Kathryn Bush > Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP > Toronto, Canada > Lawyer Profile

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
199 BAY STREET
SUITE 4000, COMMERCE COURT WEST
TORONTO, ONTARIO M5L 1A9
Canada

Work Department

Pension, Benefits & Executive Compensation

Position

Kathy has over 30 years’ experience in the area of pension, benefits and executive compensation. She regularly assists businesses structure their pension, benefit and executive compensation arrangements and their related investments. She also has substantial litigation experience defending corporations from challenges at all levels of Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Kathy was a member and vice-chair of both the Ontario pension regulator and the tribunal, and was the management expert on the Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions. She is the former chair of the Association for Canadian Pension Management’s National Policy Committee. Currently she is a member of the CD Howe Pension Policy Committee and a leader of the Blakes Pension Benefits and Executive Compensation group. Kathy is the chair of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee on Pensions at Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA).

Kathy has provided advice to many provincial governments, the Federal government and a great many of Canada’s largest jointly sponsored pension plans relating to the structuring of pension and benefit arrangements and their board structure and governance. She has also developed one of the premier Canadian practices on Trustee Board governance.

Lawyer Rankings

Canada > Pensions

(Leading individuals)

Kathryn BushBlake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

The team at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP is well-equipped to handle the gamut of pensions matters, and is routinely instructed by Canadian government bodies, as well as corporations in the oil and gas and manufacturing segments. The group advises on jointly sponsored pension plans, pensions and employee benefit schemes, de-risking and plan consolidation and executive compensation issues. Toronto-based partners Kathryn Bush and Jeffrey Sommers lead the department; Bush focuses on advising on the structuring of pension, benefit and executive compensation arrangements and investments, while Sommers advises clients on the taxation, funding, administration and wind-up of pension and group benefit plans. Additional key partners in Toronto include Jeremy Forgie and Adam Ngan, while Natalie Bussière at the Montreal office is noted for her expertise in both employment and pensions work. Counsel Philipp Knoll joined the team from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in March 2022. Partner Lindsay McLeod left the firm in May 2023. Sean Maxwell departed in May 2024.