Department profile

Tax

Global Guide 2026 : Canada

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Rankings

Ranked Individuals

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Tax - Canada

Band 1

What the Team is Known For

Blake, Cassels & Graydon is a top-tier, full-service national law firm with offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver. Its prominent tax team is highly sought after for its experience in transactional planning, including a high volume of cross-border M&A work. The firm's diverse offering also features impressive capabilities in transfer pricing and commodity tax, as well as tax controversy and litigation. It has notable expertise across various industry sectors, including energy, infrastructure and transportation, and is also active in the private equity space.

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Strengths

Provided by Chambers

Blakes listens to the business needs of their clients and seeks to understand in depth the challenges they are facing. They can write the book on exceptional customer service.
Tax respondentGlobal
With Blakes, you know you are getting highly experienced lawyers with highly specialised expertise and very practical lawyers.
Tax respondentGlobal
The Blakes team is always quick to respond to the various complex matters as business requirements keep evolving.
Tax respondentGlobal
Their tax advice has been top-notch. We receive A+ advice and they are available around the clock.
Tax respondentGlobal
The team is all very talented, good to work with and always available for a call.
Tax respondentGlobal

Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

Senior Statespeople
Senior Statespeople
Jeffrey C. Trossman
Jeffrey Trossman is a seasoned Toronto-based tax lawyer who assists clients with complex and high-value M&A, disputes and tax audits. He continues to be sought out to work on high-profile deals and investments.
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Band 2
Band 2
Mark Tonkovich
Toronto-based Mark Tonkovich represents clients in high-profile tax enforcement and litigation files. He has worked on several longstanding disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency. He coleads Blake, Cassels & Graydon's tax controversy and litigation group.
Mark is a wonderful individual to work with and demonstrates a very client-centric focus.
Tax respondentGlobal
He is very responsive and able to walk us through complex tax matters.
Tax respondentGlobal
Mark is spectacular. He is very practical, reasonable and meticulous.
Tax respondentGlobal
Mark combines thoroughness and technical expertise with a personable and approachable manner. He continues to demonstrate a clear dedication towards achieving desired outcomes for his clients.
Tax respondentGlobal
Mark provides practical advice and has a strong ability to see the business side of the argument, in addition to the technical side.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 2
Band 2
Paul Stepak
Head of the firm's tax group Paul Stepak is particularly well known for advising clients on tax planning and M&A transactions. He is based in Toronto.
Paul is technically very strong, thorough and to the point.
Tax respondentGlobal
Paul is an excellent lawyer.
Tax respondentGlobal
Paul just gets the job done. He is extremely commercial and responsive.
Tax respondentGlobal
Paul doesn't come with a problem, he comes with a solution. He is creative and practical.
Tax respondentGlobal
Paul is an incredible service provider. He is extremely smart and incredibly responsive.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 2
Band 2
Pooja Mihailovich
Pooja Mihailovich has strong skills in tax litigation, including matters relating to the Income Tax Act.
Pooja's quality of work is excellent and her thoroughness of work is great. She is also excellent with clients.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 3
Band 3
Jeffrey Shafer
Jeffrey Shafer is well versed in both contentious and non-contentious tax work, advising on transfer pricing and M&A transactions. He operates out of the firm's Toronto office.
Jeffrey is a wonderful individual to work with, who demonstrates a very client-centric focus.
Tax respondentGlobal
Jeffrey is a great and trusted advisor to us and always has our best interests in mind.
Tax respondentGlobal
Jeffrey gets to issues quickly and has a great business mind. He is very good at breaking down difficult subjects and communicating it with stakeholders.
Tax respondentGlobal
Jeff always adds additional perspectives that enhance the client's understanding of how the matter is progressing and the relative strengths of strategic approaches that are available.
Tax respondentGlobal
Jeffrey has tremendous amount of insight and experience in how Canadian tax authorities operate and behind the scenes. He is measured, practical and an expert in his area.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 4
Band 4
Andrew Spiro
Andrew Spiro is a respected practitioner who handles a range of tax matters including those arising from transactions.
Andrew's memory and grasp of our file is incredible. He is also very pleasant to work with.
Tax respondentGlobal
Andrew is very thoughtful, thorough and technically strong.
Tax respondentGlobal
Andrew is very reliable and provides excellent advice.
Tax respondentGlobal
He has provided us excellent service.
Tax respondentGlobal
Andrew is always knowledgeable and responsive. We feel he is really a member of our team.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 4
Band 4
Josh Jones
Josh Jones retains a well-known presence in the Canadian tax market, notably advising clients on Canadian income tax matters, as well as on mandates with cross-border components. He offers further expertise in the tax aspects of acquisitions and corporate restructurings across various industries. Jones is based in the firm's Toronto office.
I trust when I work with Josh that I am getting comprehensive advice and that I am not going to miss anything.
Tax respondentGlobal
Josh is an outstanding professional.
Tax respondentGlobal
Josh is highly responsive, very technically strong and good at analysing and describing the risk. He is also a real pleasure to work with.
Tax respondentGlobal
His attention to detail and his ability to summarise and take something that is very complex and explain it in a way that makes sense stands out.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 5
Band 5
John Leopardi
John Leopardi advises on the tax aspects of corporate transactions and reorganisations.
John was a total life saver navigating an existential matter.
Tax respondentGlobal
John is extremely knowledgeable in his field. He is extremely meticulous, organised and supportive.
Tax respondentGlobal
John's responsiveness, open communication and expert knowledge in many legal aspects stands out.
Tax respondentGlobal
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Band 5
Band 5
V. Daniel Jankovic
Daniel Jankovic often works with international and domestic clients on the tax aspects of transactions from the firm's Calgary office.
Dan provides excellent client service, combining both deep tax technical knowledge with practical, business-driven advice.
Tax respondentGlobal
Dan is very well-versed in anything tax and very knowledgeable in corporate law.
Tax respondentGlobal
Dan is extremely knowledgeable, thorough and detailed. He is also very responsive and quick to get back to me.
Tax respondentGlobal
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