Desmond Balakrishnan

Desmond Balakrishnan is a partner in McMillan's corporate finance/securities practice and co-chairman of both McMillan’s cannabis practice group and entertainment and gaming law group. He is one of the most prominent securities lawyers in Vancouver, Canada, having completed billions of dollars in transactions thus far. In addition to his focus on cannabis law, his areas of practice include investments, public offerings, new listings, mergers, acquisitions, listed company maintenance, gaming, entertainment, and hospitality law. He has acted as counsel on new issues and listings on all Canadian stock exchanges and inter-listings with several international exchanges – for domestic and foreign entities alike. His cannabis clients include public and private Canadian and foreign companies as well as financial services providers, such as asset management and investment funds. He is highly sought after for his cannabis law experience and has been advising on some of Canada’s largest and precedent-setting transactions to date. He also serves on the board of directors of a number of NYSE, TSE, and TSXV listed companies.