Find Lawyers in Toronto, Ontario for Securities Law
Practice Area Overview
Generally, in each Canadian jurisdiction, a distribution of securities must be qualified by a prospectus that is filed with and cleared by the relevant securities regulatory authority unless an exemption from this requirement is available. In addition, securities legislation in the various Canadian jurisdictions deems certain trades in securities that were previously acquired under an exemption from the prospectus requirements, called "first trades," to be distributions. Securities of an issuer that is a reporting issuer under Canadian securities laws (that is, an issuer that is subject to periodic reporting requirements) and that were acquired under an exemption from the prospectus requirements are generally freely tradable, depending on the exemption relied upon, after a four-month hold period. The most regularly relied upon exemption from the prospectus requirements is the accredited investor exemption (permits certain qualified investors, including institutional investors and persons or companies that meet income or asset tests, to acquire securities on a prospectus-exempt basis).
Lawyers in this area must have a comprehensive understanding of the provincial securities laws administered by the applicable provincial regulatory authority, as well as the rules and policies of the national securities exchanges and IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, which is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada). An important aspect of the practice is advising issuers and other market participants as to which information about the issuer and the securities being offered is "material" and therefore requires disclosure in offering materials or other disclosure documents.
Gesta Abols’ practice is focused on mergers & acquisitions (including private equity), strategic investments, corporate governance and shareholder activism. Gesta provides expert legal advice, superior service and structure to bring clarity to complex challenges. Gesta is the Co-Leader of the firm’s US Practice and on the executive of the firm’s Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions (CM and M&A) Committee. Gesta is consistently recognized as a leader in the ...
Donald Belovich is a partner in the Capital Markets, Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups and Co-Head of the Cannabis Group. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, public financings and complex corporate reorganizations. Donald also acts as counsel to issuers and underwriters in connection with initial public offerings and other public offerings and private placements. He regularly advises issuers, boards of directors and special committees on the structuring of M&A...
Steven Bennett is a partner and Co-Head of the Mining Group. He is also a member of the Corporate, Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups and the firm's Emissions Trading & Climate Change practice. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities, private equity transactions, and general corporate and commercial law. Steven has significant experience representing domestic and international clients in inter-jurisdictional tra...
Joel Binder is a partner in the Corporate Group with a broad corporate/securities practice. Joel is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading corporate lawyers and has been ranked in the areas of M&A, private equity, capital markets and securities, and corporate law by The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada , The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory , Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A , International Financial Law Review’s IFLR1000 and...
William Braithwaite is senior counsel at the firm and was Chair of the firm from 2012 to 2018. He previously served on the firm’s Partnership Board and Executive Committee, and is the former Head of the Corporate Group in the Toronto office. Bill practises primarily in mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. In addition to acting on some of the most significant cross border merger transactions, he has acted as counsel to major Canadian corporations, boards of directors, and inst...
Allan is a partner in our Business Law and Corporate Finance Groups. He has built his practice by advising clients on corporate finance and corporate/commercial legal issues. He is a recognized team player who likes to think outside the box to solve specific client challenges. Clients select Allan for his creativity, responsiveness and cost-effective counsel. Allan provides counsel on transactions as well as day-to-day activities for a wide range of clients, including manufacturers, distribut...
Robert Brush is recognized as one of Canada’s leading securities and corporate commercial litigation lawyers. In addition to being recognized as Securities Litigation Lawyer of the Year for 2020 by Benchmark Litigation , Robert has been recognized by Lexpert as one of the Top 500 Lawyers in Canada and has been featured in the Lexpert Special Edition on Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers. He has also been recognized as a leading corporate commercial litigator by Best Lawyers in Ca...
Michael Burkett is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group whose practice focuses on advising public and private companies and private equity investors on complex domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisition transactions, divestitures, going private transactions as well as public company governance and compliance issues. In addition, Michael also assists domestic, U.S. and other international clients in connection with corporate finance, securities and general corporate commerc...
David Byers is senior counsel and former Co-Chair of the National Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. David is highly experienced in complex commercial litigation, including product liability, securities, insolvency and insurance, as well as in domestic and international arbitration. David has extensive advocacy experience appearing before both the Trial and Appellate levels of courts in Ontario. His representations reflect a practice of extraordinary depth and scope, including acting ...
Nadia Campion's practice focuses on complex commercial litigation including shareholder oppression applications, D&O liability, estates matters, class actions and professional liability. Nadia also has an active land development and real estate litigation practice. Nadia has extensive trial experience and appears regularly before the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal and various regulatory and administration tribunals. She also has expertise in Toronto Commercial List pro...
John Ciardullo is the Managing Partner of the Toronto office where he is responsible for overseeing management, strategic direction and client service. He is also a member of the Partnership Board, Executive Committee, Management Committee and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. He is the former Head of the Corporate Department and the Capital Markets and Public Mergers & Acquisitions Groups. John has expertise in a broad range of corporate transactions and has led some of Ca...
Alistair Crawley is a founding partner of Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP and is one of Canada’s leading securities and corporate commercial litigation lawyers. Alistair’s practice includes all aspects of litigation and advice involving the capital markets and the securities industry, including investigations and enforcement hearings, contested corporate transactions and investment loss claims. Alistair has argued some of Canada’s most significant securities law cases, including t...
Pierre Dagenais has extensive corporate and securities law experience, with particular emphasis on public M&A and corporate finance. He has acted as counsel in many M&A transactions, including take-over bids and statutory arrangements. He has been involved in a number of IPOs and other corporate finance transactions (including those with a cross-border component) for issuers, underwriters and investors. Pierre has been a leader in ESG financings, including acting for an issuer in the ...
Perry Dellelce is a founder and managing partner of Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, one of Canada’s leading corporate finance and transactional law firms. Perry practises in the areas of securities, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Perry has been recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory as one of Canada’s leading practitioners in the areas of Technology Transactions and Global Mining. Prior to completing his law degree at the University of Ottawa, Perry holds...
Mike Devereux is a partner in the Capital Markets and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups and a member of the Associates Committee in the Toronto office. His practice focuses on securities and corporate law, with an emphasis on public and private mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, private equity transactions, strategic transactions such as joint ventures, partnerships and significant investments, and corporate finance transactions. Mike has advised issuers, boards of directors, spe...
Terence Dobbin focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and public financings. He regularly advises acquirers and target companies in connection with negotiated transactions and unsolicited take-over bids. Mr. Dobbin has extensive experience with large, multijurisdictional transactions, including cross-border acquisitions and financings. He advises boards of directors and their committees on a variety of issues, often in business-critical situations. He is recognized in all d...
Jeffrey Elliott is a partner in the Financial Products & Services, Capital Markets and Securities Groups. His practice focuses representing domestic and international sponsor and investor clients in the formation and capitalization of a broad range of private funds with investment mandates covering private equity, debt, energy, real estate, agribusiness, infrastructure, emerging markets, leveraged buyouts, venture, growth equity, fund of funds and hedge funds. He has also assisted the spo...
Ron Ferguson is a partner and member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups. He has a diversified corporate practice focusing on cross-border private and public M&A, private equity investments (including PIPE’s), corporate finance, corporate restructuring and banking. In addition to his practice, Ron is a member of the Management Committee in the Toronto office.
Bryan Finlay KC is recognized as one of the top litigation lawyers in Canada. Bryan's counsel practice is broad and has engaged the most complex commercial, constitutional, tort and public law issues. These have included issues of corporate espionage, spoliation, fraud, shareholder rights, directors' and officers' responsibilities, financial reporting obligations, responsibilities and obligations of government and its various agencies, securities regulation, fiduciary obligations, defamation,...
Mr. Fitzgerald is a leading practitioner in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and securities law with significant experience in a wide range of both public and private transactions, including public offerings, private placements, negotiated transactions, hostile take-over bids, shareholder activism and complex corporate reorganizations. Mr. Fitzgerald has extensive experience with large, multijurisdictional transactions and provides advice to boards of directors and their committees, ofte...
Brad Freelan is a Partner in the firm’s Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions group with a practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism, corporate governance and corporate finance. Brad has significant experience representing acquirors and targets across a broad range of industries in both public and private M&A transactions, and frequently provides governance advice to boards and special committees. He has a particular expertise assisting clients with cont...
Linda Fuerst is one of Canada’s leading securities and commercial litigators. Her litigation practice covers a broad range of commercial and professional liability matters, with a particular focus on securities litigation, class proceedings and regulatory issues. She has litigated civil, criminal and regulatory matters and has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, and r...
Craig Brown is an active member of several practice groups including Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions, Emerging Technology and the Asia Pacific Practice Group, and leads Fasken’s India Practice Group. His transaction-oriented practice is focused on advising high-growth Canadian companies with a global outlook, as well as leading investment dealers, merchant banks and private equity and venture capital funds that provide financing to them. Renowned in the areas of mergers and ac...
Ivan Grbesic is a partner and Co-Head of the Mining Group. He is also a member of the Capital Markets, Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions Groups. Ivan plays a leading role in the firm’s Latin American coverage group. Ivan’s practice focuses on corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate reorganizations. He regularly provides advice to issuers and underwriters in connection with initial public offe...
Raman Grewal is a partner in the Corporate Group and a member of the firm’s Partnership Board. She practises principally in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, having expertise on a wide range of matters including domestic and international securities offerings, corporate governance and securities regulatory compliance. She has counselled Canadian and international issuers and underwriters on a wide range of capital markets transactions and securities regulatory matters, inc...
David Hausman practices exclusively in the field of securities litigation. Regularly representing investment dealers, public companies, mutual funds, directors and officers, David advises clients on regulatory investigations and proceedings before provincial securities commissions, all Canadian stock exchanges and self-regulatory organizations. Representing both bidders and targets in contested mergers and acquisitions transactions, David also advises clients on governance issues in the publi...
Jeff Hershenfield is a partner and Co-Head of the Capital Markets and Public Mergers & Acquisitions Group. He has a broad practice with a focus on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, corporate governance and securities, as well as general corporate and commercial law. Jeff has acted for issuers, sponsors and securities dealers in a wide range of corporate finance transactions, including initial public offerings and other equity and debt financings...
Jay Hoffman is a Partner and the Chair of Miller Thomson’s National Business Law Practice. His practice focuses on merger and acquisition and capital markets transactions, as well as providing advice to clients on corporate governance matters. He has over 25 years of experience advising clients on a broad range of corporate and securities law matters. Jay frequently acts for both domestic and international public and private corporations, independent board committees, financial advisors...
Jon Holmstrom's practice is focused on corporate and commercial banking transactions, cross-border acquisition financing, project finance (mining, wind power and infrastructure), derivative products, corporate loan workouts and restructurings and securitizations. He was also the former Leader of the firm’s Banking & Finance group. Jon provides strategic advice to both financial institutions and commercial borrowers across a multiplicity of industries. Current mandates include the $7...
Tracy Hooey is Vice Chair of Fasken's Business Law practice in Ontario. Her practice is focused on securities and mergers and acquisitions. She advises public and private clients on a range of transactional matters including securities offerings, acquisitions and divestitures, investment product structuring and corporate governance and securities law compliance matters. Tracy has a broad practice advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, asset and share purchase trans...
Samantha Horn is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups. Her practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital financing. She is highly experienced both in investments and buyout transactions, with particular expertise concerning matters in the life sciences and technology sectors. She operates a market-leading transactional practice in the private equity space, covering a wide range of M&A and financing mandates, alo...
Samaneh (Sam) Hosseini is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on complex contract disputes, class actions, securities litigation, shareholder disputes, and product liability. Sam has extensive experience representing clients in a range of domestic and multi-jurisdictional class actions, including areas such as product liability, securities law, franchise law and consumer protection. She reg...
Katherine Kay is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution and Competition & Foreign Investment Groups. She has served on the Partnership Board and Executive Committee, as well as the Management Committee in the Toronto office. Katherine leads the competition litigation group and her practice is concentrated on complex commercial litigation, often involving the interplay between regulatory, civil and criminal law regimes, and across multiple jurisdictions. Chambers Global has d...
Jay Kellerman is a partner and member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets Groups, and served as the Managing Partner of the firm’s Toronto office from 2012 to 2018. With more than 30 years of experience, Jay is widely recognized by market sources as a leading practitioner in his field. He is consistently sought out by senior management of companies, boards and investors for not only transactional assistance, but to advise on strategic direction and growth. Jay has earn...
Stephen Kerr’s corporate practice is focused on mergers and acquisitions in regulated industries such as the financial services, the healthcare and the life sciences industries. Large companies turn to Stephen for clarity on policy and regulatory issues related to banking, insurance, reinsurance, life sciences and mergers and acquisitions generally. A significant portion of Stephen’s practice involves providing counsel to large and mid-sized businesses on acquisitions and divestme...
Adam Kline is a partner in the Business Law Group at Miller Thomson in the Toronto office. His practice is focused primarily in the areas of securities, corporate finance, public and private mergers and acquisitions. Adam has considerable experience advising both bidders and targets in hostile and negotiated merger & acquisition transactions. He has advised underwriters and issuers on numerous financing transactions, including IPOs, bought deals, private placements and rights offerings, i...
Eliot Kolers is the Head of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and a member of the Management Committee and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee in the Toronto office. Eliot is recognized by his peers as a leading litigator with vast expertise in the areas of corporate commercial litigation, class actions, securities litigation and competition litigation matters. He has represented clients in numerous complex and high-profile commercial cases involving oppression remedies, p...
Martin Langlois is a partner practising corporate and securities law, and a former Co-Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups. He focuses on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (including leveraged buyouts), securities and corporate finance transactions, as well as corporate governance and other commercial matters. Martin has over 20 years of experience in a broad range of industries including technology, fintech, life sciences, financial services, mini...
Shaun practises corporate commercial litigation, including shareholder and partnership disputes, fraud cases, franchise litigation, estate litigation and real estate disputes. He is an experienced trial and appellate counsel and has successfully represented clients before all levels of court in Ontario, as well as before administrative and arbitral tribunals. Shaun also has extensive experience with fast-moving cases involving Mareva and injunctive relief. Shaun is a member of the Commercial ...
John Lee is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups. His practice focuses on corporate and securities law with a particular emphasis on public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, strategic transactions such as joint ventures, partnerships, and significant investments. He also regularly advises clients on corporate governance, securities law compliance, as well as general corporate and commercial matters. He has extensive experience ...
Jay Lefton practices corporate and securities law. Jay advises clients on public and private mergers & acquisitions transactions, private equity matters and public and private financings, as well as assisting with strategic alliances, technology transfer and licensing. He works predominantly in the technology and life sciences sector. Assisting acquirers and target companies and their boards of directors, Jay advises on negotiated transactions and unsolicited takeover bids, most of which ...
Paul's practice includes corporate commercial litigation, securities litigation, class proceedings, professional liability, claims against directors and officers, employment litigation and professional liability and regulation. Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by The Law Society of Upper Canada. Bilingual, argues cases in English and French before all levels of Court as well as trib...
Jon Levin has an unmatched reputation for providing top-level advice. An advocate of exemplary client service, Jon has acted as lead counsel in high profile financings, takeovers and restructuring transactions. In the corporate governance area, Jon has advised special committees and has provided strategic guidance on board procedures and the implementation of governance polices in response to new legislation and developments.
Amanda Linett is a partner and Co-Head of the Mining Group. She is also a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Capital Markets Groups and a member of the Management Committee in the Toronto office. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions (cross-border and domestic), private equity and corporate finance transactions. Amanda has extensive experience advising senior management, boards of directors, special committees and other transaction participants in numerous...
Described by his peers as ‘the gold standard in this space, a phenomenal litigator’, for more than thirty years Jonathan has won landmark decisions across a broad variety of subject matter including competition law, constitutional law, liability of public authorities, professional liability, criminal law, financial services, franchise law and contract disputes. He has tried over 90 cases to judgment and argued over 55 appeals in provincial appellate courts and the Supreme Court of...
John Lorito is Head of the Tax Group and a member of the firm’s Partnership Board. His practice focuses on tax elements of corporation transactions, with particular emphasis on corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions in domestic and cross-border transactions, investment funds, corporate joint ventures, REITs, corporate finance and international taxation. John regularly represents clients across various industries, including financial services, real estate, telecommunications...
Melissa MacKewn has been widely and repeatedly recognized within the profession as one of Canada’s leading securities and corporate commercial litigation lawyers. Among other recognitions, Melissa has been twice voted by her peers as Best Lawyers Securities Lawyer of the Year and is part of a small and prestigious group of litigation lawyers in Canada selected by Best Lawyers, based on peer review, as “bet the company” litigation counsel. Melissa has one of the deepest and m...
Jonah Mann is Head of the Corporate Department and a member of the Toronto Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance and securities law compliance matters. Jonah regularly acts for Canadian public companies and leading investment banks on complex capital markets transactions including IPOs, acquisition financing, cross-border offerings, takeover bids and business combinations. He also frequently repre...
Evan Marcus is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Securities and Capital Markets Groups. His practice is focused primarily on complex corporate and transactional matters, in particular relating to leveraged acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, minority investments, financings, restructurings, as well as general corporate and commercial matters. Evan has significant experience advising private equity, financial sponsor and other clients in connection with both ...
David McCarthy is counsel in the Corporate Group. His practice focuses on corporate and commercial areas, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. A seasoned lawyer with over 30 years of experience, David has been involved both in Canada and internationally, in acquisitions and dispositions, corporate reorganizations, preparation and negotiation of agreements for the sale of goods and services, shareholder matters, and other commercial contracts. David is sought out for his extensive experie...
Grant McGlaughlin is co-leader of the Private Equity Group and practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate finance, governance and sensitive and complex transactions. He provides superior service and expert legal advice to public and private issuers, underwriters and private equity funds in a broad range of industries including mining and natural resources, technology and industrial. Grant has an extensive corporate practice providing general legal and strate...
Brad Moore specializes in corporate, securities, transactional and financial services litigation. Brad represents investment dealers, registered representatives and other market participants in civil and regulatory proceedings, and he also regularly leads complex and sensitive internal investigations in both the public company and securities dealer contexts. In addition, Brad frequently acts on matters involving shareholder disputes, and in statutory plan of arrangement proceedings. Brad has ...
Dan Murdoch is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and a member of the Associates Committee in the Toronto office. He is also Chair of the Firm’s Claims & Risk Management Committee. His practice focuses on class actions, complex commercial litigation and insolvency and restructuring matters. His class action practice includes securities, product liability and professional negligence. Dan has been counsel on multiple securities class actions, frequently obtaini...
D’Arcy Nordick is a corporate partner in the Toronto office. He is a member of the Management Committee and is the former Co-Head of the Capital Markets and Public Mergers & Acquisitions Groups in the Toronto office. He is also a member of the Private Equity, Mining and Financial Products & Services Groups. D’Arcy is one of the most well-regarded corporate and securities lawyers in Canada and has over 20 years’ experience advising both foreign and domestic clients in...
William K. Orr focuses his practice on corporate governance in acting for boards of directors and independent committees of boards. He is highly experienced in securities regulation involving multi-national transactions in Canada, the US, the UK and beyond. Bill is recognized in Canadian and international directories for expertise in public and private financings, private placements, takeover bids, M&A, going-private transactions, corporate governance, restructurings, and stock exchange a...
Orestes Pasparakis is co-chair of our Canadian special situations team, which encompasses Canada’s leading shareholder activist practice, sophisticated securities litigation and complex reorganization transactions. Mr. Pasparakis has led and won some of Canada's most contentious and complex corporate disputes. Mr. Pasparakis focuses on high-stakes disputes that often proceed in “real time” or on an urgent basis. His approach is practical and results-oriented. Many of his cas...
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