Top 5 Tax boutiques
Moskowitz and Meredith LLP (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal)
Toronto-based Evy Moskowitz and Vancouver-based Mark Meredith founded this KPMG-affiliated tax law firm in 2003, after both joined the professional services giant from major Toronto law firms. The pair brought with them varied corporate tax practices, with an emphasis on acquisitions, reorganizations, and financ- ings, as well as dispute resolution and international tax matters. Their clients include large pension funds, mining companies, and real estate firms. The firm has grown steadily since its founding, with a Montreal office established in 2004 and resource taxation law heavyweight Brian Carr added to the roster in 2008. In 2011, the firm added a Calgary office with the recruit- ment of three lawyers. Today, just over half of its 23 lawyers are based in Toronto.
Thorsteinssons LLP (Vancouver, Toronto)
In 1964, Pat Thorsteinsson, one of the first tax law specialists in Canada, founded the firm, which now has 27 lawyers at its Vancouver head- quarters, with another 13 in the Toronto office, which opened in 1991. The firm has had strength in the resource sector since its early days, and the area is still a source of some of its most signifi- cant mandates. The firm acted for BHP Billiton during its proposed takeover of PotashCorp of Saskatchewan, while Vale S.A., Goldcorp Inc., and Weyerhaeuser Co. are all clients. The firm is also strong in tax litigation and tax planning, and has produced a disproportionate number of judges, including Federal Court of Appeal Justice Karen Sharlow and Tax Court of Canada Justice Leslie Little. "Thorsteinssons is the best kept secret in tax law in some ways, because they don't have as high a profile as the big firms, but they have a quite remarkable breadth of practice and some first-rate lawyers," says a tax partner at a full- service Toronto firm.
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