telecom equipment giant Alcatel as the lead investor, the summer deal was considered the largest local venture capital transaction in 18 months.

"I'm very aggressive vis-à-vis my competition and I'm very aggressive for my clients," says Ms Weinstein. "If I've learned anything over the last decade, it's to balance your negotiation and aggressiveness when it's needed. This pays off in volumes."

Balance is something Ms Weinstein constantly strives for and seems to achieve as she takes on numerous responsibilities outside her regular job.

Last month, Ms Weinstein was appointed chairperson of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation. She is also a board member for several local companies, including Adesa, Inc., Mosaid Technologies Inc., Cloakware Corp. and the Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. She is on the dean's advisory board for the University of Ottawa's school of management.

Ms Weinstein sees her new role at OCRI as "indicative of a lot of what I'm doing in my day, which is providing strategic assistance and guidance to my clients and to the companies on whose boards I sit".