Jeffrey P. Sommers Partner | Toronto

Recent representative matters include:

• Counsel to Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, Inc. in relation to the pension and employee benefits aspects of the merger of Brand Energy and Safway Group Holding LLC to form Brand Industrial Services, Inc., a leading global industrial service business with nearly US$5-billion in revenue

• Counsel to Linamar Corporation in relation to the pension and employee benefits aspects of its $1.2-billion acquisition of the MacDon Group of Companies, a global market leader in the design and manufacturing of specialized agricultural harvesting equipment

• Counsel to a Canadian insurance company in relation to its buy-in and buy-out annuity products for registered pension plans

• Counsel on pension issues to the administrative agent for the lenders in the exit credit facilities to Resolute Forest Products Inc. (formerly, Abitibibowater Inc.) and certain of its subsidiaries

Jeff has been recognized as a leading pension and employee benefits practitioner in the following publications:

• The Best Lawyers in Canada 2025 (Employee Benefits Law)

• Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business – 2023–2025 (Pensions & Benefits)

• The Legal 500 Canada – 2023–2025 (Pensions)

• Who's Who Legal: Labour, Employment & Benefits 2024 (Pensions & Benefits)

• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2024: Most Frequently Recommended – Pensions & Employee Benefits – Employer; 2023: Consistently Recommended – Pensions & Employee Benefits)

• Best Lawyers: "Lawyer of the Year" 2023 (Employee Benefits Law, Toronto)

• Benefits and Pensions Monitor’s Hot List 2023

• Who's Who Legal: Global 2023 (Pensions & Benefits)

• Who's Who Legal: Canada – 2022–2023 (Labour, Employment and Benefits)

Jeff is a past chair of the Canadian Bar Association's Pension and Benefits Law Section Executive. He serves on the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) Technical Advisory Committee for Asset Transfers and the FSRA Public Sector Pension Plans Advisory Committee. Jeff is chair of the Ontario Bar Association's Investment Committee and a co-chair and instructor for the Osgoode Certificate in Pensions Law Program. He is also a member of the Association of Canadian Pension Management, the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute and the International Pension & Employee Benefits Lawyers Association.

Jeff has contributed articles to Pension Planning, a Federated Press publication, the Canadian Tax Journal, the Taxation of Executive Compensation Journal, Employment and Labour Law Reporter and the Canadian Compensation & Benefits Reporter. He has also participated in professional development programs sponsored by the Law Society of Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School, The Canadian Institute, Federated Press and the Canadian Tax Foundation.

• Co-author : New Protections for Pensions in Insolvency Proceedings
  Blakes Bulletin on Restructuring & Insolvency, April 28, 2023.

• Speaker : The Top Risks Facing DC Plans
  The 2024 DC Plan Experience Forum, The Canadian Leadership Congress, Toronto, Ontario, April 18, 2024.

• Quoted : More work to be done on feds’ plan to encourage domestic pension investments: lawyers
  Article by Julius Melnitzer, Benefits Canada, May 23, 2024.
• Quoted : How will crypto disclosure rules impact federally regulated pension plans?
  Article by Julius Melnitzer, Benefits Canada, April 20, 2023.
• Quoted : Law protecting DB plans in insolvency could have undesired results: lawyers
  Article by Zena Olijnyk, HRD Canada, April 10, 2023.
• Quoted : Law protecting defined benefit pensions in insolvency could have undesired results: Blakes lawyers
  Article by Zena Olijnyk, Canadian Lawyer, April 6, 2023.
• Quoted : A closer look at the feds' proposed borrowing flexibility rule for DB pensions
  Article by Julius Melnitzer, Benefits Canada, April 14, 2022.

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 1997
LLB, University of Western Ontario – 1995
BBA, Wilfrid Laurier University – 1992