CALGARY (MAY 27, 2013) – Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes), one of Canada’s leading business law firms, today announced that Christopher Brown has joined the Firm’s Calgary office.
“Our Firm’s pension lawyers are renowned domestically and internationally as among the very best in the business,” said Brock Gibson, the Firm’s Chair. “Chris has excellent credentials, and we are pleased to welcome him to Blakes.”
Mr. Brown counsels clients on the impact of legal and regulatory requirements for pensions, employee benefits, and executive and other deferred compensation plans. He provides practical, strategic guidance on governance, funding and structuring of these plans, and advises on the impacts of mergers and acquisitions or other transactions on plans. He also works with colleagues on litigation matters relating to such plans.
Mr. Brown advises sponsors of both single and multi-employer plans, be they provincially or federally regulated. He has extensive experience regarding legal issues impacting a wide variety of business trust structures.
He has served as co-chair of the Alberta-British Columbia Joint Expert Panel on Pension Standards. As part of this government-appointed industry panel, he worked with five of Alberta and B.C.’s leading experts in pensions and benefits to review pension legislation in the two provinces and make recommendations for fundamental reforms to the pension system. He is the president and a member of the National Board of Directors of the Association of Canadian Pension Management and a past member of its Alberta Council. He also sat on the Stakeholder Task Force on Common Pension Standards for the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities.
About Our Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation Group
Blakes is proud to count among our clients many of the largest Canadian pension and benefit plans and funds, both public and private. In addition, we have been pleased to advise investment managers, trust companies, banks and insurance companies regarding investment products and services for pension, health and welfare funds. Even foreign businesses and their lawyers rely on us for our unsurpassed Canadian expertise. Our group’s partners have served as both past and present chairs and members of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and the Financial Services Tribunal. We constantly strive to further improve our enviable reputation in the benefits industry in Canada.
About Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
At Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, we serve a diverse national and international client base and our integrated office network provides clients with access to the Firm’s full spectrum of capabilities in virtually every area of business law. Blakes has offices across Canada and in New York, Chicago, London, Bahrain, Beijing and associated offices in Al-Khobar and Shanghai. Thanks to our clients and the challenging work they generate, Blakes was named “Law Firm of the Year: Canada” for 2013 by Chambers and Partners. This is the fourth time we have been honoured with this award, more than any other Canadian firm. In 2012, Blakes was named “Canada Law Firm of the Year” for the fourth consecutive year by Who’s Who Legal. For the last five years, Blakes has been the busiest Canadian M&A law firm, according to Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters league tables.
