Blakes has one of the strongest and most experienced private equity legal practices in Canada. We drive innovative investment structures and strategic thinking, with a depth of industry knowledge and perspectives from across the country.
Our Private Equity team spans various legal specialty areas, including financial services, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, competition, foreign investment review, real estate, intellectual property, pensions, benefits, and executive compensation.
The Blakes Tax group also plays a key role in assisting our clients, working to ensure tax-effective investments within Canada and across borders.
We also have specialized and regulatory experience in core Canadian industry sectors such as financial services, technology, life sciences, energy, food and agribusiness, gaming, insurance, logistics/supply chain management, manufacturing and retail, among other areas.
We provide strategic advice and legal counsel at each stage of the investment lifecycle: fund formation, fund management and governance, financing, Canadian and international investment-related acquisitions and dispositions, management of portfolio companies, and exit strategies.
Fund Formation and Management
With a comprehensive understanding of the market and close connections to Canadian and international financial institutions, our team works with fund sponsors to establish –publicly registered and private funds as well as investment vehicles. We also advise domestic and non-resident investors on structuring, commercial agreements, governance, regulatory compliance, market expectations and tax planning.
Visit our Fund Formation page for more details on our expertise and experience.
Fund Investments
We work closely with our clients, as both buyers and sellers, to provide advice when formulating an investment strategy and structuring and executing an investment-related transaction. This includes sourcing opportunities, financing, and advising on equity and debt investments and co-investments, convertible shares, private placements and private investments in public entities. We advise both investors and fund investees, providing a 360-degree approach to investment transactions.
In addition to retail investors, a significant part of our experience is advising institutional investors (including regulated entities) on their investments. We have assisted some of Canada’s largest and most active pension funds on their fund investments in Canada and internationally. We have also advised investor clients on more-tailored fund arrangements and in situations where the client is a flagship investor.
Buyouts
Buyouts have long been the core strength of our Private Equity practice. We work with both buyers and sellers at each stage of a transaction from initial strategy, structuring and due diligence through to financing, negotiation, management, shareholder and investor agreements, and executive compensation. We also provide specialized advice on capital markets, tax and other issues that may arise throughout the course of a buyout transaction.
Whether the buyouts are traditional public or private, distressed, management or corporate partner buyouts, our team leverages our cross-Canada presence to provide strategic advice that reflects jurisdictional nuances and changing market conditions.
Exit Strategies
As legal advisers throughout the investment lifecycle, our Private Equity team is committed to maximizing investment realization. Ahead of exit transactions, we advise on liquidity strategies, advance planning, financing and process expectations.
Our Capital Markets practice provides the expertise needed for public exits such as initial public offerings and public market sales, including registration, prospectus preparation, listing applications, governance and post-offering requirements. When considering a public or private sale, our team has the transactional capabilities to advise on all sizes of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and trade sales, from start to finish.
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Novacap Industries III in the sale of its indirect majority interest in Smyth Companies, LLC to Crestview Advisors, L.L.C.
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H.I.G. Capital on its acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of BVM Acquisitions, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Best Version Media, LLC and Best Version Media Canada, Inc., from various individual and corporate vendors.
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Apollo Global Management, Inc. on its acquisition of a majority stake in The State Group from Blue Wolf Capital.
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Truelink Capital and Flipp Operations Inc. on their acquisition of MEDIA Central Group from Bregal Unternehmerkapital.
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H.I.G. Capital on the sale of its portfolio company, BIOVECTRA Inc. to Agilent Technologies, Inc. for a purchase price of US$925-million.
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OMERS on its C$1.35-billion sale of LifeLabs to Quest Diagnostics Incorporated.
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Apollo Global Management, Inc. on its take-private transaction of International Game Technology PLC’s Gaming and Digital business and Everi Holdings Inc. for a total of US$6.3-billion.
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Nordic Capital on its acquisition of a controlling interest in Zafin Labs.
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CAI Capital Partners on its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of DWB Consulting Services Ltd.
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Advent International Corporation on its US$6.3-billion acquisition of Nuvei Corporation, a Canadian fintech payment platform.
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​OpenGate Capital on its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Player One Amusement Group Inc. from Cineplex Inc.
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Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners on its investment in the C$1.2-billion purchase of LOGISTEC Corporation in partnership with Blue Wolf Capital Partners.
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Truelink Capital on its acquisition of Flipp Corporation, a leading marketing technology platform.
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BlackRock Alternatives on its acquisition of a majority stake in Environmental 360 Solutions.
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Sycamore Partners on its acquisition of Lowe's Companies, Inc.’s Canadian retail business including Lowe’s Canada and Rona stores.
We have worked with Blakes across numerous jurisdictions in Canada. The team in each location is experienced and well respected, with good depth and breadth.
In 2023, Blakes was the top firm in Canada in the following private equity league tables:
- No. 1 Canadian firm in global private equity announced deals by deal value (Bloomberg)
- No. 1 Canadian firm in United States private equity announced deals by deal value (Bloomberg)
People
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Tim AndisonPartner | Toronto
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Lindsay BalsonPartner | Toronto
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Jonathan BitranPartner | Toronto
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Robin BurnsPartner | Toronto
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Liam ChurchillPartner | Toronto
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Jill DavisPartner | Toronto
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Audra DowlessPartner | Toronto
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Justin DrakePartner | Toronto
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Michael ElderPartner | Toronto
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Shlomi FeinerPartner | Toronto
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Rory ffrenchPartner | Toronto
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Michael I. GansPartner | Toronto, New York
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Jacob GofmanPartner | Toronto
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Frank D. GuarascioPartner | Toronto
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Kim HarleRetired Partner | Toronto
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Michael HickeyPartner | Toronto
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Christopher JonesPartner | Toronto
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Norbert KnutelPartner | Toronto
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David C. KrusePartner | Toronto
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Andrew LaheyPartner | Toronto
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Lauren LeahyPartner | Toronto
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Jeff LloydPartner | London, Toronto
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Alex MacMillanPartner | Toronto
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Mike MaodusPartner | Toronto
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Kate McGilvrayPartner | Toronto
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Eric MoncikPartner | Toronto
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Alex MoorePartner | Toronto
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Jeremy OzierPartner | Toronto
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Kurt SarnoPartner | Toronto
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Jeffrey ShaferPartner | Toronto
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Brittany ShamessPartner | Toronto
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Paul SinghPartner | Toronto
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Graham SmithPartner | Toronto
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Paul StepakPartner | Toronto
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Mike StevensonPartner | Toronto
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Linda TuPartner | Toronto
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Markus ViirlandPartner | Toronto
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Joshua WhitfordPartner | Toronto
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Catherine YoudanPartner | Toronto
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Mariangela AsturiAssociate | Toronto
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Marcel BeaudoinAssociate | Toronto
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Madeleine CarswellAssociate | Toronto
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Robert FrazerAssociate | Toronto
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Rebecca HastingsAssociate | Toronto
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Katie HealyAssociate | Toronto
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Yasmina MavaniAssociate | Toronto
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Amrit ToorAssociate | Toronto
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Penglin TuAssociate | Toronto
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Uzman UbaidullahAssociate | Toronto
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Rishi VermaAssociate | Toronto
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Diane WuAssociate | Toronto
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Jeff BakkerPartner | Calgary
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Monica ChengPartner | Calgary
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Ahmed ElsaghirPartner | Calgary
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Chris HarrisPartner | Calgary
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Dan JankovicPartner | Calgary
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Olga KaryPartner | Calgary
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Kevin KerrPartner | Calgary
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Daniel McLeodPartner | Calgary
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Chad C. SchneiderPartner | Calgary
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Kristopher SimardPartner | Calgary
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Ross A. BentleySenior Counsel | Calgary
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Sean CahillAssociate | Calgary
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Zubair HussainAssociate | Calgary
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Bailey SzokeAssociate | Calgary
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John-Paul BogdenPartner | Vancouver
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Marie-Claire DyPartner | Vancouver
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Jessica FabbroPartner | Vancouver
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Joseph GarciaPartner | Vancouver
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Rianna RitchiePartner | Vancouver
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Evan StraightPartner | Vancouver
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Christina SutcliffePartner | Vancouver
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Susan TomainePartner | Vancouver
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Paul BeckmannAssociate | Vancouver
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Amelia CookAssociate | Vancouver
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Zarria HugginsAssociate | Vancouver
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Fraser LoveAssociate | Vancouver
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Jamie OleksiewAssociate | Vancouver
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David RennieAssociate | Vancouver
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Jeremy RogersAssociate | Vancouver
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François AugerPartner | Montréal
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Philippe BourassaPartner | Montréal
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Pascal de GuisePartner | Montréal
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Neil KatzPartner | Montréal
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Jean-Simon LamarrePartner | Montréal
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Anthony Lanouette-MarierPartner | Montréal
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John LeopardiPartner | Montréal
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Howard LevinePartner | Montréal
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Patrick MendaPartner | Montréal
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Julien MichaudPartner | Montréal
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Joanna MyszkaPartner | Montréal
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Angelo NocePartner | Montréal
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Jenny RossPartner | Montréal
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Sébastien VilderOffice Managing Partner | Montréal
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Eric ArcieroAssociate | Montréal
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Alexe Corbeil-CourchesneAssociate | Montréal
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Jordan FurfaroAssociate | Montréal
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Louis-Philippe LacasseAssociate | Montréal
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Connor MunroAssociate | Montréal
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Kevin Nicholls-DempseyAssociate | Montréal
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Stefan VrinceanuAssociate | Montréal
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Arash AmouzgarPartner | New York
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Michael I. GansPartner | Toronto, New York
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Kevin RusliPartner | New York, Toronto
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Michael KariyaPartner | London
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Jeff LloydPartner | London, Toronto
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Jennifer MaxwellPartner | London
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Arash AmouzgarPartner | New York
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Tim AndisonPartner | Toronto
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François AugerPartner | Montréal
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Jeff BakkerPartner | Calgary
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Lindsay BalsonPartner | Toronto
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Jonathan BitranPartner | Toronto
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John-Paul BogdenPartner | Vancouver
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Philippe BourassaPartner | Montréal
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Robin BurnsPartner | Toronto
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Monica ChengPartner | Calgary
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Liam ChurchillPartner | Toronto
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Jill DavisPartner | Toronto
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Pascal de GuisePartner | Montréal
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Audra DowlessPartner | Toronto
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Justin DrakePartner | Toronto
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Marie-Claire DyPartner | Vancouver
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Michael ElderPartner | Toronto
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Ahmed ElsaghirPartner | Calgary
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Jessica FabbroPartner | Vancouver
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Shlomi FeinerPartner | Toronto
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Rory ffrenchPartner | Toronto
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Michael I. GansPartner | Toronto, New York
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Joseph GarciaPartner | Vancouver
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Jacob GofmanPartner | Toronto
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Frank D. GuarascioPartner | Toronto
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Kim HarleRetired Partner | Toronto
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Chris HarrisPartner | Calgary
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Michael HickeyPartner | Toronto
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Dan JankovicPartner | Calgary
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Christopher JonesPartner | Toronto
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Michael KariyaPartner | London
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Olga KaryPartner | Calgary
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Neil KatzPartner | Montréal
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Kevin KerrPartner | Calgary
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Norbert KnutelPartner | Toronto
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David C. KrusePartner | Toronto
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Andrew LaheyPartner | Toronto
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Jean-Simon LamarrePartner | Montréal
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Anthony Lanouette-MarierPartner | Montréal
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Lauren LeahyPartner | Toronto
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John LeopardiPartner | Montréal
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Howard LevinePartner | Montréal
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Jeff LloydPartner | London, Toronto
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Alex MacMillanPartner | Toronto
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Mike MaodusPartner | Toronto
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Jennifer MaxwellPartner | London
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Kate McGilvrayPartner | Toronto
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Daniel McLeodPartner | Calgary
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Patrick MendaPartner | Montréal
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Julien MichaudPartner | Montréal
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Eric MoncikPartner | Toronto
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Alex MoorePartner | Toronto
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Joanna MyszkaPartner | Montréal
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Angelo NocePartner | Montréal
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Jeremy OzierPartner | Toronto
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Rianna RitchiePartner | Vancouver
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Jenny RossPartner | Montréal
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Kevin RusliPartner | New York, Toronto
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Kurt SarnoPartner | Toronto
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Chad C. SchneiderPartner | Calgary
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Jeffrey ShaferPartner | Toronto
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Brittany ShamessPartner | Toronto
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Kristopher SimardPartner | Calgary
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Paul SinghPartner | Toronto
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Graham SmithPartner | Toronto
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Paul StepakPartner | Toronto
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Mike StevensonPartner | Toronto
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Evan StraightPartner | Vancouver
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Christina SutcliffePartner | Vancouver
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Susan TomainePartner | Vancouver
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Linda TuPartner | Toronto
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Markus ViirlandPartner | Toronto
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Sébastien VilderOffice Managing Partner | Montréal
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Joshua WhitfordPartner | Toronto
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Catherine YoudanPartner | Toronto
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Eric ArcieroAssociate | Montréal
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Mariangela AsturiAssociate | Toronto
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Marcel BeaudoinAssociate | Toronto
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Paul BeckmannAssociate | Vancouver
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Ross A. BentleySenior Counsel | Calgary
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Sean CahillAssociate | Calgary
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Madeleine CarswellAssociate | Toronto
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Amelia CookAssociate | Vancouver
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Alexe Corbeil-CourchesneAssociate | Montréal
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Robert FrazerAssociate | Toronto
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Jordan FurfaroAssociate | Montréal
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Rebecca HastingsAssociate | Toronto
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Katie HealyAssociate | Toronto
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Zarria HugginsAssociate | Vancouver
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Zubair HussainAssociate | Calgary
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Louis-Philippe LacasseAssociate | Montréal
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Fraser LoveAssociate | Vancouver
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Yasmina MavaniAssociate | Toronto
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Connor MunroAssociate | Montréal
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Kevin Nicholls-DempseyAssociate | Montréal
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Jamie OleksiewAssociate | Vancouver
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David RennieAssociate | Vancouver
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Jeremy RogersAssociate | Vancouver
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Bailey SzokeAssociate | Calgary
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Amrit ToorAssociate | Toronto
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Penglin TuAssociate | Toronto
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Uzman UbaidullahAssociate | Toronto
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Rishi VermaAssociate | Toronto
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Stefan VrinceanuAssociate | Montréal
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Diane WuAssociate | Toronto