Overview
The complexity and variety of issues facing banks and other financial institutions are considerable. As the financial industry and regulations become increasingly difficult to navigate, you need a litigation team with sound legal knowledge and a deep understanding of the latest legal developments in order to successfully address your financial disputes.
As one of the strongest and most diverse teams of its kind in Canada, the Gowling WLG Banking Litigation Group has a long and distinguished history of successfully litigating cases on behalf of the majority of Canada's Schedule I banks, as well as Canada's top corporations and other financial industry participants - from foreign banks, trust companies, and insurance intermediaries to securities dealers, pension funds and government regulators.
Our banking litigation services includes:
- Retail banking litigation, including Bank Act and Bills of Exchange disputes
- Civil fraud remedies and international fraud recovery
- Class actions, including employment and credit card matters
- Mortgage enforcement
- Contractual disputes
- Securities litigation, including class actions
- Regulatory disputes, including Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Fintrac investigations
- Broker/dealer liability
An unmatched banking litigation team
Our group includes practitioners who once served in key government roles, such as senior deputy commissioner of the Competition Bureau; assistant Crown attorney; and former deputy director, chief litigation counsel, prosecutor and litigation specialists to several Branches (Compliance/Registrant Regulation and Corporate Finance) and Units (Insider Trading/Market Manipulation) of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
Our group also includes leading financial regulatory lawyers with experience as staff counsel at the Bank of Canada, and the co-author of The 2015 Annotated Bank Act.
These lawyers have not only developed an in-depth experience with the complex financial rules and regulations that affect your business and industry, but have also developed exceptionally strong relationships with government agencies (e.g., the OSC, OSFI, IIROC, MFDA, Competition Bureau, SEC and AMF) - to the direct benefit of our clients.
A collaborative approach
Our banking litigators work closely with Gowling WLG's full-service Banking & Finance Group. Whether it be multi-jurisdictional securities class actions, wrongful dismissal claims by departing investment advisers, ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, managing international fraud recovery matters or handling high-stakes contractual disputes, our practitioners have served as lead counsel on many of the leading and most recent banking and regulatory cases in Canada.
We work as a team to get you the best results. By way of example, our team recently successfully prosecuted a multi-million dollar claim on behalf of one of Canada's Schedule 1 banks against several former employees for breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of corporate opportunities. In another, our team worked together to successfully defend a series of financial institutions in a $20-million claim which alleged breaches of fiduciary duty in the administration of an estate trust.
Key industry roles
Our team members occupy key leadership positions in the regulatory and compliance industry, such as the OSC's Securities Advisory Committee, the Association sur l'accès et la protection de l'information, and the Institute of Corporate Directors.
We're also frequently called on to lecture on compliance matters at leading industry conferences and universities, including the IIROC-CLS Compliance Conference. These key positions allow our practitioners to keep on top of the latest litigation trends in the financial industry to serve you better.
Enhanced value and results
In working with us, you'll also benefit from Practical LPMTM, our in-house legal project management platform. By seamlessly managing the scope, costs, tasks and resources associated with your file, we help keep your legal matter on track, on time and on budget. We also reduce costs and ensure efficiency through the use of Go.PleadTM, a legal research and precedents tool built and maintained by our team.
To learn more about how we can help you, please contact any member of our team.
