When it comes to pension litigation, Blakes has more experience than any other Canadian law firm. We have been at the forefront of almost every significant pension case in Canadian legal history, including the first Supreme Court of Canada decision concerning pension surplus and contribution holidays and have represented parties in virtually every type of pension dispute.
Clients come to us because of our unrivalled experience and record of success. Plan sponsors, plan administrators, financial institutions and service providers all retain us to assist them in tackling the serious legal challenges they face and minimizing their risk of exposure to liability. Unlike other firms, Blakes has a full-time dedicated team of pension litigators who work as an integral part of our Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation team, offering proactive risk-management and pension dispute legal advice that often avoids contentious litigation.
The Blakes Pension Litigation team advises on and represents clients in a wide variety of matters. Among these are disputes relating to pension funding and investment; validity of plan amendments; benefits eligibility, accrual and entitlements; claims arising from corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and closures; insolvency; priorities in bankruptcy; discontinuance of a pension plan; and class actions. Additionally, Blakes litigators have extensive experience acting for pension fund clients in dealing with the various pension regulators and administrative tribunals and regularly advise on the security of pension and benefit fund assets.
Blakes pension litigators have represented plan sponsors and administrators before regulatory tribunals, arbitrators and Canadian courts at all levels in pension-related cases. We also counsel employers on benefits-related issues, including those arising in unionized environments.
With offices across Canada, we are experienced with the laws specific to each jurisdiction, enabling us to effectively and efficiently resolve disputes involving multi-jurisdictional plans. We have appeared in major pension litigation in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, and often interact with regulators in all of the other provinces.
Michael BarrackPartner | Toronto
Jeff W. GalwayPartner | Toronto
Natalie BussièrePartner | Montréal