2024 Monitor Top Women in Equipment Finance: Carla Potter, Partner, Cassels Brock and Blackwell

by Monitor Staff Nov/Dec 2024
“I would encourage women in equipment finance to get involved in ELFA, CFLA and industry organizations, reach out to women profiled on these lists and find mentorship. While equipment finance is a big business, it’s a tight-knit industry and one full of champions — including those who have paved the way before us."
Carla Potter
Partner,
Cassels Brock and Blackwell

Carla Potter is a Canadian lawyer with a specialized practice in equipment financing, focusing on supporting U.S. and international equipment finance companies entering the Canadian market. Her expertise stands out in a field traditionally dominated by male clients and lawyers. Inspired by other strong female leaders, Potter has turned the challenge of often being the only woman in the room into a competitive advantage.

Within her corporate finance practice, Potter regularly acts for borrowers and lenders in corporate and commercial lending, project finance, asset-based finance, convertible debt, syndicated lending and securitization transactions. She has a proven track record of working with resource companies on their project finance transactions, including project debt, subordinated debt, project finance equipment facilities and on specialty finance matters in connection with project finance transactions.

Potter is a Chartered Professional Accountant and Chartered Accountant with experience working at national accounting firms in both an assurance and business advisory capacity, and she brings this experience to bear in her practice. Potter’s leadership in equipment finance is evident in her co-authorship of Equipment Financing in Canada, the authoritative text published by LexisNexis. Recognized as a leader in her field by Chambers Canada, Best Lawyers in Canada, the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and IFLR1000, Potter has also been invited to speak on numerous industry panels, including the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Legal Forum.

At Cassels, Potter chairs the Corporate Responsibility Committee, leading initiatives in charitable work, pro bono services and environmental stewardship. A particularly notable achievement is her role in spearheading Project Exit, a campaign supporting the Afghan law firm Shajjan & Associates in helping vulnerable Afghans find refuge in Canada. Potter and the Project Exit team were honored with the President’s Award at the OBA Awards Gala, recognizing their significant contributions to justice in Ontario and their exceptional service to the Ontario Bar.

In the past year, Potter has represented mining companies in leasing equipment valued at over $100 million, assisted U.S.-based commercial finance companies in establishing operations in Canada and provided counsel on various small- and large-ticket programs, as well as M&A activity in the equipment finance sector.

Potter is dedicated to acting as a mentor to other women at Cassels, encouraging them to get involved in the equipment finance sector. She has played a key role in promoting the hiring of women in the firm, which is now comprised of more than 50% women.

“Carla’s dedication to the industry is unwavering,” Jonathan Fleisher, partner in Cassels’ financial services group, says. “She enthusiastically represents the industry to the young lawyers at our firm to generate excitement to participate in transactions. When interacting with clients, she takes a holistic approach rather than viewing the relationship as a legal transaction. She is a true professional in all
aspects of that word.”

Committed to paying it forward, Potter serves as a mentor and role model for students and junior associates, maintaining a roster of formal and informal mentees. She actively supports the leadership development of her peers and champions the advancement of women in the equipment finance industry through various North American industry committees.

Potter’s authentic leadership approach is grounded in leading by example and staying true to her values — prioritizing kindness, community and family, as a devoted mother to her two children and wife to her partner, Drew. •

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