A. Brent Kerr, KC Managing Partner Vancouver Office


Speaks:  English

Year of Call: 1993 - England & Wales

Year of Call: 1980 - British Columbia

Primary phone: +1 604-891-2788

Fax: +1 604-891-2788

Email: brent.kerr@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Vancouver




A. Brent Kerr, KC

Brent Kerr is a seasoned tax and corporate lawyer with more than 30 years' experience solving complex problems. He is the managing partner of Gowling WLG's Vancouver office.

Brent provides strategic advice to help clients achieve their objectives, whether they are international transactions for multinational enterprises or structuring start-up ventures. He is able to untangle convoluted tax rules and provide you with clear explanations.  Brent is sought out for his ability to find practical solutions, reducing intricate tax rules into concrete implementation steps.  

Over the years, Brent has accumulated a broad range of experience across many industries that can benefit you, including extensive experience structuring companies, partnerships, trusts and other business vehicles, public offerings, spin-outs and financings, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and cross-border transactions. 

He lived and practiced law in Asia for a number of years, giving him a firsthand international perspective on cross-border business. Brent regularly advises clients from across the world.  

Brent mentors younger lawyers and acts as a sounding board for legal issues and problem-solving. In recognition of his standing in the legal profession, he was appointed King's Counsel in 2013.

Career & Recognition

Filter timeline:

Memberships

  • Admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales, UK Law Society, 1992
  • Admitted to the British Columbia Bar, BC Law Society, 1980
  • American Mathematical Society, 2005
  • Hong Kong-Canada Business Association, 1990
  • International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, 2004
  • International Fiscal Association, 2005
  • Queen's Counsel, 2013

Brent has given presentations and webinar broadcasts as well as written articles on a variety of topics, including the tax issues arising on executive migration, the tax implications of corporate reorganizations, and cross-border licensing transactions.

  • Budget 2015: Striking a Balance in Election Year
  • Budget 2014: Fiscal Integrity as a Work in Progress, Canadian Tax @ Gowlings, February 2014
  • British Columbia, Canada Investment & Tax Advantages, Seminar hosted by British Columbia Trade Office, Korea, July 2013
  • Federal Budget 2013: How Will It Impact Your Business?, Canadian Tax @ Gowlings, February 2013
  • Tax Changes in Canada's Federal Budget, Practical International Tax Strategies, April 15, 2012
  • Key Tax Changes in 2012 Federal Budget, Canadian Tax @ Gowlings newsletter, March 2012
  • The Elimination of Canadian Withholding Tax Impediments to M&A Transactions, Deal Points, American Bar Association, 2010
  • Structuring Private Equity Funds for Cross-Border Acquisitions, International Tax Review, 2010
  • The Impact of Tax in Aboriginal Business Structures, Aboriginal Tax and Financial Management Forum, 2009
  • The Use of Special Purpose Trusts, Canadian Tax Foundation, 2007
  • Eligible Capital Property-Update on the Rules, Canadian Tax Foundation, 2006
  • Extraterritorial Application of Canadian Tax Rules, Salzburg Centre for International Legal Studies, 1999

Representative Work

  • Advised on the cross-border acquisition of a technology business for $143 million cash and assumption of debt, 2013
  • Advised a Barbados company on its US $1 billion previous metals stream agreement, 2012
  • Advised on a common share financing by a Canadian resource company with international assets for $180 million, 2012
  • Advised on a $414 million arrangement between two public companies, 2012
  • Advised a major Canadian mining company on the tax aspects of its $940 million acquisition of another public company for shares and cash, 2011
  • Advised a Canadian public mining company on the tax aspects of its $97.5 million public flow-through offering, 2011
  • Advised a Canadian company on the tax aspects of its $40 million merger to create the world's largest, publicly traded lithium production and exploration company, 2010
  • Advised a major Indonesian group on the tax aspects of its acquisition of several Canadian pulp mills, 2010 and 2011
  • Advised a Canadian public company on the tax aspects of its capital reorganization and spin-out, 2010
  • Advised a Chinese state owned enterprise on the tax aspects of its successful $192 million take-over bid of a Canadian public mining company, 2010
  • Advised a Canadian mining company on the tax aspects of its acquisition by way of a share-for-share exchange, 2009
  • Lead Canadian lawyer for a major US technology company on its $700 million acquisition, 2008
  • Advised the successful proponents on the tax aspects of the $1.6 billion Quebec A30 highway project, 2008
  • Advised a private Canadian technology company on the tax aspects of the sale of its shares for $1.2 billion, 2000