Background

Alec Zimmerman is a partner in our Toronto office. Alec was called to the Ontario Bar in 1978, having graduated from University of Toronto Law School in 1976.

Areas of Practice

• Financial Services, Insolvency and Restructuring, and Financial Services Regulatory Group.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada (Banking Law)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating

Professional Experience

• Alec has extensive experience in advising a number of Canadian and foreign banks and other domestic and foreign lenders, as well as large corporate borrowers, in relation to acquisition, project and operating credit facilities featuring multiple borrowers, lenders, currencies, jurisdictions, and tiered interests.
• Alec is also widely known for his experience and expertise in connection with insolvency and restructuring matters, principally acting on behalf of creditors or court-appointed officers. He has also represented a federal regulatory body in respect of the business and affairs of certain financial institutions.
• Alec has also provided regulatory advice and counsel to various foreign-controlled financial institutions carrying on business in Canada. He has acted on behalf of the applicant in connection with the incorporation of a number of Canadian Schedule II chartered banks, the federal continuance of an Ontario trust company, and the Chase-Chemical and Chase-JP Morgan bank mergers.
• During the period 2003 to 2006, Alec was engaged in the initiative to incorporate a Canadian chartered Schedule I bank (the "Charity Bank") to serve the charitable sector, and he co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer and general counsel to NexgenRx Inc., an employee health benefit plan manager. Prior to his departure in 2003, Alec was recognized in various national and international publications as among the leading lawyers in Canada in Banking, Financial Institutions, and Insolvency and Restructuring, and was listed in the Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.

Professional and Community Activities

• Alec has spoken extensively at numerous public and private seminars, and published papers, on various lending, insolvency, and financial institutions regulatory matters including cross-border financing, security in intellectual property, DIP lending, the co-ordination of cross-border insolvencies, the liquidation of a federally regulated financial institution, principles based regulation and reputation risk.
• Alec serves as Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of JP Morgan Bank Canada, Director and Chairman of the Board of Masterfile Corporation, Director of CanadaHelps (a registered charity providing an online charitable donation portal), and a member of the Independent Advisory Committee to the Ontario Minister of Government Services on Information and Information Technology.