Setting Up/Knocking Down Asset Protection Structures

Faculty Agenda Download Brochure PDF

Debtors have always been interested in effective shields, just as creditors have sought powerful swords. But today’s turbulent business/investment environment has turned up the pressures on both – pressures which are passed on to legal counsel and other professional advisors. It has never been more important for corporations and individuals to shield their assets from creditors, and for creditors to bring expertise and creativity to bear on their quest to pursue every possible avenue for recovery.

OsgoodePD’s unique program, Setting Up/Knocking Down Asset Protection Structures, will provide you with a tangible edge in acting for either side.

Leading corporate lawyers from across North America, commercial litigators, tax and insolvency counsel, and forensic experts will join in a candid discussion of the strengths, weaknesses and risks of various strategies for shielding clients’ personal and corporate wealth from creditors and their counsel.

A multidisciplinary faculty of experts will address key issues including:

• How far can the lawyer safely go in setting up an asset-protection regime, and how is this affected by timing?
• The most relevant insolvency laws
• Under-used remedies in pursuing debtor assets and how to use them
• What Canadian lawyers can learn from the U.S. experience with asset protection plans
• The state of the art in asset location and recovery in both home and foreign jurisdictions across a ‘wired world’

Faculty

Chairs

• Jeffrey S. Leon, Bennett Jones LLP
• Raj S. Sahni, Bennett Jones LLP

Keynote Speaker

• The Hon. Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel, Superior Court of Justice (Ontario)

Faculty

• Chris Burr, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
• Jennie Chan, Managing Director, Kroll
• Patricia Donlevy-Rosen, Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
• John. L Finnigan, Thornton Finnigan Grout LLP
• Geoff R. Hall, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
• Alex Ilchenko, Pallett Valo LLP
• Bob Klotz, Klotz Associates
• Jacqueline Mills, Barrister & Solicitor
• James W. Murdoch, Thorsteinssons LLP Tax Lawyers
• Jim Patterson, Bennett Jones LLP
• Samuel M. Robinson, Stockwoods LLP
• Howard D. Rosen, Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
• Maureen Ward, Bennett Jones LLP

Agenda

• Setting Up/Knocking Down Asset Protection Structures

  Original Date: March 3, 2015

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  • 9:00 am
    Chairs’ Welcome and Introductory Remarks
  • 9:05 am
    Asset Protection: Essential Background Law and Recent Developments for Corporate Lawyers and Litigators

    Geoff R. Hall, McCarthy Tétrault LLP

    This session will highlight key sections of the BIA, CCAA, Criminal Code and other relevant legislation, with leading caselaw. A firm foundation for the exploration of strategic and tactical considerations over the day!

    • Protected assets: what’s exigible, what isn’t?
    • Significance of the distinction between fraudulent conveyances and fraud
    • The most effective creditors’ remedies for challenging asset protection structures
  • 10:00 am
    Creditor-Proofi ng: What’s Workable, What’s Permissible and What Crosses the Line?

    Bob Klotz, Klotz Associates

    In creditor-proofing situations, you must address the triple risks of criminal liability, civil liability and prosecution for professional misconduct, and the varying standards applicable to each. This session will assess the difficulties and identify realistic solutions regarding the nature and scope of advice you can safely provide.

    • Dealing with pressures from clients, colleagues and referral sources to enter the ‘gray zone’
    • Can counsel effect a transaction in a ‘value-free’ manner? Drawing the line between ‘mere legal advisor’ and ‘principal actor in the transaction’
    • Constructing an ‘ethical safety net’ to protect yourself
    • Where fraud is alleged, how will courts exercise their discretion to protect or withdraw solicitor-client privilege?
  • 10:45 am
    Refreshment Break
  • 11:00 am
    What’s a Nice Lawyer Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Ethical and Professional Issues in Asset Protection

    Patricia Donlevy-Rosen, Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
    Alex Ilchenko, Pallett Valo LLP
    Moderator
    Jeffrey S. Leon, Bennett Jones LLP

    Building on the previous session, this panel brings U.S. and Canadian expertise to bear on the tough judgment calls to be made in asset protection scenarios where too few clear guideposts exist.

    • When is it too late in the day to protect effectively against potential creditor claims?
    • The line between prudent planning and fraud – how far can you go, as a matter of professionalism and prudence?
    • The lawyer’s exposure as a potential witness
    • Potential professional liability issues
    • Privacy and confidentiality issues
    • The know-your-client rule’s application to asset protection – what you can/can’t do
  • 12:00 pm
    Luncheon and Keynote Address

    The Hon. Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel, Superior Court of Justice (Ontario)

    A distinguished judge from the Commercial List illuminates how counsel can most effectively adduce the arguments and evidence for or against asset protection structures under attack in the Court.

  • 1:00 pm
    Protecting/Pursuing the Assets of Owner-Managers and Closely-Held Companies

    Chris Burr, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
    Samuel M. Robinson, Stockwoods LLP

    Experienced counsel unpack the critical considerations in attacking or defending asset protection structures implemented by owner-managers or partners in the context of closely-held businesses.

    • Use of multiple corporate structures
    • Availability and scope of indemnities
    • Approaches to capitalizing the business
    • Ownership of family assets
    • Preserving retirement savings
    • Role of estate planning and shareholders’ agreements
    • Distributing profits
    • Securing shareholder advances
  • 1:45 pm
    Issues and Strategies in Key Areas

    Jacqueline Mills, Barrister & Solicitor
    James W. Murdoch, Thorsteinssons LLP Tax Lawyers
    Raj S. Sahni, Bennett Jones LLP
    Maureen Ward, Bennett Jones LLP

    Marriage Dissolution

    • Excluding assets from family property
    • Relevant provisions in marriage contracts
    • Shareholder agreement provisions: how much immunity do they confer?

    Protecting/Pursuing Corporate Decisionmaker’s Assets

    • Scope, strengths and limitations of D & O insurance and indemnities
    • Role and scope of due diligence

    Moving Wealth Offshore: Shangri-La or Lost Horizon?

    • Structures used and their relative chances of success
    • Choosing jurisdictions: strengths, weaknesses, risk assessment, transaction costs
    • When may this strategy be counterproductive or ‘boomerang’?

    Plus: Specific problems involving insolvent debtors
  • 3:05 pm
    Refreshment Break
  • 3:15 pm
    Where’s Waldo’s Stuff? Chasing Assets Around a Wired World

    Jennie Chan, Managing Director, Kroll
    John. L Finnigan, Thornton Finnigan Grout LLP
    Howard D. Rosen, Donlevy-Rosen & Rosen, P.A.
    Jim Patterson, Bennett Jones LLP

    A fast-moving, still-evolving area in which corporate clients and their counsel pit their wits and ingenuity against creditors’ litigation counsel and the forensic experts who assist them. Speakers of diverse experience and expertise will share their most timely tips and insights.

    • Locating, identifying, freezing and recovering assets
    • Safeguarding assets during the course of an investigation
    • Meeting standards of ethical conduct without invasion of privacy or breach of confidentiality
    • Working with counsel in other jurisdictions to facilitate cross-border and international asset tracing
    • Harnessing the power of forensic technology tools
    • Obtaining evidence for freeze orders in multiple jurisdictions
  • 4:45 pm
    Program Ends

Group Discounts

2-3 delegates: 25% off archived program fee
4-10 delegates: 30% off archived program fee
11+ delegates: 35% off archived program fee
Boardroom rates available.

Delivery

The video stream, including link to program materials will be sent to you via email as soon as payment is successfully processed.

Refunds

All sales are final. Please make all enquiries related to program content and CPD/MCLE credit hours prior to purchase. In the event you experience technical difficulties, please contact opdsupport@osgoode.yorku.ca for assistance.