The Legal 500 > Canada > Canada > Restructuring and insolvency

Bennett Jones LLP leverages its pre-eminent oil and gas practice to stake out leading roles in energy and natural resources-related insolvencies; its strong recent run in this field includes debtor-side roles for Quicksilver Resources and NCSG Crane & Heavy Haul Services. The increasingly prominent practice group also has a solid record in the manufacturing, real estate and retail sectors. The firm's lawyers routinely act for all stakeholders in restructuring and recapitalization matters, but are perhaps best known for their expertise in creditor representations. Toronto-based Kevin Zych co-leads the national team alongside Calgary-based Chris Simard, and Sean Zweig in Toronto has been singled out as an impressive up-and-coming partner. Richard Orzy retired in 2018.

A strong performer across the country, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP distinguishes itself in part through its sizeable national practice, which is spread across its Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal offices. The group also benefits from its ability to draw on other departments within the firm to manage resource-heavy, multi-disciplinary cases. In a recent example, Toronto-based national lead Pamela Huff and Vancouver group head Peter Rubin led a cross-office and cross-practice team that represented Carillion Canada in its C$5bn CCAA restructuring, which marked the first significant Canadian PPP insolvency. The team also includes highly regarded Calgary group lead Kelly Bourassa, who has an impressive record in energy-related restructurings.

McCarthy Tétrault boasts a comprehensive national restructuring practice, which is well versed in representing debtors, creditors, financial institutions and court-appointed officials across Canada. Well known for its strength in cross-border cases, the firm regularly acts on multi-jurisdictional matters alongside US, European and other foreign co-counsels. The team has recent highlight experience in restructuring transactions involving the US and Japan. The national group is chaired by Toronto-based James Gage, who steered US Steel Canada through its successful C$4bn restructuring. Philippe Bélanger, who was retained by the Canadian Government to review and comment on legislative amendments to the Canadian insolvency regime, is the key contact in Montreal.

Torys LLP’s close relationships with institutional clients see it regularly engaged in high-profile restructuring matters. In particular, the group dvised investors CPPIB and Fairfax Financial Holdings on several matters over the past year, including investment restructuring and distressed M&A. The group also routinely secures roles for insolvent companies, lenders and court-appointed monitors and receivers. National head Tony Demarinis has experience in restructurings, recapitalizations and distressed investments, and Scott Bomhof, whose clients include Nortel, First Capital Realty and CPPIB, is also recommended.

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s restructuring practice is best known for its representation of senior secured lenders, including Canada’s leading banks, as well as secured noteholders. The group is also a popular choice for insolvency professionals, with recent mandates for each of the ‘Big Four’ accountants. In addition to its experience acting for a variety of participants, the firm’s solid platforms across Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec is another significant differentiator. Montreal-based Marc Duchesne co-leads the team together with Toronto’s Alex MacFarlane and Calgary-based litigator Josef Krüger QC.

The restructuring group at Dentons attracts a steady stream of high-profile work from lenders and accounting firms, including BMO, PwC, TD Bank and HSBC Bank. The national group combines historical strengths in British Columbia and Alberta with a growing presence in Toronto, and also has solid recent experience in cross-border cases. The department is headed by Calgary-based David Mann, while managing partner of the Vancouver office John Sandrelli is a dominant figure in BC.

Fasken’s practice has a strong record in advising accountants and lenders on insolvency and restructuring cases, and enjoys close relationships with enviable clients such as PwC, Deloitte, HSBC Bank Canada and Royal Bank of Canada. The firm also stands out for its regional strength across all of Canada’s key centres, including Vancouver, where John Grieve QC is the name to note, and Toronto, which is the seat of global restructuring head Stuart Brotman. The firm’s signature mining practice is a significant driver of work and thus the team deep expertise in advising a variety of stakeholders on multi-jurisdictional mining-related insolvencies. Vancouver-based litigator Kibben Jackson is a talented up-and-comer.

Gowling WLG focuses on creditor-side work, and enjoys strong relationships with major Canadian banks such as BMO and CIBC. The group is also experienced in advising court-appointed officers and debtors on national and cross-border restructurings. Tenacious litigator Clifton Prophet heads the restructuring and insolvency group in Toronto, while Derrick Tay spearheads the corporate restructuring practice.

Norton Rose Fulbright is best known for representing debtors and court-appointed officers, and leverages its robust energy and mining expertise to secure a steady flow of activity in natural resources-related restructurings. It also continues to win a significant share of retail-related mandates. The national practice has strong footholds in all of Canada’s four largest commercial centres, and is also increasingly involved in US-related proceedings. The team is jointly led by Montreal-based Sylvain Rigaud and Vancouver-based Kieran Siddall, and also includes Howard Gorman QC in Calgary. In addition, younger partner Luc Morin is highlighted as ‘probably the best restructuring lawyer of his generation in Montreal’.

Toronto-based litigation firm Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP specializes in advising on contentious bankruptcy matters. The practice group secured central roles in several high-profile restructuring cases over the past year, including being appointed as counsel to the tobacco claims coordinator in the landmark Imperial Tobacco CCAA proceedings. Matthew Gottlieb is the name to note.

McMillan LLP’s sizeable national restructuring group is composed of capable business lawyers and insolvency litigators. The team, which is well represented throughout the firm’s national network, has experience in acting for all stakeholders in insolvency-related matters, with notable expertise in the mining, energy, paper and forestry sectors. Toronto-based Waël Rostom is a key contact. Former financial services co-chair Andrew Kent left to become general counsel at Frontera Energy.