Pensions

Torys

The pensions practice at Torys specializes in plan drafting, administration and governance, wind-ups, plan mergers, pension investments and tax issues, as well as regulatory matters and transactional support. The practice is directed by Toronto-based Tom Stevenson, who focuses on the interpretation and application of pension, benefits and human rights legislation in the workplace, and who assists clients with the drafting and implementation of plans. The ‘excellent’ Stephanie Kalinowski, previously at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP, joined the group in June 2023. Raegan Kennedy, who has experience advising private equity, infrastructure and real estate-sector clients; and Jennifer Lennon (employment and benefits matters), were promoted to the partnership in January 2024.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Recently hired Stephanie Kalinowski, formerly from Hicks Morley, who is excellent.’
'Torys was very professional, understood the sensitivity and offered great suggestions. We had the upmost confidence in Tom Stevenson and his team. Torys was extremely accommodating to our timelines and schedules, even though we were on the other side of the country. I would highly recommend Torys.’
‘Tom Stevenson was exceptional. We had very tight timelines and he managed to them with ease. He also spoke in a clear and concise manner which our board appreciated. His solutions were easy to understand and implement. It was a real pleasure working with Tom and his team.’

Key clients

Bank of Montreal
Sunwing Vacations
Alterna Bank
The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited
Vertu Capital
The Canada Life Assurance Company
Sun Life Financial
DW Healthcare Partners

Work highlights

Assisted Bank of Montreal with its acquisition of the AIR MILES Reward business of LoyaltyOne as part of its restructuring proceedings under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.
Assisted Vertu Capital with its acquisition of ActiveState Software, the developer of a secure open source integration platform supporting enterprise software development.
Assisted the Canada Life Assurance Company in its proposed C$575m acquisition of Investment Planning Counsel from IGM Financial.