The Lexpert Guides to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate and Litigation Lawyers in Canada profiles leading business lawyers and features articles for attorneys and in-house counsel in the US about business law issues in Canada.
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INSOLVENCY & FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING Benjamin Zarnett Goodmans LLP Tel: (416) 597-4204 Fax: (416) 979-1234 Toronto bzarnett@goodmans.ca Sandra Abitan Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Tel: (514) 904-5648 Fax: (514) 904-8101 Montréal sabitan@osler.com Martin Desrosiers Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Tel: (514) 904-5649 Fax: (514) 904-8101 Montréal mdesrosiers@osler.com Marc Duchesne Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Tel: (514) 954-3102 Fax: (514) 954-1905 Montréal mduchesne@blg.com Partner. Practices as trial and appellate counsel, emphasizing commercial cases involving public companies, financial institutions and government. Has practiced before the SCC, FCC, all levels of courts in Ontario and many administrative tribunals. Lead counsel in some of the most important, high-profile cases that have recently been decided in Canada, including the litigation involving the restructuring of the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper market, the contest over the acquisition of BCE, the Danier Leather class action, and the Indalex priority dispute. Awarded 2006 Law Society Medal (highest honor) by LSUC, the 2007 Award of Distinction by TLA for outstanding contributions to the legal profession and the 2009 OBA Award for Excellence in Civil Litigation. Named "Toronto Litigator of the Year" for Bet-the-Company (2013/2010), Corporate/Commercial (2012) and Class Action (2011) by The Best Lawyers in Canada. Named "Ontario Litigator of the Year" at the 1st Benchmark Canada Awards (2013). Past President of the TAS(O). ACTL Fellow. Extensive list of publications and public speeches. Sandra Abitan is a partner in the Montréal office's Insolvency & Restructuring Group. Specializing in complex corporate restructurings and insolvencies, she advises major financial institutions, banks, court-appointed monitors and trustees, boards of directors, Canadian and US asset-based lenders and liquidators and asset purchasers. She has provided restructuring/financing advice to a number of major private and public corporations operating in a variety of areas including real estate, telecommunications, steel manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors. She is a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, Turnaround Management Association, ABI and IWIRC. Abitan is listed in Chambers Global: The World's Leading Business Lawyers, The Lexpert ® Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada, as well as The Best Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in corporate restructuring and insolvency. She also won the Lexology Client Choice Award in 2011, 2012 and 2013 for the Insolvency & Restructuring category for Québec. Called to the Québec Bar in 1990. Partner in the Insolvency and Restructuring Group in the Montréal office. Represents financial institutions, trustees, receivers, debtors and committees of creditors. Has been involved in numerous complex corporate bankruptcies and reorganizations. Has published articles and lectured on topics focusing on insolvency law, banking law and the legislative amendments to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Civil Code of Québec. Has been involved with the Office of the Superintendent in bankruptcy with respect to trustee insolvency tutorials and sat on the board for the oral examinations leading to a trustee licence. Member of the ABI, CBA (former Chairman of the bankruptcy and insolvency Québec section), Canadian Turnaround Management Association, INSOL International and member of the Québec Bar Disciplinary Committee. Graduate of the Université de Montréal (BSc, 1979; LLB, 1982). Admitted to the Québec Bar in 1983. Partner and Montréal regional leader of BLG's Financial Services Group and Insolvency and Restructuring Group. Acts as solicitor and litigator in banking, bankruptcy and insolvency matters and corporate restructurings. Advises financial institutions, creditors, venture capital funds, receivers, monitors and trustees and represents their interests before courts. Assists debtors and stakeholders in restructuring and insolvencies. Experience includes national and cross-border insolvencies, complex liquidation and securities-related insolvency situations. Recent mandates include being counsel to Ernst & Young Inc., advisor to the Pan Canadian Investors Committee (Canadian ABCP) and representation of Noteholders in AbitibiBowater. A frequent conference speaker on the subjects of security, bankruptcy and insolvency. Member of the Board of Directors of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, CBA, INSOL International, ABI, Canadian Turnaround Management Association. Current member of the Québec Bar advisory committee on insolvency legislation. Called to the Québec Bar in 1981. LEXPERT • December 2013 | www.lexpert.ca | 103