Lexpert has conducted an exhaustive peer review to identify Canada’s top banking and finance lawyers. You can view the full list of lawyers and firms in our practice area rankings list.
Banking and finance law governs how banks and other financial institutions conduct their businesses. It concerns the contractual relationship between lenders and borrowers and is geared towards ensuring that the interests of both parties are met both legally and commercially.
David M.A. Amato
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2000
Province: Ontario
David M.A. Amato specializes in corporate finance and is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 3,700 lawyers and legal staff worldwide. As co-chair of the firm’s asset-based lending team, Amato represents several Canadian and US asset-based lenders. He boasts extensive insolvency and restructuring experience acting on behalf of creditors. Amato also acts as counsel and advisor to various foreign and domestic financial institutions, insurance companies, funds and other credit providers. He has significant experience in complex debt financing transactions and has led numerous multi-jurisdictional, international and domestic debt financing mandates, including cash-flow, asset-based, acquisition, debtor-in-possession, mine and project financings.
Read more about Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP on cannabis sector litigation
Jean E. Anderson
Law firm: Goodmans LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1981
Province: Ontario
Jean E. Anderson is a partner at the banking and finance law group at Goodmans LLP in Toronto. She devotes her practice to financing, corporate transactions and financial institution regulatory matters. Anderson boasts more than 35 years of experience in acquisition financing, project finance, asset-based lending, debt restructuring, and complex domestic and cross-border financings. Her lists of clients include Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citizens Bank, US Bank, Monroe Capital, Hitachi Capital, UBS, PNC Bank and Clearwater Seafoods. Anderson’s law firm is known as among the market leaders in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, technology, real estate investment trusts, tax and litigation, in addition to other business-related specialties.
Gordon D. Baird
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1991
Province: Ontario
Gordon D. Baird is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s financial services group in Toronto. He focuses on lending and secured transactions, with an emphasis on lending to the power, financial services, and media and telecommunications sectors. Baird regularly acts for bank syndicates, non-bank lenders and borrowers on domestic, cross-border and international loan transactions. Among his recent transactions are acting for borrowers on multi-billion-dollar liquidity facilities backstopping commercial paper programs, acting for investors on multiple bond offerings in connection with the development or financing of wind-power and hydroelectric generation facilities and acting for the lenders on a $3 billion acquisition financing of a media company. McCarthy Tétrault is one of Canada’s leading full-service law firms.
Ian J. Binnie
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1995
Province: Ontario
Ian J. Binnie is partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s financial services and project finance groups. He devotes his practice to business law matters, with a focus on financing transactions and financial regulatory matters. Binnie has significant experience in all aspects of domestic and international commercial finance, including public and private debt issuances, project finance primarily in the power generation industry, bilateral and syndicated lending, asset-based lending, private equity, second lien and other forms of subordinated lending, securitization and derivative transactions. He is an expert in negotiating and integrating commercial law and finance documentation. Binnie also has a long-standing interest in personal property security matters and participates in several ongoing law reform initiatives. His firm is a business law firm serving clients across the globe.
Donald G. Bird
Law firm: Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Year called to the Bar: 1988
Province: British Columbia
Donald G. Bird is the national practice group leader of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s (BLG) financial services group in Vancouver. He also serves as among the firm’s partners. Bird acts for lenders and borrowers in connection with commercial and corporate loans to public and private borrowers. Many of these loans are syndicated and are often cross-border. He also gives regulatory advice to financial institutions, and does agency work on structured finance transactions and general corporate commercial transactions. BLG is the largest of Canada’s few AmLaw Global 100 firms, with five full-service offices located in each of the country’s principal business markets.
Richard P. Borden
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1984
Province: Alberta
Richard P. Borden is a senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s Calgary office, where he specializes in commercial transactions. Borden focuses on larger-scale projects and financings primarily in the energy sector, including oil sands, pipeline, liquified natural gas and public-private partnership infrastructure projects. He also has significant experience in high-yield domestic and cross-border financing transactions, term loan B financings and joint venture transactions. His clients include major banks and project sponsors. Over the years, Borden has developed strong relationships with the key project lending specialists within the major Canadian banks.
Adam E. Delean
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1990
Province: Ontario
Adam E. Delean is a partner at Torys LLP’s Toronto office, where he also heads the banking and debt finance practice and holds chairmanship of the India practice group. Delean devotes his practice to corporate banking, leveraged finance and structured finance. He represents both lenders and borrowers in various transactions, including bank credit facilities, Canadian and US bond financings, structured finance transactions, mezzanine financings and derivatives. Delean is also an expert in cross-border and international financings. He regularly advises lenders and borrowers on compliance matters related to financing arrangements. Torys is a business law firm, which serves clients across Canada and internationally.
Michel Deschamps
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1970
Province: Québec
Michel Deschamps practises banking and commercial law at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Montréal office, where he also serves as counsel. He boasts broad experience in domestic and cross-border loan syndications, secured transactions, project finance, international banking transactions and the regulation of financial institutions. Deschamps also participates as a Canadian delegate in law reform projects in the area of secured transactions sponsored by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law. He has authored numerous articles and is a frequent speaker at conferences in Canada and abroad on topics related to his areas of practice.
Sterling H. Dietze
Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1991 (QC); 1996 (ON)
Province: Québec
Sterling H. Dietze is a partner in the banking and finance group of Stikeman Elliott LLP in Montréal. His practice involves all aspects of institutional financing and banking. Dietze has acted for borrowers and lenders in various financing transactions, including gold loans, securitizations, syndicated loans and participation agreements, asset-based financing, infrastructure financing, international financial transactions, project financing and financial derivative products. He has also acted as counsel to foreign financial institutions on the financial regulatory environment in Canada and the province of Québec, and as special international counsel to a presidential commission in Haiti for the reform of secured transaction laws. His firm is one of Canada’s largest business law firm.
Simon A. Finch
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1995
Province: Ontario
Simon A. Finch specializes in private debt transactions, acting both for borrowers and lenders. He has extensive experience structuring and negotiating syndicated facilities, asset-based loans, capital call bridges, letter of credit facilities, project financings and structured financings. Finch advises clients on acquisition financings, including both strategic and sponsor leveraged buyouts and tender-offer financings for public companies. He is an expert in the mining sector and has been recognized as a leading Canadian lawyer in global mining. His clients include foreign financial institutions, private equity funds, corporations and law firms, which he assists in the Canadian aspects of multi-jurisdictional financings. Finch is a partner and member of the opinions committee at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto, where he is also responsible for developing its precedent documentation for secured financings.
Read more about Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP on financing the mining industry
Kevin Fougere
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1999 (AB); 1999 (ON)
Province: Alberta
Kevin Fougere is one of the founding partners of the Torys LLP’s Calgary office, where he devotes his practice to corporate lending and project financing. Fougere boasts extensive experience in advising corporate clients and financial institutions on a wide range of financing transactions, including project financing, syndicated transactions, bond financings, cross-border financings, acquisition financings, asset and reserve-based lending. He is also an expert in financings in the oil and gas, oil sands, pipeline, energy services and renewable power sectors. Fougere routinely acts for the major Canadian banks and several international financial institutions.
Read more about Torys LLP on multiple stakeholders
Michael R. Harquail
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1984
Province: Ontario
Michael R. Harquail is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP’s Toronto office, where he was also a member of the executive committee for several years. Harquail advises financial institutions and corporate clients on corporate lending, debt restructuring and general corporate matters. He is an expert in structuring and documenting domestic financing transactions, cross-border financing transactions, syndications, acquisition financings, asset-based financings, project financings, high-yield offerings, subordinated debt arrangements and structured finance. Harquail also boasts substantial experience in buying and selling businesses and in structuring shareholder arrangements. He has advised lenders and borrowers in financing transactions across a wide range of industries, including aerospace, agriculture, automotive, energy, financial services, general manufacturing, health care, mining, pulp and paper, retail, steel, technology, telecommunications and transportation.
Richard T. Higa
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1990
Province: Ontario
Richard T. Higa is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. He specializes in all aspects of structured, acquisition and cross-border financings, including asset-based lending, bilateral and syndicated financings, term B loans, second lien loans, mezzanine financings and high-yield notes. Higa represents several large Canadian and US banks and other financial institutions. More than half of his practice involves acquisition financings for private equity sponsored acquisitions. Among Higa’s most recent transactions are acting for private equity sponsored acquisition financings in the chemicals, transportation, healthcare and call centre industries.
Blair W. Keefe
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1989
Province: Ontario
Blair W. Keefe is co-head of the financial services, bank regulatory, insurance regulatory and payments and cards practices at Torys LLP’s Toronto office, where he also serves as partner. Keefe devotes his practice to corporate and regulatory issues relating to financial institutions, including mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. He provides regulatory advice on the establishment of new banks, trust companies and insurance companies under the applicable federal financial services legislation. Keefe has also provided regulatory advice on foreign and domestic demutualizations and on the development of various capital instruments, including under the new Basel III rules.
Justin A. Lapedus
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2000
Province: Ontario
Justin A. Lapedus is a partner at the financial services group of McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. He specializes on complex secured and unsecured lending transactions, including cross-border acquisition financings and multi-jurisdictional financing transactions. Lapedus regularly acts as counsel for lenders, including Canadian and international banks and other financial institutions. He also represents corporate borrowers and private equity firms, and acts in connection with the structuring, negotiation and implementation of leveraged acquisition financings, asset-based loans, corporate and commercial financings, domestic and international syndicated bank financings, subordinate and mezzanine financings and financings in connection with bankruptcies and restructurings.
David Lemieux
Law firm: Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1993
Province: Québec
David Lemieux focuses on corporate financing and restructuring. He organizes and leads teams of lawyers to represent lending syndicates, borrowers and investors. His practice covers the full spectrum of Canadian, cross-border and foreign matters related to project financing, public and private takeover bids, asset acquisitions, monetization, securitization, asset financing and debt restructuring. Lemieux is also involved in the negotiation, preparation and finalization of all aspects of these transactions. He is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP’s office in Montréal.
Read more about Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP on stakeholder engagement
Michael D. Matheson
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1994
Province: Ontario
Michael D. Matheson boasts more than 20 years of experience in banking and financial services law, with a focus on corporate and commercial finance. He devotes his practice to the areas of banking, syndicated lending, leveraged finance, project finance, and mergers and acquisitions. Matheson regularly advises Canadian and foreign financial institutions and borrowers on structuring and negotiation of syndicated loan transactions, acquisition financings, takeover bid financings, leveraged buyouts, corporate reorganizations, workouts and M&A. He is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto.
J. Michael McIntosh
Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1986 (AB); 1988 (ON)
Province: Alberta
J. Michael McIntosh is a senior partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Calgary. He specializes in the areas of banking, acquisition finance and project finance, and regularly advises on cross-border financings. His recent transactions include financings of oil sands projects, conventional oil and gas reserves, refineries, pipelines and power-generating assets.
Richard O’Doherty
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2000
Province: Québec
Richard O’Doherty specializes in projects, project financing and corporate lending. He is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Montréal office. O’Doherty represents various lenders and developers in the power, mining, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, retail, telecommunication and agribusiness sectors. He has acted for numerous wind farm, hydroelectric, mining and solar project financings. O’Doherty also regularly advises on multi-currency cross-border transactions, private equity transactions and other acquisition financings.
Joseph Palin
Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1990 (ON); 1996 (AB)
Province: Alberta
Joe Palin is a partner at the McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Calgary office and a member of its financial services group. He devotes his practice to structuring and completing domestic and international financing transactions. Palin frequently advises both lenders and borrowers as they navigate matters involving complex financing structures. He also acts as a trusted advisor to his clients, taking advantage of his detailed industry knowledge and established business relationships within the oil and gas, energy services and power sectors.
Carol D. Pennycook
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1981 (AB); 1985 (ON)
Province: Ontario
Carol D. Pennycook is partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto. She advises clients on a range of transactions, including syndicated loans, corporate finance, structured finance, project finance, debt capital market offerings, private equity, private mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations and derivative products. Pennycook devotes a significant portion her practice to financing transactions, acting for both borrowers and lenders. She acts on renewable energy transactions, joint ventures, corporate and acquisition credit facilities, and capital markets bond, debenture and note offerings across Canada and overseas. Pennycook also acts on many of the highest-profile public-private partnership projects in Canada and the US, and has represented borrower and lender clients in complex infrastructure financings.
Joel M. Scoler
Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1993 (ON); 1992 (New York)
Province: Ontario
Joel M. Scoler specializes in national and international banking and finance, representing financial institutions and private equity firms. He boasts significant expertise in a broad range of finance-related matters, including syndicated and cross-border loan transactions, leveraged buyouts and takeover bid financings, mezzanine and subordinate debt, asset-based lending, insolvencies, restructurings and workouts. Scoler is currently a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto.
John W. Torrey
Law firm: Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Year called to the Bar: 1988
Province: Ontario
John W. Torrey’s devotes his practice to lending transactions. He boasts extensive experience in all areas of lending, particularly in project and acquisition financings and in all aspects of mine finance, acting for both borrowers and lenders. Torrey’s mine finance practice, which he operates along with his colleagues, is considered among the most active in Canada. He also regularly represents or acts opposite many banks in the country. Torrey is partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP’s Toronto office.
Tom Zverina
Law firm: Torys LLP
Year called to the Bar: 2001
Province: Ontario
Tom Zverina is a partner at Torys LLP in Toronto. He focuses his practice on the financing of mergers and acquisitions. Zverina boasts extensive experience in a range of debt financing work, including project financing of wind, solar and hydro projects, asset-backed loans, public and private debt securities, railcar financing, equipment leasing, reinsurance security arrangements and derivatives products. He is regularly involved in creating and implementing innovative and unique tax-driven structured debt transactions. Zverina is also well-versed in complex domestic and international transactions and has navigated many high-stakes projects.