Boutique firm Brown Mills Klinck Prezioso LLP is well-placed to support employers and administrators with the gamut of pensions and benefits matters, including those relating to M&A transactions, plan restructuring and executive compensation. The group’s six partners share leadership of the practice: the ‘simply phenomenal’ Elizabeth Brown, Terra Klinck, John Prezioso, Sean Maxwell, Lindsay McLeod and Jennifer Agnew. Also noted are counsel Cary Wong, who is well-versed in providing advice on legislative and regulatory compliance matters involving pension and benefit plans; and associate Pamela Odina, who routinely assists public and private-sector clients with pension plan design, administration, compliance, funding and governance. Sean Maxwell and associate Maggie Carmichael joined from Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in May 2024. Lisa Mills retired in June the same year.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP's pensions group is equipped to advise on the gamut of pension and benefit plans matters, including executive compensation arrangements, retirement compensation arrangements, employee share ownership plans, deferred income arrangements and profit-sharing plans. The team is frequently instructed by banks and companies in the energy and financial services segment. Toronto-based Jeffrey Sommers acts as sole practice head following the December 2023 retirement of Kathryn Bush. Sommers is well-versed in advising clients on the taxation, funding, administration and winding-up of pension and group benefit plans. Additional key contacts include Montreal-based Natalie Bussière, who handles both employment and pensions matters; and senior counsel Jeremy Forgie and partners Adam Ngan and Philipp Knoll in Toronto. Lindsay McLeod left the firm in May 2023, as did Sean Maxwell in May 2024. Pensions and benefits-focused counsel Jessica Bullock joined the Toronto office in June 2024.

Fasken's pensions group is regularly instructed by employers, plan administrators, financial institutions, governments, pension regulators and benefits consultants seeking support with regulatory, governance, litigation, insolvency, investment and transactional matters. The department is directed by Toronto-based Ross Gascho, who specializes in the implementation, administration, funding, governance and wind-up of pension, group benefit and profit-sharing plans. Additional contacts of note include Michael Wolpert, who splits his time between Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver; Dominique Monet (Ottawa and Montreal); and Toronto-based associate Allyson Marta, who majors on pension plan compliance, governance, investments and administration.

The Vancouver-based pensions group at Lawson Lundell LLP is routinely instructed by corporate and union clients seeking support with establishing, governing, litigating, investing in and terminating pension and employee benefit plans. Murray Campbell directs the practice group and specializes in the reorganization and modernization of pension and benefit plans. Also noted are Kenneth Burns (pension plan governance and regulatory applications); Lisa Chamzuk, whose practice has particular emphasis on multi-employer pension plans and health and welfare trusts; and Meghan Popp, who focuses on the legal and regulatory issues that impact single and multi-employer plans.

McCarthy Tétrault's pensions group is specialized in the establishment, administration and governance of pension plans, benefit and executive compensation plans, and the investment of pension plan assets. Employers, administrators, sponsors, governments, regulators and service providers frequently look to the team for support. Practice head Susan Nickerson focuses on risk management, plan conversion and funding mandates, as well as the implementation of new plan designs. Also noted are Deron Waldock, Scott Bell and Kelleher Lynch, who take care of the sponsorship, governance and administration of pension plans, health and welfare benefits and other employee compensation arrangements.

The pensions practice at Torys specializes in plan drafting, administration and governance, wind-ups, plan mergers, pension investments and tax issues, as well as regulatory matters and transactional support. The practice is directed by Toronto-based Tom Stevenson, who focuses on the interpretation and application of pension, benefits and human rights legislation in the workplace, and who assists clients with the drafting and implementation of plans. The ‘excellent’ Stephanie Kalinowski, previously at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, joined the group in June 2023. Raegan Kennedy, who has experience advising private equity, infrastructure and real estate-sector clients; and Jennifer Lennon (employment and benefits matters), were promoted to the partnership in January 2024.

The pensions practice at Dentons provides clients from the healthcare, transportation and forestry sectors with pension governance administration assistance, the design of incentive plans and executive compensation plans, and advice on pension matters in the context of corporate transactions. The group is co-directed by Vancouver-based Scott Sweatman and Toronto-based Pamela Chan Ebejer. Sweatman has particular expertise in advising athletes on retirement compensation arrangements, while Chan Ebejer handles pensions, labour and employment work. Toronto-based counsel Barbara Walancik-Hatch joined the firm in November 2023.