Financial Services

Overview
Who To Contact
Representative Matters
Recent Developments

The Aird & Berlis Financial Services Group is a dynamic and collaborative team of lawyers with deep experience across the full spectrum of financing, insolvency, restructuring and recovery matters. We advise agents, lenders, borrowers, secured parties, investors and other stakeholders through all stages of the credit lifecycle, combining legal expertise with commercial insight. Whether clients require an efficient path to close a transaction or a sophisticated and innovative solution to a complex challenge, our lawyers act as trusted advisors focused on practical, results‑driven outcomes.

Our integrated approach brings together our Banking & Finance and Insolvency & Restructuring professionals, delivering well‑considered advice that spans from the structuring of financing arrangements through enforcement, recovery and distressed scenarios. By advising both creditors and debtors and working seamlessly across practice areas, we help clients identify potential challenges early, minimize risk, preserve value and achieve desirable outcomes, including in high‑stakes or rapidly evolving situations.

We regularly advise on domestic Canadian and cross‑border financial services matters, assisting Canadian and international clients, together with their foreign legal teams, on cross‑border lending, secured financings, restructurings and insolvency transactions involving Canada. Drawing on the resources of a full‑service firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver, and longstanding relationships with key market participants across Canada and internationally, we provide sophisticated, practical advice on Canadian legal and regulatory considerations impacting complex, multi‑jurisdictional transactions. Our lawyers work closely with clients and counsel in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other key jurisdictions, with a clear focus on executing transactions efficiently and advancing our clients’ strategic objectives.

Our Financial Services Group is recognized in leading legal directories, including Chambers Canada, The Best Lawyers in Canada, Legal 500 and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. These accolades reflect not only our expertise and technical capabilities, but also the high level of trust placed in us by our clients. Recognized for our commitment to results, our lawyers are known for delivering exceptional value by providing practical, commercially focused advise on sophisticated financing transactions.

Our group regularly publishes the Financial Perspectives newsletter, featuring key client activities, legislative updates and case law developments. To read our current edition, click here.

Core Services:

Banking & Finance: We represent a broad and diverse client base, including Canada’s Big Six Banks, leading U.S. and European financial institutions and a diverse range of non-traditional lenders and borrowers. Whether advising established lenders, supporting first-time borrowers or managing global transactions, we tailor strategic legal solutions to meet each client’s unique business goals.

For more information, go to our Banking & Finance web page.

Restructuring & Insolvency: Our practice covers the full breadth of insolvency services, including formal and informal restructuring proceedings, receiverships (court‑appointed and private), bankruptcies, enforcement matters, distressed transactions, creditor remedies, and regulatory investigations. We act for a full range of stakeholders – including Schedule I banks and other financial institutions, secured and unsecured creditors, court‑appointed officers, purchasers, landlords, investors, corporations and government bodies – and are relied on for both sophisticated advisory work and highly technical litigation support. Clients see us as a trusted extension of their management teams, relying on us for intelligent, commercial advice and pragmatic solutions. We also draw on our extensive industry relationships to connect clients with financing partners who can provide emergency funding or step in as replacement lenders when capital solutions are urgently needed.

For more information, go to our Restructuring & Insolvency web page.