Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP's Pensions, Benefits and Executive Compensation team is led out of Toronto by Jeffrey Sommers who is known for his work advising on taxation, funding, administration, wind-up of pensions and group benefit plans. The team has been active in de-risking and plan consolidation matters, as well as advising on pension aspects of sales, acquisitions and other large transactions. Natalie Bussière sits in Quebec and acts as counsel for boards of trustees, pension committees and plan sponsors. Senior counsel Jeremy Forgie is part of the Toronto team and is noted for his work on plan and fund governance, pension fund investment, divestiture, acquisitions and de-risking. Toronto-based Adam Ngan and Philipp Knoll are both well-versed in administration, governance, investments and advising on pension and employee benefits of corporate transactions. The firm assists an array of clients from major pension funds, domestic and foreign investment management companies, financial institutions and other corporate entities.
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Key clients

  • Royal Bank of Canada
  • Maple Leaf Foods
  • OMERS Capital
  • BCE and Bell Canada
  • Cleveland-Cliffs
  • TC Energy
  • Advent International
  • Vallen Distribution

Work highlights

Advised Royal Bank of Canada on its C$13.5bn acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada and on the related integration.
Advised Maple Leaf Foods on the spin-off of its pork business into a separate public company.
Advised OMERS on its C$1.35bn sale of LifeLabs to Quest Diagnostics.

Lawyers

Leading partners

The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Next Generation Partners

Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

Jeffrey Sommers

Other key lawyers

Natalie Bussière; Jeremy Forgie; Adam Ngan; Philipp Knoll