Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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bit harder than they might in other environments, and then what happens is you have the court as a civilized way of dealing with this degree of frustra- tion," says Agran. That has led to a steep rise in the number of deals utiliz- ing this process. Jay Swartz is a partner with Canadian law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP who special- izes in corporate and commercial, financial restructuring and insolvency, and mergers and acquisitions. He says in-house counsel are wise to keep an eye out for distressed opportunities. "These situations are often great buy- ing opportunities for synergistic buyers to pick up assets cheaply, or to pick up market share." Companies can make a low-cost deal on an insolvent business, while at the same time shedding many of the liabilities that would be hanging around in a normal transaction. "Courts can eliminate a lot of liabili- Cross-Border Litigation Interjurisdictional Practice and Procedure ties, they can eliminate bad contracts, they can eliminate a lot of employees, things like that," Swartz says. "So you can buy a downsized, streamlined busi- ness, and usually at a bargain-base- ment price as long as you understand the process for doing the acquisition." Companies with in-depth knowledge of an industry likely have a leg up on financial buyers, he says. Swartz points to the automotive sec- tor where competitors have been eager to buy up pieces of financially strapped companies. Those low-cost deals will turn into significant acquisitions when the market fully recovers. Such deals may come with a few added forks in the road, but the pitfalls are worthwhile for compa- nies with cash, he says. Not everyone is convinced many companies can make a meaningful deal through insolvent companies across the border. James Gage, a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP's bankruptcy and Guidance on all aspects of cross-border litigation for inter-provincial, international and multiple jurisdictions • • Brian Casey, International Lawyer, Baker & McKenzie LLP • • • • Cross-Border Litigation: Interjurisdictional Practice and Procedure offers practical guidance on all aspects of cross- border litigation, covering everything from deciding where to commence litigation to enforcement of a judgment. It is an excellent handbook to help you understand the legal considerations involved and map out the right course of action, such as: where is the best place to sue strategies for challenging the plaintiff's choice of venue how to ensure proper service outside your jurisdiction how to determine which jurisdiction's laws apply • • • obtaining evidence from other jurisdictions responding to requests for evidence from other jurisdictions pleading and proving foreign law pre-judgment cross-border remedies enforcing foreign judgments at home and domestic judgments abroad This resource includes time-saving features such as a decision tree to help analyze where a case should be litigated, appendices with related Hague Service Conventions and a glossary of terms. ORDER your copy today Hardbound • 424 pp. • May 2009 • $115 P/C 0291010000 • ISBN 978-0-88804-484-6 For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd • Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. 18 • DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010 MacDonald_CBL (CL 1-2h).indd 1 INHOUSE CL1209 11/30/09 11:20:50 AM Kenneth timely in C. "… This of will any be litigator a very useful involved and inter- MacDonald library jurisdictional addition ... to disputes." the and more