Courses
Choosing Your Business Structure: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Corporation
How to choose the right legal structure for a Canadian business — the legal, tax, and liability implications of sole proprietorship, partnership, and incorporation, and how to think through the decision.
Incorporating in Canada: The Process and What It Means
How to incorporate a business in Canada — federal vs. provincial incorporation, the required documents, what the corporate structure means legally, and the ongoing obligations that come with it.
Shareholder Agreements: What They Do and Why You Need One
How shareholder agreements work in Canadian private companies — what they govern, the key provisions every agreement should address, and what happens to shareholders who do not have one.
Director and Officer Duties and Personal Liability
The legal duties of directors and officers in Canadian corporations — the duty of care and fiduciary duty, the statutory liabilities that attach to director status, and how to manage personal exposure.
Buying and Selling a Business
A comprehensive Canadian course on purchasing and selling a business, from structure, valuation and due diligence to contracts, closing, employment and remedies. Two additional case studies examine the lasting obligations illustrated by Strongco and Stelco.
Winding Up, Dissolution, and Insolvency
How Canadian corporations are wound up, dissolved, or restructured when they cannot continue — voluntary dissolution, creditor protection, bankruptcy, and the obligations of directors when the business is in financial distress.
Shareholder Oppression Claims: Standing, Derivative Actions, and Abuse of Process
Examination of shareholder oppression claims, derivative action standing requirements, and abuse of process doctrine in multi-jurisdictional corporate litigation following a failed takeover attempt.
Estate Freezes for Small Business Owners: Legal Structure and Mechanics
Examines the legal structure and mechanics of an estate freeze for a Red Deer dentist transferring a $2.8 million professional corporation to three adult children under Alberta and federal tax law.
Protecting Creative Characters and Brands in Canada
How copyright, trademarks and ownership interact when a Canadian food business develops animated mascots.