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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Blake, Cassels & Graydon has seen strategic growth in the western Canada market. Adding well recognised practitioners from firms in the area, as well as increasing junior staff numbers in these offices, has proven successful for the firm, whose client ... [more]

Blake, Cassels & Graydon has seen strategic growth in the western Canada market. Adding well recognised practitioners from firms in the area, as well as increasing junior staff numbers in these offices, has proven successful for the firm, whose client list is impressive. The firm is focused on internal knowledge sharing, with weekly conferences held with the entire tax group, showcasing junior members' research into topics. David Spiro moved on this year, but it has an outstanding team of tax advisers nonetheless. Janice McCart and Bill Maclagan are recommended for transfer pricing while Ronald Richler, Kathleen Penny, Paul Tamaki, Bruce Sinclair, Ron Mar and Robert Kopstein are all highlighted as strong. One competitor said: "the entire group are very very capable advisers." In the last 12 months the firm has been extremely active, advising Suncor Energy in its strategic merger with Petro-Canada in a deal worth about C$44 billion ($40.8 billion) and also assisting Vestar Capital Partners as it acquired a North America laundry business from Unilever. The firm's strong tax controversy group has also been extremely busy. Edmund Gill is highly praised by clients. "He comes up with creative ideas and strategies for our business. He also helps me understand various technical issues as they pertain to our business," said one. Other clients speak of the excellent service received in general: "in terms of advice, Blakes bring practical business solutions along with sound tax advice. In terms of service, Blakes make you feel as if you were their only client."

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Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg offers comprehensive and timely Canadian and US tax advice on a wide variety of domestic and cross-border transactions and business vehicles, including mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations, workouts, infrastructure development, ... [more]

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg offers comprehensive and timely Canadian and US tax advice on a wide variety of domestic and cross-border transactions and business vehicles, including mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations, workouts, infrastructure development, financings, derivative transactions, joint ventures, investment funds and business trusts. In the past 12 months the firm has represented carmakers Fiat during Chrysler's restructuring after entering US bankruptcy (chapter 11) protection. The firm also advised US bank GMAC as it completed its $28.815 billion outstanding notes exchange and purchase offers, and its separate offers to exchange and purchase $9.331 billion outstanding notes of Residential Capital. The purpose of the offers was to increase GMAC's capital levels and reduce GMAC and Residental Capital's outstanding debt in connection with GMAC's capital plan and its application to become a bank holding company. The firm has no major presence on the West Coast. Ian Crosbie and John Ulmer are both recommended for expertise in cross-border tax matters. Siobhan Monaghan is individually recognised and Nathan Boidman is called "a perpetual motion machine," by a competitor.

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The tax group at Deloitte is one of the biggest in Canada. Rob O'Connor is noted for transfer pricing and Shawn Porter is identified by competitors as a leader in cross-border tax advice. The addition of former head of international tax at the Canada ... [more]

The tax group at Deloitte is one of the biggest in Canada. Rob O'Connor is noted for transfer pricing and Shawn Porter is identified by competitors as a leader in cross-border tax advice. The addition of former head of international tax at the Canada Revenue Agency, Phil Fortier, is a considerable boost for the group. The firm advises clients from every industry sector and has this year been helping many companies with restructurings. There have been a few strategic talent moves in recent months, with the firm building exceptional teams in the Vancouver and Calgary offices. Albert Baker moved to Vancouver and Kevin Black joined in Calgary. Deloitte is the global tax service provider to acrobatic troop Cirque du Soleil and this year the firm's advisers provided tax assistance when an Abu Dhabi-based group invested in the Cirque. The firm was also the main tax adviser to mining company Rio Tinto in the acquisition of aluminium producer Alcan. The firm is creating service lines to met clients' day to day requirements such as a tax management consulting service line, assisting with filings and preparing for audits. In a challenging year when traditional corporate parts of the firm's business have slowed down, R&D, indirect, recovery and US corporate advice are all thriving; dispute resolution is also doing well. The firm advised ExxonMobil in a worldwide engagement of scientific research experimental development. Clients rave about the firm's "unusually creative approach combined with an extremely robust and careful following [of the rules]". Another says that the firm are "good for structuring and doing 'what if' and iterative analysis". Jocelyn Blanchet and Gary Gluckman are highlighted for their fantastic customer service.

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At McCarthy Tétrault, Jerald Wortsman and Nigel Johnston are both individually recognised while Doug Ewens, is described as a "big shooter, a nice guy". The firm this year acted for Chrysler Canada in connection with its sale under US bankruptcy chapter ... [more]

At McCarthy Tétrault, Jerald Wortsman and Nigel Johnston are both individually recognised while Doug Ewens, is described as a "big shooter, a nice guy". The firm this year acted for Chrysler Canada in connection with its sale under US bankruptcy chapter 11 proceedings, including advising on the $2.6 billion funding of Chrysler Group and Chrysler Canada by Export Development Canada, advising on transfer pricing issues. Practitioners from the firm also completed the tax planning and implementation of the spin-off by Bankers Petroleum, a Canadian public corporation, of its US operations as a new public corporation, BNK Petroleum, by way of a reduction of share capital. The deal was interesting because the spin-off, worth $1.1 billion, was implemented to provide shareholders with a reduction in the cost of their shares of Bankers, rather than a taxable dividend. The effect is that the shareholders can defer the incidence of Canadian tax until they dispose of their shares of Bankers. Controversy powerhouse Edwin Kroft had a busy year with many high profile cases and raving reviews from clients. Clients also regard Ewens and colleague TJ Kang as "responsive, knowledgeable and very helpful". While Gabrielle Richards is lauded for doing "an excellent job" for one long-standing client.

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Osler Hoskin & Harcourt has a long list of advisers highlighted by peers as outstanding. Al Meghji is well known for tax controversy, and Scott Wilkie is noted in transfer pricing. Andrew McGuffin for capital markets and financial products and Richard ... [more]

Osler Hoskin & Harcourt has a long list of advisers highlighted by peers as outstanding. Al Meghji is well known for tax controversy, and Scott Wilkie is noted in transfer pricing. Andrew McGuffin for capital markets and financial products and Richard Tremblay for cross border are others. A client calls Firoz Ahmed "leading edge, technically sound and responsive".

The firm has seen its litigation and insolvency practices boom in the last 12 months, a reflection of wider trends in the market. The firm advised on the first transaction involving disposition by a royalty trust of a resource royalty to purchaser. The result of which is ordinary income instead of capital gain to the unitholders. The advisers involved carefully structured an arbitrage to allow unitholders holding on capital account to sell on the stock exchanges, and to allow taxpayers taxed on income account to purchase on the stock exchanges to achieve the most tax efficient result for everyone. Head of the Calgary office Don Watkins led a team that assisted the Hebron-Ben Nevis Consortium of major oil companies including Chevron Canada, ExxonMobil Canada, Petro-Canada and StatoilHydro Canada, on the Hebron-Ben Nevis Development Project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Following the retirement of Norman Loveland, new head of the tax group, David Tetreault, is highly regarded by competitors and is expected to continue the firm's growth.

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Stikeman Elliott has a team of senior advisers with excellent reputations. Ronald Durand and Douglas Richardson both receive multiple recommendations from competitors. In the last year the firm successfully represented US multinational car parts manufacturer ... [more]

Stikeman Elliott has a team of senior advisers with excellent reputations. Ronald Durand and Douglas Richardson both receive multiple recommendations from competitors. In the last year the firm successfully represented US multinational car parts manufacturer Collins & Aikman Products in a case looking at whether all corporate distributions are to be taxed as income under the Income Tax Act. The firm also advised Grupo Bimbo, a bakery company, in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Weston Foods, the US bakery business of leading Canadian food processor and distributor George Weston. In April 2009 advisers from the firm acted for TransCore Link Logistics Corporation in the sale of its GlobalWave satellite communications assets to SkyWave Mobile Communications for an undisclosed amount.

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At Ernst & Young the motto is 'quality in everything we do,' and the firm takes care to offer clients the very best advice in all areas of tax. The firm has the size and capability to help the biggest clients with the most sophisticated work and get ... [more]

At Ernst & Young the motto is 'quality in everything we do,' and the firm takes care to offer clients the very best advice in all areas of tax. The firm has the size and capability to help the biggest clients with the most sophisticated work and get it done quickly. Greg Noble leads a very strong transfer pricing team that has doubled in both headcount and revenue in the last four years. The firm holds regular technical calls among its offices as part of a knowledge sharing programme, keeping all arms of the tax group up to date on all matters. The firm is recognised as competent in financial services and financial transactions, tax effective supply chain management, all aspects of controversy including field audits, appeals, competent authority and APAs and as having excellent knowledge of the pharmaceutical and mining sectors.

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The controversy group at Fraser Milner Casgrain continues to grow, with the addition of the Honourable Donald Bowman, former chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada, and David Spiro from Blake, Cassels & Graydon. "They have built one of the strongest ... [more]

The controversy group at Fraser Milner Casgrain continues to grow, with the addition of the Honourable Donald Bowman, former chief justice of the Tax Court of Canada, and David Spiro from Blake, Cassels & Graydon. "They have built one of the strongest tax litigation and controversy resolution practices in Canada," says one market observer. William Innes and Chia-yi Chua are also highlighted as leaders in this genre of tax work; clients applaud their originality. "Without their creativity we would have no choice but to abandon the case," said one. The firm is cautiously optimistic that it has weathered the worst of the financial downturn without much damage to the tax group. With oil and gas a big part of the firm's work in Western Canada, the relatively sturdy market in that sector has buoyed the team. The firm this year advised two parts of energy transportation, distribution and services company Enbridge, these being Enbridge Southern Lights and Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights), as they jointly entered into syndicated credit facilities in the aggregate amounts of up to C$430 million and $1.3 billion respectively, in connection with the construction of the southern lights pipeline project. [hide]

At Goodmans, M&A and capital markets are the firm's particular expertise, with debt restructuring important over the last 12 months. The firm deliberately keeps its tax group small. It has just 15 people. The firm this year were lead counsel to the Pan-Canadian ... [more]

At Goodmans, M&A and capital markets are the firm's particular expertise, with debt restructuring important over the last 12 months. The firm deliberately keeps its tax group small. It has just 15 people. The firm this year were lead counsel to the Pan-Canadian Investors Committee for a case involving the restructuring of some C$32 billion of Canadian third-party structured asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP), the investors committee of major Canadian investors, representing over $20 billion of the affected ABCP and successfully brought the majority of Canada's non-bank ABCP issuers under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The file involved a large number of lawyers at the firm who assisted with the unwinding of the 20 separate securitisations involved. "It was as complicated as it gets," said one of the senior tax partners. "The government was involved and if it went wrong way we were worried about serious implications for our [Canadian] capital markets." Goodmans dealt with a lot of companies' conversions to income trust format, with the rules changing the firm are now helping these clients convert back to corporations, CI Financial Income Fund is one example client in this area. Alan Bowman is "a junior partner held in the highest regard in M&A," according to a competitor. Mitchell Sherman and Carrie Smit also receive individual praise.

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KPMG has over 1,000 tax professionals working in Canada, with 131 partners in 31 locations. In cross-border services the team is 300 strong. The firm has eight service lines in Canada, including a strong transfer pricing group led by the well known François ... [more]

KPMG has over 1,000 tax professionals working in Canada, with 131 partners in 31 locations. In cross-border services the team is 300 strong. The firm has eight service lines in Canada, including a strong transfer pricing group led by the well known François Vincent. Calgary and Edmonton are very strong markets for KPMG. Despite tough economic conditions the firm managed to avoid making any layoffs in the tax group this year, hoping to remain at capacity in all major divisions for when the market picks up again. Private company work has remained stable and the firms sees an increasing R&D practice, and lots of planning work in both indirect and international tax matters. Clients of the firm include a large segment of the world's financial institutions, oil and gas companies and enterprises involved in consumer markets. Walter Pela receives individual praise from one satisfied client who took advice on international and domestic tax planning.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers is broadly recognised as robust in all fields of tax services. The firm's client list includes large companies from every industry, who come to the firm for both complex planning and advice on compliance. Jeff Rogers in Toronto ... [more]

PricewaterhouseCoopers is broadly recognised as robust in all fields of tax services. The firm's client list includes large companies from every industry, who come to the firm for both complex planning and advice on compliance. Jeff Rogers in Toronto and Charles Theriault in Montreal are both individually recognised for their work in transfer pricing, with a competitor saying "they work together well and are a formidable team."

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Bennett Jones is described as "a strong presence in Toronto," by a leading lawyer in the market. Claire Kennedy moved to the firm in February 2009 and with the addition of five new associates during the last 12 months, the firm is continuing to add strength ... [more]

Bennett Jones is described as "a strong presence in Toronto," by a leading lawyer in the market. Claire Kennedy moved to the firm in February 2009 and with the addition of five new associates during the last 12 months, the firm is continuing to add strength to the team. The firm's client list includes Air Canada and RIM, as well as ATCO and several companies involved in the energy field. The tax group is assisting Fort Chicago Energy Partners with its conversion to a corporation. In the past 12 months the firm advised energy and power-focused private equity firm Riverstone in its part of the acquisition of Gibson Energy. Darcy Moch receives individual note from a content client who describes him as "very efficient and knowledgeable".

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The tax boutique Felesky Flynn has an excellent reputation. Behind named partner Brian Felesky "there is a very strong group coming up," says one market observer.

Torys has a "small group, but in terms of transactions handled they are top notch," said one competitior. With another noting that the firm's tax group has a "very busy and active practice, handling a lot of significant transactions". The firm is hunkered ... [more]

Torys has a "small group, but in terms of transactions handled they are top notch," said one competitior. With another noting that the firm's tax group has a "very busy and active practice, handling a lot of significant transactions". The firm is hunkered down and well placed to survive the rest of the downturn according to practitioners there. While the group may still see redundancies they made up a partner in January 2009, Katherine Moore, who is described as "exceptional". Seeing a decline in capital markets and M&A transactional work, the firm has been helping clients with planning to deal with taxes in loss situations. Jim Welkoff is widely recognised as outstanding, this year he and a group of colleagues advised Thomson in the acquisition of Reuters, in the first dual listed company structure used in Canada.

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Clients sing the praises of Borden Ladner Gervais with one saying "they are very creative and can find the right solution. At the same time they are detail conscious and won't let you miss anything". Elinore Richardson receives individual recommendation ... [more]

Clients sing the praises of Borden Ladner Gervais with one saying "they are very creative and can find the right solution. At the same time they are detail conscious and won't let you miss anything". Elinore Richardson receives individual recommendation for her work on the restructuring of a client's holding companies in Canada and clients speak highly of Doug Powrie. The firm added a new partner and two new associates in the last 12 months bringing the tax group to a total of 59 members in five offices – Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Ottawa and Calgary. The group acted as tax counsel to Northland Power, one of Canada's leading independent power producers, in connection with its June 2009 merger with the Northland Power Income Fund. The firm also assisted Hewlett Packard in the HP/EDS acquisition and post-acquisition reorganisation of the groups in Canada, the significant deal provides HP with EDS' capabilities in health care, government, manufacturing, financial services, energy, transportation, consumer and retail, communications, and media and entertainment.

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Burnet Duckworth & Palmer is a smaller firm, recognised as strong in Calgary. John Brussa leads the group and "has a huge reputation", said one competitor

The tax group at Fasken Martineau prides itself on serving clients both domestic and international from blue chip right down to start-up companies. An important part of the practice involves planning for transactions such as financings, acquisitions, ... [more]

The tax group at Fasken Martineau prides itself on serving clients both domestic and international from blue chip right down to start-up companies. An important part of the practice involves planning for transactions such as financings, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers and other reorganisations. Equally important is the advice provided to assist clients in conducting their day-to-day operations on a tax-efficient basis. The tax group also plays a key role in resolving disputes with taxation authorities, and represents clients before tribunals and courts at all levels.

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Gowling Lafleur Henderson - Taxand added a partner and four associates in the last 12 months. The firm advised Florida Power & Light Company in the bidding process, acquisition, and pre- and post-acquisition entity structuring and finance structuring ... [more]

Gowling Lafleur Henderson - Taxand added a partner and four associates in the last 12 months. The firm advised Florida Power & Light Company in the bidding process, acquisition, and pre- and post-acquisition entity structuring and finance structuring for the acquisition of all Creststreet Power & Income Fund's assets, which stretched to multiple Canadian and international jurisdictions. The firm has a unique specialised transfer pricing and competent authority team, with three of the members devoting 100% of their time to transfer pricing issues and one of whom, chief economist, Jamal Hejazi, has a PhD in economics. Dale Hill, a former senior Canada Revenue Authority official has had great success negotiating advance pricing agreements for clients. The firm also has expertise in aboriginal taxation which is an increasingly important area for many major projects in Canada. Tim Wach is highly recommended by clients who say he is "practical, timely and proactive."

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McMillan has added three associates so far this year with plans to hire more before the end of the year. The firm is widely recognised as a commodity tax niche firm. "You would have trouble finding a stronger firm for sales tax," said one marker commentator. ... [more]

McMillan has added three associates so far this year with plans to hire more before the end of the year. The firm is widely recognised as a commodity tax niche firm. "You would have trouble finding a stronger firm for sales tax," said one marker commentator. And yet the tax advice available goes far beyond this area. The firm also offers advice in areas such as domestic and international tax planning; taxation of derivatives and investment products and tax litigation and dispute resolution. In October 2008 the firm advised media-focused private equity investment firm ARBY Partners in its acquisition of Q9 Networks, a company that provides internet and data centre services.

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At Thorsteinssons, Warren Mitchell is acknowledged as strong in tax controversy. The firm practises in all areas of taxation law including income taxation, commodity tax, customs, and other incidental taxes.

Wilf Lefebvre of Ogilvy Renault is well known for his superiority in tax controversy. The firm provides clients with tax advice in many different areas, such as domestic and international corporate tax planning, tax dispute resolution and litigation, ... [more]

Wilf Lefebvre of Ogilvy Renault is well known for his superiority in tax controversy. The firm provides clients with tax advice in many different areas, such as domestic and international corporate tax planning, tax dispute resolution and litigation, commodity taxes and transfer pricing.

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