Expertise

Practice Profile

Registration & Compliance

Cassels Brock has focused on securities registration, litigation, regulatory defence of dealers and compliance matters as a discrete practice area for over ten years, and has established one of Canada’s leading practices in the area. Our Registration and Compliance Group has worked on all aspects of securities regulatory projects, including some of the most significant regulatory transactions in Canada.  Our experience enables us to provide valuable service to our clients. Our strong working relationship with the regulators across Canada puts our clients onto a solid footing in all regulatory matters. Our views are respected by regulators and the results we achieve for our clients reflect this.

We understand the business of being a dealer, adviser or investment fund manager in the Canadian securities industry. We tailor our services to fit our clients’ business needs, objectives and budgets. Over the years, we have provided advice to, among others, the following registrants:

• Investment Dealers
• Mutual Fund Dealers
• Exempt Market Dealers
• Portfolio Managers
• Investment Fund Managers
• Commodities Merchants and Advisers
• Operators of Alternative Trading Systems
• International firms looking to access the Canadian capital markets

Our Registration and Compliance Group has been involved with all aspects of securities registration, litigation, regulatory defence and compliance in Canada, including:

• Interpreting and applying legal and regulatory requirements
• Applications for registration and SRO membership
• Applications for exemptions from the requirements of securities legislation, including registration and prospectus requirements
• Corporate (e.g., structuring new applicants, reorganizing registered entities)
• Compliance (e.g., responding to regulators, various levels of diagnostic review)
• Litigation (e.g., court and regulatory hearings, regulatory interviews, investigations, audits and settlements) and litigation support (e.g., expert evidence)
• Training and continuing education Contracts (e.g., advisory agreements, account documents, referral agreements)
• Corporate Finance (e.g., public and private financing of registered entities)
• Mergers & Acquisitions (e.g., buying and selling registered entities through share or asset transactions, public take-over bids)
• Due diligence
• Products (e.g., mutual funds, pooled funds, ETFs, other investment funds, structured products, wrap programs)

Registration Reform and National Instrument 31-103

Cassels Brock has formed a strategic alliance with Sutton Boyce Gilkes Consulting Group Inc. (SBG) to address the implications of National Instrument 31-103 (NI 31-103) and provide integrated services to our clients. SBG is an independent consulting company formed in 2009 as the successor to the business of Cassels Brock Regulatory Consulting Inc., the consulting company formed as an affiliate of Cassels Brock in 2001. Operating under the banner of Registration & Compliance Alliance, Cassels Brock and SBG are well positioned to assist clients in understanding and complying with the new requirements under NI 31-103 and consequential amendments to other securities law.

More information about the Registration and Compliance Alliance.
 

We published a series of Did You Know Bulletins and related Commentaries to assist registrants with an understanding of the impact that NI 31-103 will have on their current registration status once NI 31-103 becomes effective on or about September 28, 2009.

View our NI 31-103 Readiness Resources.