Aird & Berlis LLP

Managing Partner: Steven Zakem
Number of partners: 131
Number of other lawyers: 50
Languages: English, French, Bosnian, Cantonese, Croatian, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Spanish

Firm Overview:
Aird & Berlis is a leading Canadian law firm, serving clients across Canada and globally. With strong national and international expertise, Aird & Berlis provides strategic legal advice in all principal areas of business law. The firm’s clients range from entrepreneurs to multinational corporations.

Practice Areas:
Banking & Finance, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies & ICOs, Cannabis, Capital Markets, Charities & Not-For-Profits, Construction, Corporate/Commercial, Energy, Environmental, Esports, Estates & Trusts, Expropriation, Fintech, Gaming, Health, Indigenous, Infrastructure, Insolvency & Restructuring, Intellectual Property, International Transactions, Investment Management & Registration, Labour & Employment, Litigation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mines & Minerals, Municipal & Land Use Planning, Occupational Health & Safety, Privacy & Data Security, Private Equity, Procurement, Public Policy & Government Relations, Real Estate, Sports & Media, Tax, Technology, Telecommunications, Transportation, Venture Finance

Main Areas of Practice:

Capital Markets:
Aird & Berlis advises on domestic and international public and private debt and equity financings, rights offerings, take-over bids, stock exchange listings, initial public offerings, securities regulatory compliance, reorganisations, plans of arrangement, M&A and divestiture transactions. The firm’s clients include private and public corporations, family offices and other investors, financial institutions, mutual funds, investment dealers and limited partnerships.

Corporate/Commercial:
Aird & Berlis advises clients on matters ranging from day-to-day commercial issues to complex corporate transactions, including business incorporation, corporate structuring, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganisations, shareholder and partnership agreements, franchising, distributorships, joint ventures, corporate governance, privacy and data security, licensing arrangements and competition.

Energy:
Aird & Berlis advises domestic and international clients on generation, cogeneration, district energy, nuclear, electricity and gas distribution, geothermal and geo-exchange, conservation and demand management, emissions trading, power transmission, smart meters, financing, corporate structures, joint ventures, outsourcing and M&A.

Financial Services:
Aird & Berlis advises on banking, financing, borrowing, insolvency and restructuring transactions of all sizes. The firm works with some of the largest and most prominent financial institutions, including Canada’s Big Five banks, many US banks, several non-traditional lenders and borrowers, as well as companies in financial distress, court-appointed officers, secured and unsecured creditors, bondholders, landlords and liquidators.

Infrastructure:
Aird & Berlis provides innovative advice with respect to the structuring, procurement, financing, refinancing and divestiture of complex infrastructure projects across Canada and internationally, including public-private partnerships. The firm advises a broad range of both public sector and private sector participants.

Intellectual Property:
Aird & Berlis advises clients on acquiring, protecting, enforcing, defending and exploiting their IP rights on a national and international basis. The firm provides a full range of services in IP procurement, litigation, licensing, technology transfer and corporate transactions in connection with all forms of IP, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets and domain names.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution:
Aird & Berlis acts in all forms of dispute resolution — civil lawsuits, class actions, quasi-criminal proceedings, administrative proceedings, appeals, mediation, private arbitrations or other alternative dispute resolution. The firm’s litigators have appeared at all levels of provincial and federal court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Municipal & Land Use Planning:
Aird & Berlis advises landowners, developers, financial institutions, municipalities and various public interest groups on municipal, land use planning and development matters. The firm’s municipal lawyers regularly appear before local and regional councils, land division committees, committees of adjustment, the courts and various tribunals dealing with land use, such as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

Real Estate:
Aird & Berlis represents clients involved in the development, construction and management of office buildings, hotels, residential and commercial condominiums, residential rental projects, retirement homes and shopping centres. The firm’s real estate sector expertise spans new development, land use planning, commercial leasing, real estate enforcement, acquisitions, financing and dispositions.

Tax:
Aird & Berlis is highly regarded on a national and international basis for tax planning, structuring of domestic and international business transactions and resolving tax disputes. The firm provides advice on mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, reorganisations, income trusts, mutual and hedge funds, private equity formation and structuring, partnerships, joint ventures, derivatives, executive compensation and relocation, foreign affiliate transactions, foreign investment entities, cross-border loans, transfer pricing and tax controversy.

Workplace:
Aird & Berlis advises employers on workplace law matters, including wrongful and constructive dismissals, employment contracts, accommodation, compensation and benefits, harassment, privacy, human rights, restructurings, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts and occupational health and safety issues.