About

This blog voices our perspectives on developments in M&A and private equity, comments on the impact of changes to corporate-commercial laws as they may affect M&A activity, relates insights derived from our experiences handling some of the largest and most complex transactions, and shares best practices from our adventures in deal-making.

Ana Badour is a partner in our Financial Services Group in Toronto. Her practice focuses on banking and secured transactions, including senior and subordinate loans, cross-border transactions, restructurings, acquisition financings, project finance as well as asset-based lending transactions

Jessica Bishop is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. She completed her JD at Queen’s University in April 2012. Prior to her legal studies, Jessica worked for the former Attorney General of Ontario as a Communications Advisor and the former Solicitor General of Ontario as a Policy Advisor on Correctional Services.

Cristian Blidariu has a general corporate and commercial practice that includes public and private mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate finance. Cristian is an associate in the Toronto office and a recipient of the Marshall A. Cohen JD/MBA Award.

Paul Michael Blyschak maintains a broadly based practice, encompassing a varied range of both domestic and international transactions in the upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas industry as well as in the energy/power sector. An associate in the Calgary office, Paul has published widely on foreign investment disputes between private entities and sovereign states, including international energy disputes. Paul received his LLM from the University of Toronto.

Martin Boodman is a partner in our Litigation Group and Director of Research in Montréal. From 1983 to 1995, he was a full-time law professor in the Faculty of Law at McGill University. During this time he taught and published in the fields of security on property, comparative law, sale and law, and economics. He received prizes from the Fondation du Barreau du Québec and American Society for Comparative Law for his publications. Martin obtained his bachelor of civil law and his LLB from McGill University and a doctorate from the Université de Paris (II).

John Boscariol is head of the International Trade & Investment Law Group and a partner in the Litigation Group. He advises private and public sector clients on the application and enforcement of laws governing foreign investment and the cross-border trade in goods, services and technology. His practice focuses on international trade and investment protection agreements, such as the agreements of the WTO and NAFTA, bilateral investment treaties, regional and sectoral trade agreements, anti-corruption laws, export and import controls, economic sanctions, blocking measures, defence trade controls, national security measures, anti-dumping, countervail and safeguard measures, government procurement, and all customs tariff and enforcement issues. John has received the International Law Office/Association of Corporate Counsel Client Choice Award – Trade and Customs (Canada). John received his LLM in international trade and competition Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1998 and his LLB from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1995.

Oliver Borgers maintains a general competition practice encompassing the application of competition law to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, alliances, pre-merger notifications and market conduct. A partner in the Toronto office, Oliver regularly provides strategic advice to major national and international companies on pre-merger clearance matters in a variety of industries and has extensive experience in various marketing and pricing practices, market restrictions, exclusive dealing and a host of other compliance, civil and criminal issues that arise out of antitrust law. He also speaks English, French, German and some Spanish, and is qualified as an English solicitor. Oliver received his LLM from the University of Toronto.

Fraser Bourne has a corporate practice which focuses on securities law, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. An associate in the Montréal office, Fraser has advised on multimillion dollar transactions for clients in the consumer products, food and beverage, energy and power, semi-conductor and automotive industries. He received his BCL from McGill University.

Frédéric Cotnoir practices in the areas of securities and corporate law, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and public financings. A partner in the Montréal office, Frédéric received his BA in civil law from the University of Sherbrooke in 1997 and his bachelor’s degree in common law (BCL) from Queen’s University in 1999. He also received a master’s degree (MSc) in law and accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences in 2003.

Matthew Cumming maintains a general corporate and securities practice with a focus on M&A and corporate finance. A partner in the Toronto office, Matthew is the co-author of Shareholder Remedies in Canada published by LexisNexis Canada. He holds a JD from the University of Toronto, and an LLM in Commercial Law from Cambridge University. Prior to joining the firm, Matthew clerked for the Honourable Mr. Justice John C. Major at the Supreme Court of Canada, and practised corporate and securities law in New York.

Shane D’Souza is an associate in our Litigation Group in Toronto. He maintains a general civil and commercial litigation practice with a focus on securities litigation, shareholder disputes, takeover bids, oppression remedies, directors’ and officers’ liability, internal investigations, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate opportunity, insider trading, and artificial pricing matters. He also has experience in other commercial litigation, professional liability and medical negligence law. Shane received his JD from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Mark Firman is an associate in the Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation Group in Toronto. He advises on all aspects of pensions, benefits and executive compensation, including related taxation and trust law issues. In particular, Mark has experience with pension and benefit plans in mergers and acquisitions, stock options and other equity incentive plans, surplus entitlement and pension plan governance. He received his JD from the University of Toronto in 2008, where he was Senior Editor, University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review.

Sony Gill is a partner in the Business Law Group in Calgary. Sony has dealt with all aspects of a public and private company’s creation, growth, restructuring and value maximization. He has extensive experience in the negotiation, structuring and documentation of a broad range of corporate finance, securities and M&A transactions, including public offerings, private placements, debt financings, recapitalizations, tax motivated restructurings, takeover bids, reverse takeovers, asset and share transactions, plans of arrangement, stock exchange listings and other forms of business combinations and corporate activity. Sony was named among Lexpert’s Rising Stars: Leading Lawyers Under 40 in 2011. He received his BA (with distinction) from the University of Calgary in 1997 and his LLB from the University of Alberta in 2000. He was called to the Alberta bar in 2001.

Peter Goode is a partner in our Business Law Group. His practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations, private equity and corporate finance. He is a member of the Steering Committee for the firm’s National Private Equity Group, and is also a member of the firm’s Investment Dealer Steering Committee in Calgary. Mr. Goode has been recognized as one of Canada’s leading private equity lawyers, appearing in the 2010 and 2011 editions of Lexpert’s Annual Canadian Legal Directory.

Paul Galbraith‘s practice currently includes mid and large scale secured lending transactions, acquisitions and divestitures, commercial and industrial development projects, stock/share purchase transactions, and commercial leasing. An associate in the Toronto office, Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Calgarya master’s degree from Cambridge University in philosophy and a master’s degree from Cambridge University in mathematical logic. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto in 2005, and was called to the Ontario bar in 2006.

Heidi Gordon has a general corporate practice in the firm’s Toronto office. She has a JD from Queen’s University and a BA (Hons.) in Philosophy and Ethics from the University of Western Ontario. While at Queen’s, Heidi was on the Dean’s List, and received the David Sabbath Prize in Corporate Finance and the Law Society of Upper Canada Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. She also was an associate editor of the Queen’s Law Journal.

Mason Gordon is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. He will earn his civil and common law degrees from McGill University in December 2012. During law school, Mason ran the CLSC Parc-Extension Legal Clinic, where he provided legal information to socially disadvantaged individuals. He was also co-president of the McGill Business Law Association, vice-president of the McGill Law student government, and participated as a chair member on multiple student committees.

Geoff Hall‘s practice focuses primarily on corporate/commercial litigation, and he also has extensive experience in bankruptcy/restructuring litigation, constitutional and administrative law litigation. A partner in the Toronto office, Geoff authored Canadian Contractual Interpretation Law, which has been cited numerous times by the courts including by the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as in numerous articles. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he teaches a course on contractual interpretation. He has been a guest speaker at numerous conferences and seminars. Geoff clerked for the Honourable Justice William Stevenson of the Supreme Court of Canada after graduating from the University of Toronto as a Silver Medallist.

Robert Hansen advises clients on M&A and capital markets transactions. Specifically, he works with purchasers, vendors and special committees of boards of directors on the purchase and sales or shares and assets of public and private companies, as well as with issuers, investment dealers and investors in connection with offerings of securities by way of private placement and prospectus. A partner in the Toronto office, Robert is on the faculty of The Directors College founded by McMaster University and teaches seminars in advanced securities law at the University of Windsor and the University of Western Ontario.

Donald Houston maintains a competition practice that includes defending criminal prosecutions, civil cases before the Competition Tribunal and private actions (including class actions) in the Courts. He has frequently represented the Commissioner of Competition in the Tribunal and before the Courts. He also assists clients by counselling on the competition aspects of business transactions and by making representations to the Bureau in mergers and other matters. He is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading practitioners in competition law and litigation, with more than 25 years of experience in effectively representing clients on a variety of matters. Donald is the Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Competition Law Section.

 
Brandon Kain is the co-founder of the McCarthy Tétrault National Appellate Litigation Group. His practice focuses on securities, competition and product liability class actions, complex business disputes, public law, written advocacy and opinions. A partner in the Toronto office, Brandon has appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Federal Court and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. He holds an LLB (Honours Standing) and an MA in philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Matthew Kelleher’s practice focuses on private M&A and corporate finance, specifically major transaction for banks, private equity firms, pension funds and large corporations in the financial, industrial and consumer products sectors. A partner in the Toronto office, Matthew is the author of several articles and papers with a corporate finance perspective. He contributes a significant amount of time to pro bono matters and was nominated in 2007 and 2008 for the Canadian Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Pro Bono Award.

Paul Kunynetz is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. He recently graduated from law school at the University of Windsor. Prior to his legal studies, Paul obtained an Honours in Business Administration, with distinction, from the Richard Ivey School of Business as well as a concurrent Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, with distinction, from the University of Western Ontario.

Thomas Lavier’s practice focuses on infrastructure projects, especially projects that take place through public-private partnership and wind power. An associate in the Montréal office, Thomas previously interned at the Québec National Assembly through a merit scholarship by the Fondation Jean-Charles Bonenfant. He has lived, studied and worked in Ottawa, Paris, Mexico and Québec City.

Marilyn Leblanc is an associate in the Competition Group in Montréal. She advises Canadian and international clients on all aspects of Canadian competition law, especially concerning mergers, abuse of dominance, cartels and deceptive marketing practices. Marilyn worked as a senior officer at the Competition Bureau from 2005 to 2011, and as a lawyer in the Bureau’s legal services department. In her practice, she has acted in merger cases and been involved in many other cases related to policy development and implementation. She received her BCL from Université Laval in 2004.

Atrisha Lewis is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. She graduated with honours from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. She is the recipient of the 2012 Dean’s Key, awarded annually to a graduating student with outstanding academic and extra-curricular achievement over three years of law school. Atrisha was extensively involved in mooting and has represented the University of Toronto at both the Phillip C. Jessup Moot and the Donald G. H. Bowman Tax Moot. She was also extensively involved with the International Human Rights Clinical Program, advocating for LGBT human rights at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Tyler McAuley has a general corporate practice in the Toronto office. Tyler previously served on the editorial board of the Queen’s Law Journal and represented Queen’s as a member of the Wilson Moot team. He is also a regular contributor to the Annotated Ontario Securities Legislation book.

Ian Michael has a general corporate and securities practice, with a focus on public M&A and corporate finance. A partner in the Toronto office, Ian advises public and private companies in a variety of industries, including consumer goods manufacturing, aviation, mining and investment management. He acts both for corporate issuers of securities and for the underwriters and investors in private placements and public financings. Ian teaches seminars on M&A at the University of Western Ontario and at Queen’s University. He is a contributor to Annotated Ontario Securities Legislation published by CCH.

Leslie Milroy’s practice focuses on public and private M&A, corporate finance, continuous disclosure and general corporate matters. She is also a member of our National Consumer & Retail Group. An associate in the Toronto office, Leslie regularly represents major corporations, financial institutions, investors, emerging growth businesses, and issuers and dealer syndicates. She is a regulator contributor to Annotated Ontario Securities Legislation published by CCH. Leslie recently returned to McCarthy Tétrault from a six month secondment to the Corporate Finance Team and M&A Team of the Corporate Finance Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission.

Philip Moore advises on a broad range of corporate and securities matters, including domestic and cross-border capital markets and M&A transactions, corporate governance and corporate reorganizations. A partner in the Toronto office, Phil provides corporate, securities and commercial advice to a number of public and private corporations and their boards of directors, financial institutions and investment banks. He is on the Board of Directors Neenah Paper Inc., which is listed on the NYSE.

Lara Nathans is a partner in the Business Law Group in Toronto and co-chair of the firm’s National Consumer & Retail Group. Lara regularly acts on M&A transactions, corporate finance matters and corporate reorganizations. She also regularly advises public and private company clients on corporate, commercial and securities law, and on governance and corporate structuring. She has taught Advanced Securities Law at the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University and Securities Law at the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario. She received her BA (Hons) in History and American Studies from Brandeis University, and graduated with her LLB from Queen’s University. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2002.

Graeme Norwood is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. Prior to completing his JD at the University of Windsor, he completed his Honours Bachelor of Commerce at the Queen’s School of Business. While attending Windsor Law, Graeme worked for the Community Legal Aid Clinic as a student supervisor, and served as a member of the Board of Directors of CJAM, the community radio station.

Genevieve Pinto has a corporate finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters practice. An associate in the Vancouver office, Genevieve represents clients in a wide variety of industries, including mining, technology, biotech, real estate and retail.

Leila Rafi has a transactional practice that focuses on Canadian and international securities offerings and private and public mergers and acquisitions. A partner in the Toronto office, Leila also provides securities regulatory advice, and deals with corporate governance issues, specializing in all aspects of director and officer indemnification. Leila teaches securities law at the University of Windsor and at the University of Western Ontario, and is also an instructor for a securities course at the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario.

David Randell maintains a corporate and securities practice focussing on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. His practice also includes advising clients on corporate law and corporate governance matters. A partner in the Toronto office, David regularly acts for issuers and investment dealers in various corporate finance deals, including private placements both in Canada and abroad, public offerings, and venture capital financing. He has experience with debt offerings (including medium term notes and high-yield debt) and equity offerings, and regularly acts for the firms? major corporate clients, including financial institutions. David also regularly acts for purchasers and vendors on public and private merger and acquisition transactions, including take-over bids and share sales.  David received his BA (Economics) from Mount Allison University in 2000 and his JD from the University of Toronto in 2003. While in law school, he won the Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Prize in Business Organizations and the Jacob Finkelman Prize in Labour Law.

Max Thelonious Rogan is a partner in our Business Law Group in Montréal. His practice focuses mainly on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, take-over defence and general commercial law. Prior to joining McCarthy Tétrault, Mr. Rogan worked in the business law group of another major Canadian law firm, during which time he was involved in a number of merger and acquisition, corporate finance and cross-border transactions.

Lama Sabbagh is an articling student at McCarthy Tétrault. She obtained her JD from the University of Windsor. In 2011, she completed a secondment to the Ontario Securities Commission – Corporate Finance Branch. Lama was the recipient of J.W. Whiteside Award 2012 for outstanding services to the Faculty of Law, the legal community and the community of Windsor. She was also awarded Student Leadership Bursary, In-Course Scholarships, and Danby Memorial Bursary, Kovinsky Memorial Scholarship and Newton Rowell Scholarships for academic excellence and commitment to public service.

Iain Scott is a partner in the Business Law Group in the firm’s Montréal office. Mr. Scott practises corporate and securities law, concentrating on mergers and acquisitions, financings, reorganizations, fund formation and joint ventures. He has extensive experience in cross-border and multi-national transactions for Canadian, US and European clients, including strategic buyers and financial sponsors. He also has significant experience in venture capital financings and other transactions involving technology-based businesses.

William Scott maintains a litigation practice which includes the resolution of insurance coverage disputes, reinsurance disputes and complex general liability claims. A partner in the Toronto office, William has been certified since 1999 as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada, the governing body of the Ontario legal profession. William has been a teacher of the Civil Procedure Section of the Law Society’s Bar Admission Course and has taught at Advocacy and Negotiation/Mediation Skills Workshops in-house and Advocacy Workshops at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Michele Siu is counsel in our Competition Group in Toronto.  Her practice focuses on advising clients on various aspects of Canadian competition law, including analyzing the competitive implications of mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances and the preparation of pre-merger filings under the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act, providing advice in respect of the Competition Act‘s reviewable practice and criminal offence provisions and assessing and developing competition law compliance programs.

Charles-Antoine Soulière‘s practice focuses mainly on securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate financing, venture capital as well as general business and corporate matters. He has been involved in various transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and private placements. An associate in the Montréal office, Charles-Antoine received his law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke in 2007 and was called to the Québec bar in 2008.

Véronique Wattiez-Larose‘s practice focuses on M&A and private equity. A partner in the Montréal office, she represents clients in a wide variety of areas including biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, video games and computer software, the music industry, the clothing industry and aeronautics. She also advises on all commercial aspects of intellectual property law. Véronique is a Canadian Registered Trade-mark Agent, as well as a member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada. She also sits on the management committee of the Université de Montréal L.R. Wilson Chair in Information Technologies and E-Commerce Law. She pursued graduate studies at the Institute for Comparative Law at McGill University.

David Woollcombe is a partner in the Toronto office and former Practice Group Leader of the Business Law Group. He has significant experience in corporate finance matters, having acted for issuers and investment dealers in a wide variety of cross-border and domestic public offerings and private placements. David regularly advises clients on governance matters and has assisted clients in structuring joint ventures and related shareholders agreements. He spent part of 1995 on secondment to the Corporate Finance Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission and has taught courses on directors’ duties at the Directors College and securities law at the University of Western Ontario and University of Windsor.