Ogilvy Renault—Doing Business in China
The Canadian legal firm of Ogilvy Renault has been one of Canada's most respected full-service law firms for more than 130 years. With 450 lawyers and agents, they have built a strong reputation both in Canada and abroad for their expertise in business law, litigation, intellectual property, and employment and labor and their habit of putting the customer first. Ogilvy Renault has full-service offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Québec, London (UK), and now Calgary which serve many of the largest and most successful corporations in Canada as well as business and professional clients in more than 120 countries worldwide. The firm’s recently opened Calgary office will provide domestic and international clients with high quality and specialized energy law services.
The Ogilvy Renault team is comprised of some of the most distinguished attorneys in Canada, including the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada; the Honourable Michael M. Fortier, former Minister of International Trade; Derek H. Burney, former chairman and CEO of Bell Canada International; and L. Yves Fortier, one of the premier international arbitrators in the world and former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations.
In the area of international trade, Ogilvy Renault has significant experience ensuring clients’ compliance with Canada’s foreign investment laws, the Investment Canada Act, regulatory laws, and international trade agreements. In the last several years, Ogilvy Renault has been involved in some of Canada’s most important international mergers and acquisitions. These include the largest ever buy-out in the oil field services industry worldwide, and a ground-breaking deal involving Cirque du Soleil—the world’s leading live-entertainment company—and a top sovereign wealth fund. Ogilvy Renault also acted as lead counsel to Alcan in its acquisition by Rio Tinto, the largest all-cash take-over in Canadian history.
Due to the liquidity, reliability, and comprehensive but balanced regulatory requirements (i.e., no SOX) for Canadian capital markets, they are increasingly attracting Chinese investors. Ogilvy Renault is building a network of contacts with professionals both in China and Canada to facilitate these transactions and to provide the potential public issuer with the information and network of contacts that is required to list and operate a public company in Canada.
As part of this effort, in early September 2009, an Ogilvy Renault team made up of former Prime Minister Mulroney, Mr. Burney, Norman Steinberg, Chairman of the firm, and Peter Wiazowski, partner—visited Beijing and Hong Kong to invite Chinese investors to do business in Canada. Mr. Mulroney delivered a speech in Beijing on September 4, which focused on the potential for a deeper economic partnership between Canada and China. His presentation addressed Canada’s stable regulatory environment, banking soundness, and openness to foreign direct investment as well as the need to reduce trade barriers between the two countries. He also noted that China should have more influence in the International Monetary Fund.
Professionals at Ogilvy Renault are extensively travelling to the PRC and other parts of Asia to meet new entrepreneurs and/or companies that are interested in raising capital or doing other similar types of transactions in Canada and keep their contact network current. For example, intellectual property is an important aspect of Ogilvy Renault’s expertise. Since the mid-1980s, when China adopted its modern patent legislation, intellectual property professionals from the firm have been travelling to China and working with Chinese companies in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Jinan, and Chongqing.
"We know that China is focusing right now on innovation, and no other law firm in Canada better understands innovation than Ogilvy Renault," says Mr. Mulroney. “We have one of the largest and highest ranked intellectual property practices in the country and it works seamlessly with our leading business practice. Innovation is driving economic success in China and Canada and around the world—and Ogilvy Renault is very excited about the opportunities this will bring."
Ogilvy Renault currently represents a number of public companies in the PRC, companies whose assets are located mainly in China or neighboring countries and which have their shares listed one either the TSX or TSX Ventures Inc. John Pennal, counsel at Ogilvy Renault, has been working with Chinese clients since the early 1990s. He has also worked both as a lawyer and as a senior executive with Canadian businesses operating in China. From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Pennal served as the president and CEO of two Canadian public companies whose businesses were located in China. He is a member of the Asia Pacific Lawyers Association. Ogilvy Renault is also a member of and involved with the Inter-Pacific Bar Association.
Because of Ogilvy Renault’s past and current involvement in both private and public international transactions, they are ideally positioned to be of maximum help to companies navigating the current regulatory structure in the PRC and in Canada. Well aware of the obstacles that PRC companies will usually face, Ogilvy Renault is ready and able to assist them with all aspects of such transactions.
To learn more about how Ogilvy Renault is helping clients do business in Canada and the PRC, visit the firm’s China practice page at: http://www.ogilvyrenault.com/en/expertise_internationalMarketsChina.htm.
Suite 3800 Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower 200 Bay Street P.O. Box 84 Toronto, Ontario M5J 2Z4 CANADA Telephone: 416.216.4000 Fax: 416.216.3930 toronto@ogilvyrenault.com
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