E&Y has reported that the media and entertainment (M&E) industry will experience a record high number of M&A deals in the coming year.

When most people think shareholder activism, they think big names and big hedge funds – Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman, Jana Partners – who have the wherewithal to obtain a sizeable stake in the target company.

In its December 2014 cover story, Financier Worldwide provides an overview of the factors in 2014 that provided, and will continue to provide, favorable conditions for the high value and volume of pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions.

In a contest for shareholder support, control of the narrative is crucial, and the difference in perception between a board acting decisively to protect shareholders’ investments, and a board willing to do or say anything to hold onto control, can be one of timing.

In its Q2 2014 Capital Markets Flash: Canadian M&A Deals Quarterly, PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts moderate growth in Canadian economy in the next year and a half.

In its recent decision, Re Red Eagle, 2015 BCSECCOM 401, the BCSC addresses the tension that arises between corporate law and securities regulatory goals when private placements are undertaken in the M&A context.

The Financial Post recently published an article highlighting legal innovations from the US that may see an upsurge of use in the Canadian landscape in 2015, including representation and warranties insurance (R&W insurance).

Shareholder engagement is a key tool in a board's toolkit to prepare for and respond to potential activist investor campaigns.

One of the most commonly used methods of returning investments to shareholders is the declaration of dividends.

The Canadian dollar has taken a tumble in 2015 – dropping from approximately eighty-five cents to flirting around and even below eighty cents as compared to the American dollar.

While the success of a merger or acquisition may be best determined over a long time horizon of several years, investors tend to have a shorter-term view of what constitutes success or failure in M&A.

TSX announced amendments to the TSX Company Manual which mandate majority voting in uncontested elections of directors for TSX-listed issuers that are not majority controlled.

In the course of 20 years, the organization and technological infrastructure of a company is bound to undergo significant changes.

In the recent case of Penteliuk v CIBC World Markets Inc, the Ontario Superior Court held that an employee whose promised promotion was taking longer than expected was not constructively dismissed.

In an interesting executive employment decision, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently upheld a contractual provision that resulted in forfeiture of restricted share units after resignation in Levinsky v The Toronto-Dominion Bank.

When does an employee have to provide a Doctor's note to excuse a workplace absence? After the absence, during or before?

What responsibilities does a federal employer have to appoint a competent person to investigate a complaint of work place violence under the Canada Labour Code?

In Canada, particularly in the province of Quebec, the length of notice of termination to which an employee is entitled is fairly generous.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has recently upheld a decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal which discussed the interaction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code with respect to discrimination in the employment context.

Surprisingly, name tag policies have become the subject of recent litigation and labour board decisions on the topic have been hitting the news.