Ian Aversa is a partner and member of the Financial Services Group and the Litigation Group at Aird & Berlis.

Ian works with his clients to develop sophisticated acquisition, divestiture and recovery strategies, negotiate complex commercial agreements and financings, manage and strategize time-sensitive litigation matters and deliver business-focused solutions to a broad range of corporate and commercial issues.

Ian maintains an active restructuring and insolvency law practice focused on the corporate and litigation aspects of financial restructurings, mergers and acquisitions and distressed lending. He has been involved in some of Canada’s largest restructuring proceedings and is frequently retained to act for court officers appointed under the BIA, the CCAA and other corporate statutes. Ian also has significant experience negotiating the purchase and sale of distressed assets and businesses and structuring DIP financing and other distressed lending transactions.

Ian regularly appears as counsel before Toronto’s Commercial List, well-known and respected for both restructuring matters and complex business disputes.

Ian advises corporations, Schedule I banks and other financial institutions, court-appointed officers, secured creditors and bondholders, landlords, purchasers and financiers on domestic and international matters in a variety of industries, with a particular focus on financial services, technology, social media, retail, transportation, real estate, construction, mining and health care.

A frequent writer and presenter, Ian has authored a number of publications and is often called on to speak at industry conferences. Ian is the Communications Officer of the National Insolvency Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and the Chair of the Insolvency Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association.

In 2019, Ian was recognized by Lexpert as one of the leading lawyers under 40 in Canada.

Greg Azeff is a Partner in the Restructuring Group at Miller Thomson LLP in Toronto. He has worked with businesses from a wide range of industries including banking & financial services, securities, information technology, mining, shipping, property development, media & publishing, professional services and commercial aviation. Greg has acted in some of the largest and most complex restructurings in Canada, and has played a lead role in a number of international insolvency and commercial litigation cases involving jurisdictions in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Greg has substantial experience representing debtors, creditors, trustees, receivers and CCAA monitors in court-supervised insolvency proceedings. In addition, he has acted as court-appointed representative counsel to creditor groups in a number of high-profile cases.

Greg regularly assists distressed businesses avoid court proceedings, by guiding them through out-of-court reorganizations, divestitures and refinancings.

Greg has significant experience and expertise in international asset tracing, and he is often consulted on cases involving sophisticated fraud, hidden assets and money laundering.

Greg is a frequent author, speaker and panelist on topics related to bankruptcy and insolvency law as well as asset tracing, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency forensics, privacy law and the cannabis industry.

J.J. practices in the area of corporate recovery and insolvency law, as well as in pension and benefits law.

In the area of corporate recovery and insolvency law, J.J. provides advice regarding corporate recovery strategies, debt restructuring, arrangements, proposals, loans, loan recovery and enforcement, liquidations shareholder, director and employee issues, lender liability, farm enforcement (including in respect of the Farm Debt Mediation Act (Canada) and mediations thereunder and applications under The Family Farm Protection Act (Manitoba) and The Farm Machinery and Equipment Act (Manitoba), bankruptcy and receivership generally. She advises corporations, banks, secondary lenders, venture capital firms, monitors, receivers, trustees, shareholders, creditors and debtors.

In the area of pension and benefits law, J.J. advises on and assists in a wide variety of matters involving pension and benefit plans, including winding-up or amendment of plans, plan creation and implementation, plan mergers, executive compensation, trust agreements and agreements for administrative services, asset transfers, surplus and distribution issues and due diligence matters.

Jessica's practice focuses on commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis in insolvency and restructuring. She advises clients on general commercial disputes, all aspects of insolvency and restructuring matters, including cross-border proceedings, banking and oil and gas related litigation, and debtor-creditor matters. She has acted for debtors, lenders and restructuring professionals, including trustees, monitors and receivers. Before joining BLG, Jessica clerked with the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, where she was articled to one of the Province's preeminent commercial justices

The Honourable Chantal Corriveau was appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec in 2005. Prior to her appointment, she had been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1983. Justice Corriveau obtained her law degree from the University of Montreal in 1982. In 1985, she completed a Masters degree in medical law at the University of Sherbrooke. For several years, she taught civil and professional liability as a lecturer at the University of Montreal.

During her career as a lawyer the Justice Corriveau practiced in the fields of civil and commercial litigation, class actions, professional liability and insurance.

Justice Corriveau was president of the Quebec branch of the Canadian Bar Association in 1997-98. She sat on several boards including the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, the Terry Fox Humanitarian Foundation and the Law for the Future Fund.

Between 2012 and 2015, Justice Corriveau was responsible for the class action division of the Superior Court, Montreal appeal division.

Jane Dietrich* is a partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency Group at Cassels. The focus of Jane’s practice is on international and domestic commercial restructurings, insolvency, and related litigation. She has expertise in formal and informal corporate reorganizations, enforcement of security, and unsecured creditor remedies. A frequent writer and presenter on insolvency-related matters, Jane has participated as a speaker for numerous organizations including the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals, the Ontario Bar Association, the Law Society of Ontario, and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Jane also taught bankruptcy law at the University of Toronto, where she was an Adjunct Professor. Jane is a Fellow and lifetime member of INSOL International – the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals. She also sits on the Board of Directors. Jane is also a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and the International Insolvency Institute. Recognitions include: Best Lawyers in Canada (Insolvency and Financial Restructuring), Chambers Canada (Restructuring/Insolvency) and Chambers Global (Restructuring/Insolvency).

*denotes Professional Corporation

Stephen Ferguson is a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal Canada in Toronto. He brings more than eighteen years of accounting and financial experience, including more than sixteen years in turnaround consulting, business leadership, performance improvement and corporate restructuring.

Mr. Ferguson has considerable experience in strategic planning, performance improvement, business plan development, refinancing and sale mandates, as well as formal court appointments. He has assisted clients across a wide range of industries, including retail, transportation, mining, media, manufacturing, energy, professional services, healthcare, construction and infrastructure, telecommunications, automotive, and forestry.

Mr. Ferguson earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, with honors, from the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee and a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada.

David Gruber practices in the areas of corporate/commercial litigation, arbitration, restructuring and insolvency, and class actions. He has appeared regularly in the superior and appellate courts of British Columbia and Ontario and in the Federal Court, and has acted in several reported cases. As well, David has significant experience in both international and domestic arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution processes, and in negotiating and advising on dispute settlements.

David’s corporate/commercial litigation experience has encompassed shareholder and partnership disputes (including oppression claims), breach of contract cases, securities matters and allegations of breach of fiduciary duty. Further, he has regularly acted on fraud and asset recovery matters, including having significant experience in obtaining Norwich orders, Mareva injunctions, Anton Pillar orders, orders in regard to fraudulent conveyances and preferences, restitution orders and disclosure orders. He has acted for corporations of all sizes, professional firms, governments, public and quasi-public institutions and for private individuals.

In the area of restructuring and insolvency, David has acted for acquirors, monitors, trustees and receivers, as well as for creditors and other affected parties, primarily in large-scale Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act matters.

David completed an undergraduate degree in architecture and worked for a time on the editorial staff of an architectural magazine before entering law school. Following graduation, he articled and practiced with a prominent litigation boutique in Victoria, British Columbia, which specializes in constitutional/administrative and commercial litigation. He took time out of his practice to do a master’s degree in law at the University of Cambridge in 1998. In 2010 David was awarded a diploma in International Commercial Arbitration and became a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Derek is an associate in both the restructuring and insolvency and commercial litigation practice groups. He articled at TGF where he gained a wide variety of experience in both practice areas.

Derek was the recipient of the prestigious 2019 IIC Law Student Writing Award for his paper entitled “The “Key” to Success? KERPs in Canadian Restructuring Law”, which was published in the 2020 edition of the Journal of the Insolvency Institute of Canada.

While attending Western University for law school, he was a member of the Dean’s List and participated in the 2018 Gale Cup. In the fall of 2018, he spent a term on exchange at the National University of Singapore where he was the recipient of the Thomson Reuters Prize in International Commercial Litigation.

Lisa Hiebert is an Insolvency & Restructuring lawyer in BLG’s Vancouver office.  She works with a wide range of clients handling all aspects of commercial insolvencies, formal and informal restructurings and enforcement and financial services litigation. Lisa has been involved in a number of significant insolvency files advising and representing insolvency professionals, challenged companies, lenders, directors and officers and other stakeholders. Her sector experience is diverse and includes cannabis, retail, oil and gas, mining, technology and manufacturing.

Lisa is a member of the Insolvency Institute of Canada, President of the Northwest Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association and the BC Model Insolvency Order committee, and has regularly writes and presents on current insolvency issues. Recent publications include Beyond Bluberi – Practical and International Perspectives on Litigation Funding (Journal of Insolvency in Canada, Vol 11) and How Safe is the Harbour: Eligible Financial Contracts and the Bellatrix CCAA Proceedings (Journal of Insolvency in Canada, Vol 10).

Carole Hunter is Counsel in the Insolvency and Restructuring Group at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP.  Carole is experienced in all aspects of corporate restructuring including litigation and commercial issues relating to receiverships, reorganizations, enforcement of security, reviewable transactions and liquidations.

Carole has represented a broad spectrum of clients including court-appointed monitors, receivers, trustees in bankruptcy, purchasers, debtors, directors, creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors and suppliers in all types of Canadian and cross-border insolvency and restructuring proceedings and transactions.

Justice Kroft was appointed to the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench (General Division) in October, 2016. He is a member of that court’s commercial list and chairs its model order committee. He is also a council member of the Canadian Superior Courts Judge’s Association.

For more than 25 years, Justice Kroft practiced in the areas of commercial litigation, bankruptcy, insolvency, restructuring and banking litigation. He was recognized by L’Expert, Best Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation. Both as a lawyer and judge Justice Kroft has been a frequent presenter on topics concerning insolvency and commercial litigation and a contributor to the Law Society of Manitoba’s Bar Admission Course. He chairs the A. Montegue Israels Prize Committee.

Justice Kroft is a past chair of the Bankruptcy, Insolvency and Restructuring sub-section of the Manitoba Bar Association, a life Bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba, a life council member of the Manitoba Bar Association, and a past member of the board of the Manitoba Law Foundation. Beyond the legal profession, he has served on many community boards including as president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and Jocelyn House Inc. (a hospice for the terminally ill) and as board member of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre (a personal care home for seniors). Currently, Justice Kroft sits on the executive of The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Dom is partner at Lerners LLP. As a corporate restructuring lawyer, he represents secured and unsecured lenders, customers, suppliers, debtors, Chief Restructuring Officers, Boards of Directors, and court appointed trustees and receivers in proceedings commenced under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and both the Canada Business Corporations Act and the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). While Dom has considerable experience in formal restructuring and insolvency proceedings, he is also retained by companies that embark on informal restructuring and workouts. In this capacity he assists companies in creating a restructuring plan and negotiating with stakeholders so that the plan may be implemented. He also regularly advises and negotiates purchase agreements, and loan and security agreements, and acts for debtors in possession financings, take out financings, debt assignments and various types of purchase agreements, including stalking horse purchase agreements. Dom also maintains a commercial litigation practice, focusing on corporate disputes and real estate matters. He is often retained by individuals and companies that are in search of creative and practical solutions to complex commercial disputes. Dom has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, including a number of appearances before the Ontario Court of Appeal.

Michael joined Soloway Wright’s Kingston, Ontario office in 2021 where he advises a broad range of commercial real estate clients, with particular expertise in the purchase, sale, finance and development of land. Prior to joining Soloway Wright, Michael spent several years with a full-service firm on Bay Street where he provided real estate support in a variety of commercial law contexts, including corporate reorganizations, litigation, land development, bankruptcy and insolvency, including receiverships and creditors’ plans of arrangements. With a background in mechanical engineering and experience advising some of Ontario’s largest condominium developers, Michael has a practical and level-headed approach to finding efficient solutions to his clients’ legal issues.

Notable transactions on which Michael has acted include a $600 million construction loan for a large condominium project in Toronto, the sale of a newly constructed multi-unit residential apartment building for a purchase price in excess of $100 million, and the simultaneous purchase of 11 parcels of land from nine separate vendors as a land assembly for a development project in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Michael prides himself in being able to draw upon his experience to provide consistent and high-quality service to all of his clients, large and small, for all of their real estate needs.

Heather is a partner in our Bankruptcy & Restructuring Group in Toronto. Recognized for her in-depth industry knowledge, upfront and direct legal style, and solution-oriented approach, her practice focuses in the areas of commercial insolvency, restructuring, bankruptcy and related litigation.

A highly regarded advisor, Heather regularly represents a broad array of stakeholder groups in commercial restructuring proceedings including debtors, secured creditors, landlords, suppliers, monitors, trustees, and receivers. Clients value her creativity and trust her strategic advice and innovative guidance, each of which she uses to pursue their objectives.

Prior to joining the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Group in 2008, Heather maintained a general litigation practice at McCarthy Tétrault where she focused on commercial litigation and professional liability defence. Additionally, she served as prosecutor at the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers.

Heather obtained her B. Arts Sc. (Hons.) from McMaster University, her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and her MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1980. He is a Fellow of The Insolvency Institute of Canada, a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, and a member of INSOL International and The International Insolvency Institute. Prior to his appointment to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2005, Chief Justice Morawetz was consistently recognized as a top-tier practitioner of restructuring and insolvency law, in both Canadian and international publications. He has been an advisor to the Canadian Delegation at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Insolvency Law since 2008. He served as Team Leader of the Commercial List from 2010-2013 at which time he was appointed Regional Senior Justice for the Toronto Region. On July 1, 2019, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Julien is a partner of the Montréal office and is cross appointed to the national Litigation and Insolvency & Restructuring departments. His practice is diversified and centered on the insolvency and litigation fields, with a particular focus on corporate restructuring and insolvency- related transactional and advisory, insolvency litigation, investigations, insurance and public law. Other areas of his practice also include Québec privacy law, class actions and general commercial litigation.

Valued business advisor by clients, by professionals in the insolvency and restructuring space and by decision makers in accounting firms and lending institutions, Julien is actively involved with the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) as a director and vice-president, legal affairs of the local chapter. Julien has been involved in many high profile commercial insolvency and restructuring matters in the last decade, notably in the retail, mining, technology and real estate sectors.

Julien is recognized as a detailed oriented and thorough jurist, recognized in Insolvency and Financial Restructuring Law by Best Lawyers in Canada. He pleads regularly before many levels of court as well as administrative tribunals. Julien was awarded the Elizabeth Torrance Gold Medal of McGill University’s Faculty of Law. He also worked as a law clerk to the Honourable Marie Deschamps and the Honourable Thomas Albert Cromwell, Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Jeremy Nemers is a partner at Aird & Berlis LLP, practising in the areas of insolvency and restructuring law, with an emphasis on both the litigation and commercial aspects of turnarounds, reorganizations, liquidations, security enforcement, receiverships, plans of arrangement, proposals, bankruptcies and the purchase and sale of distressed assets and businesses. A previous investment banker, Jeremy draws experience from both sides of the legal-business relationship, enabling him to provide clients with practical and customized solutions that are responsive to both their legal and business needs. Jeremy’s perceptive nature allows him to anticipate possible outcomes and consequences as matters evolve, allowing him to represent clients’ interests strategically and effectively. Jeremy is an Executive Member of both the Insolvency Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association and the National Insolvency Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, and regularly appears before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) on behalf of court-appointed officers, secured creditors, purchasers, debtors and others.

William Rodier-Dumais is a Montreal-based associate and member of Stikeman Elliott LLP’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. His practice focuses mainly in the areas of commercial disputes, insolvency and restructuring.

William regularly advises and represents debtors, creditors, court-appointed officers and various stakeholders in proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and other distressed transactions.

Anjali is an associate lawyer practicing in the areas of insolvency law, civil litigation and pensions.

Anjali has appeared before all levels of Court in Manitoba and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

She has experience in farm debt mediation and with proceedings under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and The Family Farm Protection Act.

Anjali has co-authored papers published in the Journal of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and the Annual Review of Insolvency Law.

Anjali has a background in the entertainment industry. She played Eszter Vand on the CBC legal drama "Burden of Truth". Anjali currently has a television show in development with Buffalo Gal Pictures

Zach Soprovich is an associate lawyer at Duncan Craig LLP practicing in its Financial Services and Banking and Litigation practice groups with a focus on acting for lenders, creditors and debtors. His practice area includes foreclosure, mortgage and security enforcement, insolvency, priority disputes, debt recovery and unsecured judgment enforcement and other breach of contract disputes.

Zach has appeared at all levels of Court in Alberta and before the Federal Court of Canada. His commitment to his clients’ issues and interests are based on his daily upbringing teachings as a farmer’s son - being a thoughtful observer, listener and careful steward who is highly organized and informed on all facets for his clients.

Zach was called to the Alberta Bar in 2017. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Alberta in 2016. And he received his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta in 2013. His career at Duncan Craig LLP began in 2014 as a summer student.

Vicki Tickle (she/her/hers) is a partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency Group at Cassels. Vicki offers over 20 years of experience in Australia, England, and Canada. She acts on behalf of lenders, insolvency professionals, challenged companies, suppliers, directors and officers, and other stakeholders, in Canada and internationally. Vicki crafts commercial solutions for clients in such diverse fields as financial services, cannabis, retail, construction, forestry, technology, mining, and manufacturing. She is recognized as a leader in her field by Best Lawyers and Lexpert.

David Ullmann is a partner at Blaney McMurtry in the Restructuring Group. He has been practicing principally insolvency and restructuring law for more than 20 years. He is the past chair of the CBA National Insolvency Section of the CBA. He is a nationally recognized restructuring expert who speaks regularly at conferences and in the media about insolvency issues. David spent the first decade of his career acting principally for major financial institutions, before expanding his practice to use his knowledge from the creditor side to help debtor companies negotiate solutions to their creditor issues. He has held material engagements in many of the major insolvencies of the past decade, including being the court appointed landlord creditor representative in both the Sears and Target CCAA cases where he advocated on behalf of claims amounting to billions of dollars.  David also practices in intellectual property, copyright and technology law, and has used this knowledge to represent client in insolvency matters in which intellectual property plays a central role, such as his recent engagement as counsel to the Art Gallery of Sudbury in the CCAA of Laurentian University, and earlier roles in files such as Nortel, Canwest, and Allarco.  David also acts for officers and directors of distressed companies.

A fixture at several different levels of court in Ontario, David has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court, the Court of Appeal and the Registrar in Bankruptcy on Insolvency matters, and has appeared before the Federal Court in connection with Copyright, Trademarks, and technology issues.

David is a senior associate in the corporate group at the Halifax office of Stewart McKelvey.

David regularly practices in the areas of banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, secured transactions, debt collection, and bankruptcy and insolvency. David has acted for creditors and debtors in a variety of CCAA, bankruptcy, receivership and related enforcement matters. David has also provided advice to trustees, receivers, and monitors in the course of insolvency proceedings.

In addition to insolvency and restructuring matters, David regularly represents lenders and borrowers in a wide array of secured lending transactions.