About E.A. Lisa
E.A. Lisa Kenkel’s academic path begins in the sciences. She earned a B.A. in Biochemistry from Queen’s University in 1985. Three years later she completed an LL.B. at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, entering the legal profession with both scientific and legal training.
Her early years in law led to practice across borders. She is a member of the Ontario Bar Association and is admitted to practice in California and New York. That mix of Canadian and U.S. qualifications has shaped the kind of work she takes on and the clients she represents.
Kenkel’s career includes a period at Fenwick & West LLP. There she worked on matters that required coordination among legal teams in different jurisdictions. Colleagues remember her as someone who could translate complex technical or regulatory issues into clear legal options. Her background in biochemistry proves useful when those issues touch on life sciences or technology.
Her practice spans corporate and commercial work where cross-border questions surface. She handles transactions and client counselling that involve more than one legal system. Regulatory differences and contract terms that must operate in several places are part of the routine. She often helps clients identify practical steps to reconcile divergent rules and business expectations.
Clients who come to Kenkel tend to be businesses that operate in both Canada and the United States or that have significant technical or scientific components. She draws on legal training and scientific literacy to frame questions about intellectual property, regulatory compliance and commercial strategy in ways business people can act on. The combination of jurisdictions in which she is licensed allows her to take a hands-on role in matters that cross the U.S.-Canada border.
Today she is based at Fenwick & West LLP, where she continues to represent corporate clients on issues that combine commercial, regulatory and cross-border dimensions. Her current practice concentrates on advising businesses that operate across Canada and the United States on corporate and commercial matters.
