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Osler Hoskin & Harcourt has been tax litigation counsel to all five Canadian national banks. Partner Al Meghji has a strong presence in this practice area. Competitors explain that he's one of the "most experienced and well-regarded litigators in Canada". ... [more]

Osler Hoskin & Harcourt has been tax litigation counsel to all five Canadian national banks. Partner Al Meghji has a strong presence in this practice area. Competitors explain that he's one of the "most experienced and well-regarded litigators in Canada". Indeed the practice has one of the strongest tax controversy and dispute resolution groups in Canada. Meghji led a team at the Federal Court of Appeal in July 2010, in a successful challenge to the Tax Court of Canada's decision in the Glaxo SmithKline transfer pricing case. The court, in accepting the taxpayer's appeal and referring the case back to the Tax Court, ruled that the trial judge erred in his interpretation of the arm's-length standard, and endorsed an interpretation advanced by Meghji and his colleagues for Glaxo. Firoz Ahmed is also praised by competitors for his work in M&A and corporate reorganisations. Partner Robert Raizenne in Montreal is mentioned, by a leading tax specialist, for his strong work on cross-border transactions. Steve Suarez left in August 2011 to join Borden Ladner Gervais.

In 2010 tax partner David Hardy of Osler Hoskin & Harcourt developed and implemented a multi-billion dollar tax-advantaged intragroup restructuring for a major publicly traded North American company.