Background

Anne Corbett is a partner in our Toronto office. Anne was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1981. She is a graduate of University of Toronto Law School and the University of Windsor.

Areas of Practice

• Corporate/Commercial Law, Pension Law and Hospital Law

Rankings and Recognitions

• Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rating

Professional Experience

• Advising profit and non-profit corporations in connection with a variety of corporate and commercial law issues including corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance issues (director and officer liability issues, by-laws), contracts, joint venture and partnership agreements, confidentiality agreements and government relations.
• Advising profit and non-profit corporations in connection with a variety of pension, benefits and related investment arrangements and corporate and commercial law issues including governance issues (director and officer liability issues, by-laws), contracts, confidentiality agreements and fiduciary liability.
• Acting as general corporate counsel for various hospitals and hospital foundations in connection with corporate matters including amalgamations, corporate restructuring, outsourcing, banking and borrowing, general contract review and by-law revisions, retirement policies, suspensions and revocation issues, and advising in connection with the review and amendment of administrative and medical staff by-laws.

Specific Pension Sector Expertise:

• Advising pension plan administrators on pension matters such as surplus entitlement, contribution holiday issues, plan interpretation, interpretation and application of the Pension Benefits Act and pension plan governance matters, including fiduciary liability of plan administrators and trustees.
• Advising clients on pension plan governance matters, including fiduciary liability of plan administrators and trustees and the design and implementation of pension governance programs.
• Assisting in connection with pension litigation and advocacy matters including an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in the first surplus ownership/contribution holiday case heard by that court (the Air Products case).

Specific Hospital Sector Expertise:

• Specific hospital experience includes acting in connection with: hospital accountability agreements, contract negotiation and review; outsourcing of services and partnerships with the private sector; board governance issues and directors fiduciary duties; by-law revisions (administrative and medical staff by-laws); relationships with Community Care Access Centres; hospital licensing issues for Laboratory Services; insured services under the Health Insurance Act; relationships to Hospital Foundations and volunteer organizations.
• Advice to hospitals on structuring public-private partnerships and corporate, tax and charities law issues arising from such arrangements.
• Extensive experience in the development of corporate, medical staff by-laws and professional staff rules and regulations for both hospitals and hospital foundations. Specific expertise includes:
  • Complete review and rewrite of the administrative and medical staff by-laws for various hospitals including rural, community and academic hospitals.
  • Provide opinion advice to various hospitals on the interpretation of specific by-law clauses.
  • Wrote one of the first midwifery by-laws in Ontario.
  • Written and or participated in the review of administrative medical staff by-laws for seven hospital amalgamations, four of which involved hospitals operating on three or more sites.
• Provides frequent advice to hospital CEO’S, Board Chairs, and Medical Staff leadership on the interpretation of by-laws, the Public Hospitals Act, applicable Ministry of Health and Long Term Care policies and professional Staff Rules And Regulations.
• Conducted seminars for hospital board and foundation members and staff:
  • Conducted educational sessions during regular Board meetings on duties and liabilities of directors and the role of the Board.
  • Participates in Board retreats to facilitate discussions on the role of the Board.
  • Conducted workshops and retreats for boards on governance issues.
• Provided opinion advice on such issues as board conduct, the role of ex officio directors, annual meeting procedures, duties and liabilities of directors and officers, accountability for hospital borrowing and deficits, honorary and life directors, board committee composition and mandates.
• Drafted board and corporate policies on issues such as open board meetings, gift policies, conflict of interest policies, board codes of conduct, investment policies.

Professional and Community Activities

Pension Sector:

• Speaker APL-UK (Association of Pension Lawyers) and International Pension Employee Benefits Law Association Conference ("IPEBLA") – London, England – June 2004.
• Member of the IPEBLA Steering Committee – June 2003-present.
• Member of the Financial Services Tribunal Ontario (FSCO) 2001-present, and Vice Chair May 2002 to present.
• Past Chair, Canadian Bar Association, Pension and Benefits Subsection.
• 1999 and 2001 Conference Chair, International Pension and Benefits Lawyers Association.
• Lecturer, Humber College, Employee Benefits Course, 'Pension and Legislation' 1994 - present.
• Speaker, CPBI Regional Conference – Regulation of Defined Contribution and other Retirement Savings Plan Investments, October 2002.
• Speaker at the Canadian Bar Association 1998 Annual Institute: 'Making Governance Models Work: A Practical Perspective', January, 1998.
• Speaker for Osgoode Hall Law School, Continuing Legal Studies Program: 'Pension Plan Governance: Who Does What?', October 1997.Professional and Community Activities (cont’d)
• Speaker at the International Pension and Benefit Lawyers Conference, Vancouver, B.C., June, 1995 and Barcelona, Spain, June, 1997.
• Chair, Insight Conference: 'Pension Funds as Investors - Maximizing Investor Return', January 1997.
• Panel Chair, Association of Canadian Pension Managers Conference. 'Reform of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Act, 1997', November 1997.
• Chair, Federated Press, Second Annual Corporate Summit 'Boardroom Decisions: Pension Liability', December 1996.
• Speaker at the joint meeting of the Corporate Counsel and Pension Law sections of the Canadian Bar Association held in January 1994 on 'Pension Plan Governance: Common Law and Statutory Duties and Liabilities of Pension Plan Administrators'.
• Chair of a seminar sponsored by Insight on 'Fund Management: Balancing Governance and Performance', held in September, 1994.
• Co-chair of a seminar sponsored by Insight on 'Pension Fund Governance' held in April, 1993 and repeated in November of 1993 and delivered a paper entitled 'Duties and Liabilities of Liabilities of Directors, Administrators Trustees and Professional Advisors'.
• Speaker at the Canadian Bar Association Pension Law Sub-section meeting in March 1993 on 'Fiduciary Duties of Pension Administrators and Trustees'.
• Speaker at a Canadian Institute Conference, 'Who is a Fiduciary' held in October, 1994 and presented a paper 'Implementing a Corporate Governance Model for Pension Plan Governance'.
• Member of the editorial board and frequent contributor to the Federated Press 'Pension Planning' series, a periodical publication that is part of their Corporate Liability series.
• Member of the Canadian Pension Benefits Institute, the Canadian Bar Association Pension & Benefits Subsection and the International Pension and Benefits Lawyers Association

Hospital and Health Care Sector:

• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association 'Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) - Hospitals in a LHIN Environment' - February 10, 2006.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association 'Legislative Update - Bill 123: Transparency in Public Matters Act, 2004' - January 30, 2006
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Changing Role of Governance - The Role of Trustees" - 2005.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Board Leadership Conference - Governance Principles and Best Practices" - 2005.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Aligning Our Resources to Create Positive Change - Risk Management and the Legal Perspective" - 2005.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program "Accountability - Where are We and Where Should We be Going from Here? - A Multi-Factoral Environment: To Whom are Board Members and CEO's Accountable and for What?" – 2005.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association – 'Overview of Bill 8 and the Impact on Voluntary Governance'- February 2004.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association – 'Forum for CEO’s – Governance Issues of Today and Tomorrow' – September 2003.
• Speaker, Association for Health Care Philanthropy – June 2003.
• Speaker, The Canadian Institute – 'Governance for Healthcare Organizations – The Short and Long Term Effects of Restructuring on Board Governance and Management Effectiveness' – May 2003.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association – 'Rural and Northern Healthcare Hospital Governance – Understanding Your Primary Responsibility' – May 2003.
• Chair for Ontario Hospital Association Conference – 'Partnering with the Private Sector' – February 2003.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association – 'Partnering with the Private Sector and Carrying on Commercial Activities – Structuring Partnering Arrangements and Commercial Activities' – February 2003.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association – 'Principles and Applications of Health Law' – 2002, 2003.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Privacy – Electronic Sharing of Health Information' – December 2002.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Opportunities for Integration of Health Services' – October 2002.
• Lecturer for Canadian Institute Conference - "Using Public Private Partnerships to Advance Healthcare in Ontario - Superbuild Projects in Health' - May, 2002.
• Lecturer for Ontario Hospital Association Hot Topics in Hospital Construction – 'Public Private Partnerships' – March 2002.
• Lecturer for Ontario Hospital Association Educational Seminar for Hospital Auxiliaries/Associations - "Legal Issues" - April 2002.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Roles and Responsibilities of the Board Finance Committee' – April 2002.
• Co-chair, Ontario Hospital Association Program, 'Capital Redevelopment Projects - Legal and Practical Issues' - September 2000.
• Lecturer for Ontario Hospital Association Health Care Trustee Institute Program - "Effective Health Care Governance - Legal Aspects of Governance" - 1999 - Present.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Hospital Accountability in 2001' – October 2001.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Orientation to Role of Hospital Trustee' - 1999 - Present.
• Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Conference "Orientation to the Office of Board Chair" - 1997 - Present.
• Speaker, Canadian Institute Conference - 'Partnering in Healthcare Making the Deal – Aligning Expectations and Strengthening the Partnership to Meet All the Player’s Needs' - April, 1999.
• Chair, Ontario Hospital Association Conference, 'Implementing Restructuring - Legal Issues Arising from Implementing Amalgamation, Closures and Transfers' - September 1997.
• Chair and Speaker, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Getting Together: Partnerships, Networks and Shared Service Arrangements - Governance and Fiscal Issues' - March 1999.
• Chair, Ontario Hospital Association Program 'Role of Today’s Board - Duties and Liabilities of Hospital Trustees' - May 1999.
• Speaker at Ontario Hospital Association Program - 'Legal Conference for Hospital Foundations and Volunteers' - October 1999.
• Chair, Canadian Institute Seminar, 'Hospital Amalgamation' - March, 1997.

Articles/Publications

• Principal author of Ontario Hospital Association, Guide to Good Governance, 2005.
• Author, Building on Strength: Improving Governance and Accountability in Canada's Voluntary Sector. Hospital Quarterly, Volume 2, Number 3, Spring 1999
• Co-Author, Striking the Deal: Legal Considerations on Structuring Shared Service Arrangements. Hospital Quarterly, Volume 1, Number 4, Summer 1998