employment and labour relations
discipline and wrongful dismissal
employee privacy
employment agreements and policies
harassment and discrimination
labour relations
mergers and acquisitions
pension and benefits
workplace health and safety
« Back to Practices

pension and benefits

Our pension and benefit lawyers assist clients in managing all aspects of legal compliance and risk management of the range of retirement savings arrangements including registered and unregistered pension and retirement savings plans and programs.

We advise plan sponsors with advice on legal compliance requirements and options for pension, retirement savings arrangements and benefit plans, including strategic advice, document preparation and review in respect of plan governance, administration and member services, investment management, compliance monitoring, negotiations and documentation of relationships with third party service providers, and relationships with regulators; dispute resolution and litigation support.

We advise vendors or purchasers in M&A transactions, including expert due diligence support on a high or in depth level of review, analysis and advice in respect to material pension-related issues; purchase price adjustment; identify pension liabilities to be assumed or excluded; draft  pension and benefit representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities to manage known or unknown risks. Our lawyers assist creditors and lenders in identifying and assessing material pension and benefit issues and options in debt products.

We review or draft effective pension terms, reporting and monitoring requirements in credit agreements to minimize risk of deemed pension trusts or super priorities. We also assist plan sponsors in drafting pension terms in applications for protection under insolvency legislation. We negotiate pension terms with regulators and creditors, and assist potential buyers of distressed assets in drafting pension terms for the purchase agreements of distressed shares or assets of insolvent plan sponsor. We provide guidance and advice on the legal implications and potential liability of directors and officers in respect to plan funding deficits.




Publications / Presentations
May 2012
Pension Claims in Employee Termination Cases
employment and labour bulletin
May 2012
employment and labour newsletter - May 2012
February 2012
mandatory retirement eliminated for Canadian federal sphere employees
employment and labour bulletin
December 2011
employment and labour newsletter - December 2011
August 2011
employment and labour newsletter - August 2011