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About Paul

Paul is Practice Group Leader of the Blakes Financial Services group. His own practice encompasses all aspects of the regulation of financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies and other regulated and unregulated providers of financial services.

Paul advises on governance, enterprise risk management, business and ownership structures, payments, resolution planning, market conduct, product development, permitted investments, capital, related-party transactions, licensing, distribution and all other regulatory issues.

He also advises on new entrants, demutualizations, acquisitions, pension derisking transactions, divestitures, reorganizations and joint ventures involving financial service providers, and advises financial services providers on inter-company agreements, cross-border delivery of services, outsourcing agreements, referral arrangements, and regulatory investigations and proceedings.

Paul spent 18 months in 1991/92 seconded to the Financial Institutions Division of the federal government's Department of Finance, where he was engaged in the development and implementation of Canadian financial-sector policy.

Paul is a member of the Blakes Executive Committee.

Select Experience
  • Definity Financial (formerly Economical Mutual Insurance Company) on the first property and casualty demutualization in Canada

  • Global Payments Inc. in its acquisition of the merchant acquiring business and portfolio of 40,000 merchants of Desjardins Group

  • Republic Financial Holdings Limited in its acquisition of Scotiabank (British Virgin Islands) Limited from The Bank of Nova Scotia

  • Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada on its assumption reinsurance of British Columbia Life and Casualty Company

  • MCAP Financial Corporation on its C$1.5-billion mortgage purchase from Home Trust Company

  • The Toronto-Dominion Bank on its acquisition of artificial intelligence firm Layer 6 Inc. and acquisition of institutional asset manager Greystone Managed Investments Inc.

  • Canadian Tire Corporation on its agreement with Scotiabank regarding a strategic partnership that will see Scotiabank acquire a 20% equity interest in Canadian Tire's financial services business for C$500-million in cash
Awards & Recognition

Paul is recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:

  • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2023 (Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory, Banking & Finance: Financial Services Regulation)

  • Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2023 (Banking & Finance – Financial Services)

  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2023 (Banking and Finance Law)

  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2022 (Banking & Financial Institutions and Financial Institutions Regulation – Ontario)

  • The Legal 500 Canada 2022 (Insurance and Banking & Finance)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Global (2022: Banking – Finance and Regulatory; 2021: Insurance & Reinsurance)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders (2022: GBBR; 2020: Insurance & Reinsurance)

  • IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial and Corporate Law Firms – 2021 Edition (Financial Services Regulatory – Highly Regarded)

  • Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyers 2021 – Independently Rated Lawyers (As nominated by senior in-house counsel)

  • Who’s Who Legal: Canada 2021 (Banking and Insurance & Reinsurance)

  • The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada 2019 (Banking & Financial Institutions)

  • The 2019 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada (Financing)

  • Euromoney's LMG Insurance and Reinsurance Expert Guide 2019

  • Euromoney's LMG Banking, Finance and Transactional Expert Guide 2019 (Banking)

In 2002, Paul was named one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" by Lexpert, a magazine for lawyers, in Lexpert's first such report.

Professional Activities

Paul is Co-chair of the Firm's Pro Bono Committee.

Publications
Education

Admitted to the Ontario Bar – 1988
LLB, University of Western Ontario – 1986

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