About

ArcelorMittal Canada’s legal team for steel strives to balance collaboration and cross-training to improve efficiencies and client service, while also developing individual team member subject-matter expertise for particular areas of law that impact ArcelorMittal. Led by Lisa Marcuzzi, vice president, general counsel, secretary and country counsel for Canada, the team is comprised of four lawyers and a paralegal located in Hamilton, and one lawyer based in Contrecoeur, Quebec. ArcelorMittal also employs two additional lawyers that support the company’s mining segment. Most recently, ArcelorMittal’s flat carbon steel business commenced a significant digitalisation project in 2018 and the legal team will continue to provide support to the programme, which will introduce dramatic operational improvements and efficiencies, including expanding the program to ArcelorMittal’s long carbon steel business. Since 2017, the steel business’ legal team has focused on driving continuous process improvements through document management and digitalisation initiatives. In addition, it has emphasised opportunities for improved business services including training and self-service initiatives and the integration of legal and compliance into business. In 2016, ArcelorMittal Canada completed a significant corporate simplification in Canada that saw a reorganisation of its flat, long and tubular product business units. The simplification required considerable legal resources and cooperation and coordination across the businesses. Also in 2016, in support of the company’s treasury department the team brought a lawsuit against a third-party benefits provider for improper adjudication of a drug benefit claim. The team eventually won the case at the Ontario Court of Appeal, including full indemnification for the loss C$1.28m and repayment of C$100,000 in legal fees. Currently, ArcelorMittal continues to monitor the trade landscape in North America and beyond and is working to protect and develop advanced manufacturing in Canada. Major issues include existing Section 232 tariffs on steel entering the United States and the impact of the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). The legal team continues to support ArcelorMittal Canada’s trade, financial, commercial and strategy teams on issues in trade. The legal team will also continue to monitor changes to the legislative framework that impacts advanced manufacturing businesses in Canada and provide the necessary support to the business to adapt to these changes. Over the past two years, the legal team has provided contract negotiating services to the business in support of more than C$300m of new capital spent, including significant upgrades to the Hot Mill, a utilities boiler and power generation project, improvements to finishing lines in Ontario as well as improvements to our finishing lines and the installation of reheating furnaces in Quebec. The legal team also helped negotiate the grants and loans associated with a number of these projects and will continue to provide behind-the-scene support to business in relation to the Government of Canada’s recent commitment to invest C$50m in seven major ArcelorMittal capital projects in Ontario and Quebec. These capital projects will require legal support in relation to procurement, immigration, environment, and health and safety.