Professional notice
Canada
Blake Cassels & Graydon continues to house the top competition practice in Canada. The Blakes team was the first – and sometimes the only – firm mentioned by rivals when asked about their most formidable competition in the Canadian market. Led by Who’s Who Legal nominees Brian Facey and Calvin S Goldman QC, the Blakes competition group consistently wins work on the country’s most contentious deals – so much so that the firm has created an entire new group to deal with document production related to supplementary information requests (SIRs) in high-stakes mergers. The group has handled at least four SIRs this year and close to 20 over the two-plus years they’ve been in existence, building unmatched expertise in the market. The contentious side of the practice has been equally as impressive. Fellow Who’s Who Legal nominees Jason Gudofsky, Randall Hofley, Robert E Kwinter and Julie Soloway highlight a 16-partner team.
Facey describes 2012 as the “year of the Bell” in the Blakes group, as he and his merger team have guided the Canadian telecoms heavyweight through a handful of contentious deals. The Bell/Astral merger is the headliner, but the group also acted for Bell in its joint venture with rival Rogers to take over Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and in the company’s acquisition of Q9. Elsewhere on the merger front, the team is acting for Nexen in its cross-border deal with China National Offshore Oil Company; Maple Group in its contentious deal with TMX; Outokumpu in its purchase of Inoxum; and several others.
On the litigation side, the team has acted for companies involved in arguably the three most high-profile Competition Bureau challenges over the past year or so. The Blakes group is acting for Visa in the bureau’s interchange fees case, and United in the bureau’s challenge of its metal-neutral joint venture with Air Canada. The team also acted for a complainant in the bureau’s CCS merger challenge. In class actions, Blakes is working for Microsoft in its software class action and Samsung in the Quebec DRAM case – two of the three matters the Supreme Court will use to decide whether indirect purchasers can sue for antitrust damages in Canada. The firm’s list of cartel cases and follow-on class actions is long; it includes the Quebec retail gas case, chocolate, air cargo, DRAM, hydrogen peroxide and numerous others.
The Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group is repeatedly acknowledged as the leading practice in Canada. It has attracted a formidable team of practitioners and developed recognized expertise in every aspect of competition law and foreign investment review. Blakes is frequently retained by major domestic and international companies and by international and domestic law firms to provide strategic counsel and representation in merger reviews, cartel investigations, abuse of dominance cases, distribution practices, advertising matters and other competition issues. Blakes is also a leading firm with respect to securing merger approvals for non-Canadian purchasers under Canada’s foreign investment laws.
Blakes is frequently at the forefront of high-profile competition litigation matters, including contentious mergers, advertising, abuse of dominance, reviewable trade practices and other civil matters before the Canadian Competition Tribunal, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Our lawyers also appear before the superior courts and the Supreme Court of Canada on criminal matters and class actions.
Blakes has a proven track record of success in acting for clients on multinational transactions and investigations where co-ordination among counsel and agencies in the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions is a paramount objective. Blakes lawyers understand how competition laws fit within the broader context of complex corporate transactions and business affairs generally. Blakes can draw on the Firm's vast resources and leading expertise in related practice areas, such as litigation, securities and intellectual property. The Firm's expertise and proven experience allow it to provide clients with the timely, practical and strategic advice necessary to ensure compliance with competition laws while facilitating their transactions and assisting them in realizing their business objectives.
CANADA
199 Bay Street
Suite 4000, Commerce Court West
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M5L 1A9
Calvin S. Goldman, Q.C.
Co-chair, Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group
E: [email protected]
Brian A. Facey
Co-chair, Blakes Competition, Antitrust & Foreign Investment Group
E: [email protected]
Visit our website at www.blakes.com