Toronto’s leading corporate tax lawyers in 2021

These were Toronto’s leading corporate tax lawyers based on Lexpert’s 2021 annual peer review. For the complete list of the most recommended corporate tax lawyers and law firms in the province of Ontario, see our list of the best corporate tax lawyers in Ontario.

Corporate tax law is the branch of legal profession governing systems of taxation used for taxing incorporated entities, including businesses, financial institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

Most frequently recommended corporate tax lawyers

Firoz Ahmed
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the bar: 1986

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Firoz Ahmed is a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He specializes in the taxation of mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, debt restructurings and partnership arrangements. He is also well-versed in international taxation. Ahmed has written articles and presented papers on several income tax subjects for the International Tax Review, Journal of International Taxation, Canadian Tax Journal, Canadian Tax Foundation and the Tax Executives Institute. He has been seconded to the rulings directorate of Revenue Canada, Taxation as a senior rulings officer in the corporate reorganizations section.

Monica E. Biringer
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the bar: 1986

Monica E. Biringer is the co-chair of the national tax group at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where she is also a partner. She specializes in disputes. Her practice involves all aspects of corporate income tax, with an emphasis on tax disputes, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Biringer boasts extensive experience in cross-border mergers, inbound corporate financing and acquisitions, leasing as a form of financing and financial restructuring. She is also an expert in tax controversy. Biringer was co-counsel on the first case involving the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) to reach the Supreme Court of Canada and the first GAAR cases in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. She is an author and speaker at conferences on various Canadian tax matters and is on the editorial board for the Federated Press, a corporate finance periodical. Biringer is a leading corporate tax lawyer and a past governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Douglas A. Cannon
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called of the bar: 1981

Douglas A. Cannon serves as counsel at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. He devotes his practice to income tax law, with an emphasis on Canadian and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and reorganizations. Cannon advises clients on financings, taxation of investment funds, pension fund investing and the tax aspects of business operations, including transfer pricing. He also represents clients before the Canada Revenue Agency and the Department of Finance. Cannon has authored papers and articles on a variety of income tax subjects.

Corrado Cardarelli
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the bar: 1983

Corrado Cardarelli is a partner at Torys LLP, where he specializes in corporate, partnership, trust, foreign and general business taxation. His practice involves structuring domestic, cross-border and international business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, financings, reorganizations and other business restructurings. As a corporate tax lawyer, Cardarelli boasts extensive experience in structuring collective investment vehicles with domestic, tax-exempt and foreign investors, including REITs and structured products, many of which involve Canadian and US cross-border aspects. He was also instrumental in designing Canadian income funds, cross-border income funds and analogous products, including US income securities products. Cardarelli is a frequent speaker on tax matters at the Canadian Tax Foundation’s annual conference and other conferences.

R. Ian Crosbie
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the bar: 1988

R. Ian Crosbie is a senior tax partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. He draws on more than 25 years of experience as a leading corporate tax lawyer to advise clients on a wide range of domestic and cross-border public and private mergers and acquisitions, structuring, financings and financial products. Known for his expertise across diverse industries, clients rely on Crosbie for ongoing strategic and general tax advice. He advises Canada-based multinationals on international tax matters and assists corporations with their reorganization and restructuring activities. Crosbie also advises private equity fund clients on fund formation and investments. He is a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada Joint Committee on Taxation. He is also a frequent speaker and writer on a range of tax topics.

Paul J. Gibney
Law firm: Thorsteinssons LLP
Year called to the bar: 1991 (BC); 1994 (ON)

Paul J. Gibney is a partner at Thorsteinssons LLP. He devotes his practice to personal, corporate and trust planning for high-net-worth individuals, family offices, executives, owner-managers and their businesses, both domestic and international. His practice includes corporate reorganizations, estate planning, purchases and sales of businesses, immigration and emigration, non-profit organizations and charities. Gibney also represents taxpayers in their dealings with the Canada Revenue Agency in the context of audits, appeals and voluntary disclosures. Gibney served as policy advisor to the minister of national revenue in Ottawa in 1996 and 1997. In that capacity, he developed significant contacts within the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Gibney has spoken at conferences on tax matters, including the Canadian Tax Foundation Annual Tax Conference, the STEP Annual Conference and conferences presented by the Ontario Bar Association, the Strategy Institute, the Canadian Institute and the Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development Programme. A leading corporate tax lawyer, he is a sought-after speaker for a several conferences on tax matters. Gibney also served as an instructor for the bar admission course at several law institutes.

Raj Juneja
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the bar: 2002 (ON); 2004 (ON)

Raj Juneja is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. He boasts almost 20 years of experience guiding clients through evolving tax environments in foreign and domestic markets. Juneja advises clients in complex tax problems and works closely with leading private and public companies, pension funds and private equity firms on all aspects of their domestic and international tax planning. He has extensive experience in corporate finance, capital markets, REITs, private equity, hedge funds, derivatives, domestic and cross-border reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions. He also serves as a principal tax adviser to many leading Canadian companies. Juneja is member of the Canadian Tax Foundation and International Fiscal Association.

Dean Kraus
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the bar: 1996

Dean Kraus is a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP’s tax group. He devotes his practice to all aspects of income taxation in corporate and commercial transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, spin-offs, private equity investments, financings, REITs, partnerships and joint ventures. A leading corporate tax lawyer, Kraus currently serves as a governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation and is a member of the American Bar Association, International Bar Association and International Fiscal Association. He has written and spoken on a variety of matters, including M&A, partnerships and foreign investment entities. Kraus was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Toronto for Corporate Income Taxation from 2011 to 2017.

John G. Lorito
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the bar: 1987

John G. Lorito heads the tax group and is a member of the management committee at Stikeman Elliott LLP’s Toronto office. He devotes his practice to general income tax, with an emphasis on corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, REITs and international tax planning. Lorito has acted as counsel on federal and provincial income tax appeals before the Federal Court of Appeal and the Ontario Court (General Division). Lorito was previously an adjunct professor teaching corporate tax at the University of Toronto and a lecturer teaching advanced tax planning at Western University. He has been a seminar leader in the business law section of the Ontario bar admission course and in-depth tax course of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). He has also served on the faculty of the customs duty and international trade course sponsored by the CICA and the Canadian Importers Association and on the advisory committee for the CICA’s annual symposium. Lorito is a member of the Canadian Bar Association (Taxation Law Section), Canadian Tax Foundation, American Bar Association and International Fiscal Association.

Patrick W. Marley
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the bar: 1997 (ON); 2004 (New York)

Patrick W. Marley is partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He advises clients on tax issues associated with international tax planning, domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, corporate and various other tax matters. Marley boasts extensive experience representing clients in various industries, including financial services, mining, oil and gas, telecommunications, manufacturing and technology. As a corporate tax lawyer, he has appeared before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and the Canadian Senate Banking Committee as an expert on international tax matters. Marley has also worked in the Canadian Department of Finance, where he was extensively involved in drafting legislation and formulating tax policy related to foreign affiliates, foreign source income and foreign investments. He is a contributing editor for Tax Management Business Operations in Canada and is a regular contributor to Tax Management International Journal.

Al Meghji
Law firm: Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year called to the bar: 1990 (ON); 1995 (AB)

Al Meghji is the head of the tax controversy practice at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He is also a partner at the firm. Meghji appears frequently in the courts for leading Canadian and multinational corporations. He has argued several landmark tax cases, including the first GAAR case and the first transfer pricing case in the Supreme Court of Canada. Meghji is a chartered accountant and a former counsel at the Department of Justice.

Gabrielle M.R. Richards
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the bar: 1982

Gabrielle M.R. Richards is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. She specializes in tax implications of mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, corporate finance and other general corporate tax matters. Richards is a frequent speaker on taxation matters. She is also an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University and past chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation. Richards has chaired and participated in many conferences and seminars on taxation matters, including Canadian Tax Foundation, Canadian Bar Association, and American Bar Association conferences. She is a former member of the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Elie Roth
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the bar: 2000

Elie Roth is a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP’s tax practice. He advises on all aspects of domestic and international tax planning, corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Roth also frequently consults on cross-border transactions, structuring non-resident investment into Canada and outbound investment by Canadian multinationals. He advises on tax audit matters and has been successful in representing taxpayers in tax litigation proceedings at various levels of court. Roth also acts as counsel to charitable and non-profit organizations. He is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, teaching international taxation and taxation of real estate transactions. He speaks frequently at legal conferences on taxation issues and is the lead co-author of the textbook Canadian Taxation of Trusts (CTF, 2016). Roth is an academician and council member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, where he sits on the taxation committee. He is also an international fellow of American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He has been designated a derivatives market specialist by the Canadian Securities Institute.

Stephen S. Ruby
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the bar: 1973

Stephen S. Ruby is a senior tax partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. His practice encompasses a broad range of corporate taxation matters, including corporate acquisitions and reorganizations, financings, international tax and tax litigation. He regularly advises Canada-based multinationals on outbound investments and foreign enterprises on inbound Canadian investments. Ruby has consulted with the Canadian government on tax policy and legislation. He is also a former special adviser to the senior assistant deputy minister, tax policy and the legislation branch of the Department of Finance. An experienced corporate tax litigator, Ruby has appeared before all levels of court in Canada, including the Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada, where he recently appeared in MacDonald v. The Queen. He is a member of the Council of IFA Canada, past governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation, past chair of the joint committee on taxation of the CBA and CPA and past chair of the CBA’s Tax Subsection. Ruby is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in recognition of his contributions to Canadian tax law.

Mitchell J. Sherman
Law firm: Goodmans LLP
Year called to the bar: 1989

Mitchell J. Sherman is a partner at Goodmans LLP. He devotes his practice to corporate and commercial transactions, including equity and debt financings, acquisitions, divestitures, syndications, reorganizations, structured products, investment funds and international tax planning. Sherman has authored numerous papers and is a regular contributor to the Corporate Finance Tax Journal and the International Taxation Journal. He is also a frequent speaker on income tax matters. Sherman has presented seminars to senior Canada Revenue Agency officials on advanced corporate reorganizations and partnerships. He is a past chair of the national taxation section of the Canadian Bar Association and past member of the executive committee of the CICA-CBA joint committee on taxation.

Carrie B.E. Smit
Law firm: Goodmans LLP
Year called to the bar: 1992

Carrie B.E. Smit is a partner and the head of the tax group at Goodmans LLP. She specializes in corporate and commercial transactions, cross-border mergers, corporate reorganizations, domestic and international debt financings, debt restructurings and private equity investments. A leading corporate tax lawyer, Smit has authored many papers on income tax matters and is a frequent speaker at conferences. She has been appointed as a member of the executive of the joint committee on taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. Smit is also a member of the Council of International Fiscal Association Canada and a former governor and member of the executive committee of the Canadian Tax Foundation.

Paul Stepak
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the bar: 2001

Paul Stepak is the national practice group leader of the tax group at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he also serves as a partner. Stepak focuses on corporate and partnership income taxation. He advises clients on domestic and cross-border income tax planning, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, corporate reorganizations, financings and the taxation of mutual funds, partnerships and other investment vehicles. Cross-border inbound structuring is also a significant component of his practice. Stepak boasts extensive experience in assisting clients with the resolution of Canadian federal and provincial tax audits and appeals at all stages. He has written articles and spoken at different venues regarding cross-border and domestic tax issues. Stepak is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, the International Bar Association, and the International Fiscal Association.

Steve Suarez
Law firm: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Year called to the bar: 1990 (ON); 1993 (New York); 1994 (England & Wales)

Steve Suarez is a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He devotes his practice to the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, cross-border investment, corporate restructurings, mining taxation and audit management and dispute resolution. Suarez is the vice-chair of the tax committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, co-chair of the Toronto Centre Canada Revenue Agency and Tax Professionals Consultation Group and the tax committee of the Mining Association of Canada. He is also a past chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s tax section and a former member of the CBA–CICA joint committee on taxation.

John J. Tobin
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the bar: 1989

John J. Tobin is a partner at Torys LLP. He solves tax problems covering transactional work, planning and counsel roles and tax controversy and transfer pricing for many of Canada’s largest business and financial institutions. Tobin represents multinational and Canadian businesses in tax matters, including tax structuring, international transactions, transfer pricing, tax controversy, corporate finance, derivatives, securitization and mergers and acquisitions. He also represents clients in domestic and cross-border transactions, infrastructure, energy, public-private partnerships, financial products, lending and securitizations, income funds, managed assets and leasing. As a leading corporate tax lawyer, Tobin boasts extensive experience in federal and provincial income tax, international tax, sales and use tax, good and service tax and harmonized sales tax. He also teaches international tax at Osgoode Hall Law School. Tobin serves as director at Michael Garron Hospital, where he also chairs the Rethink Breast Cancer and Hospital Construction Redevelopment Committee. He is also a tax committee member of IFIC and CFLA.

Jeffrey C. Trossman
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the bar: 1991

Jeffrey C. Trossman serves as senior counsel in Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s tax group, after serving as national practice group leader for more than 15 years. He is also a partner at the firm. Trossman provides strategic tax advice on domestic and cross-border transactions and assists clients in managing tax audits and resolving tax disputes at all levels in the audit and appeal process. He is widely known and respected by advisers and governmental officials in the Canadian and international tax communities. Trossman is a past chair of the national taxation section of the Canadian Bar Association and a past co-chair of the joint committee on taxation of the CBA and Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. He is also a member of the Fiscal and Tax Competitiveness Council of the CD Howe Institute, an advisor to the board of governors of the Canadian Tax Foundation and the editor of the publication Perspectives on Tax Law and Policy.

Jerald M. Wortsman
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the bar: 1991

Jerald M. Wortsman is a partner at Torys LLP. He specializes in domestic and international corporate tax planning, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations and corporate finance. Wortsman has substantial experience advising domestic and foreign financial institutions. He has advised on Canadian and cross-border acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, and inbound and outbound investments and multinational group structures. Wortsman has also advised on the structuring and issuance of various financial instruments and other capital markets activity. He is a frequent lecturer and author of several papers on a range of tax topics.

Firm(s)

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Goodmans LLP McCarthy Tétrault LLP Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Stikeman Elliott LLP Thorsteinssons LLP