Insurance

Melissa Prado

Melissa’s experience in the financial services and insurance sectors allows her to provide 360-degree counsel to clients—from consumer protection and the formation and licensing of insurers and intermediaries, to significant transactions and governance matters. Melissa’s practice focuses on corporate matters and regulatory compliance in the financial services and payments industry, with an emphasis on consumer protection and insurance corporate and regulatory law. She has also advised clients on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets transactions, as well as on general corporate and governance matters. Melissa is fluent in Spanish.

Paul Belanger

Paul is Practice Group Leader of the Financial Services practice. He deals with all aspects of the regulation, business and affairs of financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies and other regulated and unregulated providers of financial services. Paul advises on governance, enterprise risk management, business and ownership structures, product development, permitted investments, capital, related-party transactions, licensing, product development and distribution matters and all regulatory issues. He also advises on acquisitions, pension derisking transactions, divestitures, reorganizations and joint ventures involving financial service providers, and advises financial services providers on a variety of agreements and services.

Nancy Carroll

National Co-Head of Insurance and Reinsurance Group. With deep insurance regulatory and transactional expertise, advises insurance companies, reinsurance companies, insurance agencies, brokerages, banks and financial institutions on complex transactions, regulatory and corporate governance matters. Acts for Canadian and global insurance companies on significant M&As, reinsurance transactions, transfers, demutualizations, reorganizations, licensing and commercial matters. Advises on all aspects of insurance and bank regulatory compliance: regulatory approvals, financing, outsourcing, privacy, cyber security, anti-money laundering, insurtech/fintech, compliance and market conduct reviews/ investigations, ESG, risk management, permitted investments, and distribution of insurance and other financial services. Acts on the establishment of insurance companies, reinsurance companies, brokerages and banks, and entry to and exit from the Canadian market. Advises regulated and unregulated financial services providers and corporations on what constitutes insurance and licensing requirements.

Blair Keefe

A preeminent figure in the financial services industry, Blair has decades of experience advising Canada’s leading financial institutions on regulatory matters and industry best practices, and has acted as counsel on some of the country’s most complex and novel issues in his field.Blair is co-head of the firm’s Financial Services, Bank Regulatory and Insurance Regulatory practices, and is co-head of the Payments and Cards Practice. He advises on corporate and regulatory issues relating to financial institutions, as well as on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance in the financial services industry.Blair is known for his in-depth understanding of all matters relating to the Bank Act. In addition, he has extensive experience in insurance and bank regulatory matters, banking and debt finance as well as payments and cards.

Laurie LaPalme

Partner

Hartley Lefton

Hartley Lefton is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s Financial Services Group, including serving in Toronto as national co-chair of the Insurance and Reinsurance Group. He is recognized as a leading transactional, commercial, governance and regulatory/compliance advisor to financial sector participants operating in Canada, most notably insurers, reinsurers, insurance brokers, insurance adjusters, banks, credit unions, and FinTech/InsurTech companies. He leverages his insurance regulatory and transactional expertise, and his experience interacting with regulators, to ensure clients are not only aware of regulatory changes, but truly understand how regulation will impact each aspect of their business and manage risk, including acquisitions/divestitures, formation/licensing, product launches, financings, outsourcing, investment strategy, related party transactions, issues relating to capitalization and accounting standards, and joint ventures. Hartley has particular expertise assisting clients with regulatory inquiries and investigations. Hartley’s deep understanding of the financial services landscape in Canada, coupled with his diligence and resourcefulness, allows him to deliver practical insights that help global companies operating in Canada achieve their business objectives.

Jill McCutcheon

With extensive experience and nuanced knowledge of the complex regulatory landscape of the insurance industry, Jill gives clients practical advice on regulatory, transactional and other advisory matters.Co-head of the firm’s Financial Services practice, Jill has more than 25 years of experience advising the property and casualty, life and reinsurance sectors of the insurance industry on corporate, regulatory and transactional matters.Jill regularly advises on all aspects of the law, whether federal or provincial, and acts as counsel to a broad range of clients, including insurers, reinsurers, banks, credit unions, intermediaries, cover holders and MGAs, third-party administrators, retailers, employers and associations. Jill is noted for her ability to respond to and resolve issues with the numerous regulators who impact on the insurance sector in Canada. She also has extensive experience in privacy law and data breach response matters.Jill has broad and extensive experience advising on all aspects of activity in the insurance industry. This includes advising on the formation of insurers, governance matters and obtaining federal and provincial regulatory approvals. She also regularly acts as counsel to insurance company boards of directors.She frequently engages with regulators, resolving distribution, product and other regulatory issues on behalf of her clients. Jill also counsels clients on market conduct and compliance requirements.Her work regularly involves drafting and negotiating reinsurance, distribution and other specialized agreements germane to the sector, developing policy wordings, and advising on reinsurance and self-insured, risk retention and captive strategies.Beyond insurance matters, Jill has experience in privacy law, the resolution of privacy complaints and privacy breach responses.

Bonny Murray

Bonny’s practice is focused on the financial services industry. She provides regulatory advice to Canadian and foreign financial institutions and service providers on all aspects of their business. She specializes in insurance and banking, payments and payment technologies, and merchant acquiring Bonny has significant experience liaising with federal and provincial regulators on behalf of clients on regulatory approval applications, compliance issues and questions of statutory interpretation. She advises on transactions involving financial services clients including corporate mergers and acquisitions, reinsurance transactions and pension de-risking, including longevity insurance transactions.

David Tupper

David's practice involves all aspects of corporate/commercial litigation with an emphasis on securities law, construction law, insurance law, environmental law, and oil and gas law. He regularly appears before all levels of courts in Alberta as well as in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. He also maintains a considerable advisory practice in connection with environmental issues, property and liability policies, and reinsurance losses. He acts as counsel in an array of high-value and high-profile matters.