Corporate Commercial

Canada

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Ontario business laws modernized: Shareholder approval thresholds, director residency requirements

The Ontario Government is proposing to amend the Ontario Business Corporations Act in an effort to allow both public and private Ontario corporations to operate with more flexibility.

From local startups to global powerhouses, Gowling WLG offers unparalleled expertise and efficient service that covers a full range of corporate and commercial law matters.

We understand the issues you face because we're immersed in the same issues every day. With the ability to flex to match the job at hand, our team is equipped to handle everything from landmark transactions and major reorganizations to routine business filings and agreements.

Spanning all industry sectors, our services include:

  • Incorporations
  • Reorganizations, amalgamations, continuances, arrangements and dissolutions
  • Corporate governance
  • Company secretarial (including registration for extra-territorial corporations)
  • Virtual (outside) general counsel services
  • Shareholder, partnership and joint venture agreements
  • Managed service and outsourcing agreements
  • IT contracts
  • Service and supply agreements
  • Franchise, agency and distribution agreements
  • Consumer and direct selling agreements

Helping your business grow

The Gowling WLG corporate commercial team knows the challenges of establishing and conducting business in Canada.

As your business expands across provincial and territorial borders, you'll encounter shifting rules and norms in each jurisdiction in which you operate. We can help you navigate this diverse legal landscape with timely, strategic advice that aligns your Canadian business operations with today's realities and opportunities.

Complete corporate commercial support

Through our firm's broad strength across a wide range of practice areas and industry sectors, we often act as outside general counsel to clients in both the private and public sector. We also act as local counsel to many foreign entities, offering full corporate and commercial services to manage corporate subsidiaries in Canada.

Whether you're looking into establishing a Canadian subsidiary or have been in the Canadian market for years, our team can help you navigate the complexities of the Canadian marketplace and provide innovative business solutions.

Aligned with your needs

To ensure you always receive the right level of service and expertise for the task at hand, we assemble customized teams from different practice areas and jurisdictions with skills that are aligned with your unique needs.

You'll find us to be creative problem-solvers who are focused on delivering solutions. By bringing together our collective experience and technical expertise, we provide advice that maximizes your commercial position.

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Every successful relationship begins with a great conversation about the challenges and opportunities you face. Please contact any member of our team to learn more about how we can help you.

China

China is an enticing market in which to do business, combining a fast-growing economy with a strong appetite for new technologies and products.

You can see the opportunities - but how do you manage the unique legal and culture issues that are sure to arise when doing business with Chinese partners? In addition to that, you need to stay on top of legal changes that can affect your operations.

Gowling WLG is your ideal partner in China. You'll be working with a very experienced team that's used to assisting a range of organisations doing business in the country - from SMEs to world-famous global brands. We regularly assist our clients on setting up company structures, corporate governance, M&A due diligence, licensing and commercial contracts.

We have expertise in a variety of sectors, such as tech, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), life sciences, education, automotive and engineering. Other than general corporate commercial work, we also do a great deal of work on Chinese employment law and wider compliance matters.

While we have international backgrounds, we have a deep understanding of the nuances of the Chinese legal landscape and culture - and we're fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

We have a wealth of experience in working with Western clients, and many of our team members have in-house experience. This allows us to truly understand what you want from a law firm.

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China is an exciting place to do business. Take us on your journey to ensure you make the most of what's available.

UAE

At Gowling WLG, we pride ourselves on the entrepreneurial, commercial and practical approach we take to all our corporate work. Having been based in Dubai for more than ten years' we've developed an in-depth understanding of the region's laws and culture.

We act for clients on their inbound investment into the region and institutional clients based here and abroad on regional and international M&A, debt & equity raisings and IPO's particularly for regionally based clients looking for exposure to the London markets.

The Corporate Commercial team is led by Tim Casben who has over 20 years' experience of corporate transactional work and over ten years spent with the firm in London before moving to Dubai in 2009.

We advise local and international companies on a wide range of corporate matters, including:

  • Establishing and conducting business in the UAE
  • Financial services and regulation
  • Investment funds
  • IPOs
  • Joint ventures
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Private equity
  • Raising capital on regional and overseas markets
  • Restructuring
  • Venture capital

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If you're looking to do business in Dubai and beyond, get in touch with a team that has the experience and insight to make it happen. We'd be delighted to speak with you.