66 Wellington St W, Suite 5300, TD Bank Twr, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 1988 (ON)
Counsel in Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation group in Toronto. Provides strategic legal advice to employers and administrators on pension plans, profit-sharing plans, RRSPs, welfare benefits plans, retirement compensation arrangements and other areas of executive compensation. Experience with compliance/plan administration and treatment of plans upon purchase, sale or reorganization of businesses, including advice on range of plan funding matters such as entitlement to use surplus assets. Involved in first decisions on contested partial wind-ups of pension plans, deemed trust provisions of Pension Benefits Act (Ontario) and first underfunded pension plan restructuring in CCAA (Algoma, 2001). Served as Canadian counsel in Freshfields Report on Responsible Investing for UN. Acted for employer in establishment of Canada's first ELHT. Frequently acts on pension investment matters for the largest pension plans in Canada. Has expertise dealing with public-sector pension plans, including structuring of investments and debt offerings. Rated as a leading lawyer in Chambers Global, Chambers Canada, and The Best Lawyers in Canada. Admitted to Ontario Bar in 1988.
TriWest Capital Partners invested in PRT Growing Services Ltd. in partnership with senior management. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Element Financial Corporation (TSX: EFN) completed its largest acquisition to date with the $570-million purchase of the assets comprising GE Canada's fleet leasing business. GE Canada's fleet vehicle portfolio consists of 650 regionally diversified customers and integrated fleet management services for vehicle and light and medium truck financings. As part of the acquisition, Element also entered into a strategic alliance agreement with GE Capital Fleet Services in the US pursuant to which the companies will collaborate primarily on the pursuit of Canadian/US cross-border fleet management opportunities.