Best Lawyers in Canada for Charities / Non-Profit Law

As a senior partner and past lead of the Social Impact Group at Miller Thomson, Susan Manwaring is a recognized expert advising social enterprises, charities and non-profits in her practice. Susan is considered a trailblazing thought leader in the charitable sector and is regularly called upon to advise charities and non-profit organizations on compliance and taxation matters under the Income Tax Act, as well as other relevant provincial tax regulations. Susan was a member of the Canadian Rev...

Helen Low, KC is the leader of Fasken’s Wills, Trusts, Estates and Charities Group in BC. She assists clients with contentious disputes regarding wills, trusts, inheritances, powers of attorneys and elderly and incapable family members, as well as estate planning for both simple and complex estates with a goal to avoid post-death disputes. She has been litigation counsel on a broad range of cases, including: challenges to estate plans; variation of wills and trusts; abuse of powers of a...

Corina Weigl is Co-Leader of the Private Client Service group. Her practice is focused on estate and family business succession planning. She develops customized strategies for wills, trusts, and tools designed to protect a client's property, such as domestic contracts, Corina leverages legal and tax regimes to protect multi-jurisdictional property and family interests. She is also active in the Firm, having recently held the positions of Chair of the Firm’s Professional Development Com...

Bryan Millman provides practical legal advice to clients in the tax-exempt sector. Registered charities, not-for-profit organizations, professional bodies and other tax-exempt entities rely on his advice to fulfill their respective missions. Bryan assists his clients on a variety of matters that include charitable registration, governance, corporate structuring and restructuring, social enterprise, regulatory compliance, fundraising and tax. In addition, Bryan counsels donors on philanthropic...

Esther Shainblum is a partner at Carters Professional Corporation, practicing in the areas of charity & not for profit law, privacy law & health law. She has been ranked by Lexpert and Chambers & Partners . From 2005 to 2017, Esther was General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer for Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada, a national, not-for-profit, charitable home & community care organization, where she provided support to the board of directors, management and staff in a var...

Michael works exclusively with the social impact sector, advising charities, not-for-profit organizations, associations, professional bodies, clubs, and social enterprises. With 15 years’ experience, Michael advises sector organizations on a variety of tax and legal matters: Creation: Incorporation and structuring, charity registration applications, organizational start-up. Tax Compliance: Obligations under the Income Tax Act, including charitable purposes and activities, granting, fund...

Terrance Carter, as the Managing Partner of Carters, practices in the area of charity and not-for-profit law, and has been recognized as a leading expert by Lexpert and The Best Lawyers in Canada , and Chambers and Partners . Mr. Carter is also a registered Trade-mark Agent and acts as legal counsel to the Toronto office of the national law firm Fasken on charitable matters. Mr. Carter is a co-author of Corporate and Practice Manual for Charitable and Not-for-Profit Corporations (Thomson Reut...

Ryan was called to the Ontario Bar in 2010 and joined Carters as an associate lawyer, becoming a partner in 2018 with a practice focus of providing corporate and tax advice to charities and non-profit organizations concerning incorporation, ongoing corporate compliance, anti-spam compliance, registration of charities, audits and internal appeals with Canada Revenue Agency, as well as the amalgamation and merger of charities. Ryan has been recognized as a leading expert in charity and not-for-...

M. Elena Hoffstein, FEA, has a practice focused in all areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, corporate reorganization both pre and post mortem planning. She also advises on cross border and international matters, will, trusts and marriage contracts. Elena is also a recognized leader in charity law advising both charities and donors on effective legislative, tax and regulatory matters and on tax effective charitable gifting. Elena frequently advises clients on family b...

David Tang practises both Municipal/Land Development & Planning Law and Charities & Not-For-Profit Law; often where those two disciplines intersect. David provides strategy and advice to landowners and appears regularly before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, the Assessment Review Board, and the courts. He proactively advises on property taxation matters, with a particular emphasis on exemptions and other strategies for charities. He deals regularly with provincial and municipal go...

Mrs. Demczur was called to the Ontario Bar in 1999, joined Carters in 2001 and became a partner in 2007. Her practice is exclusively focused in the areas of charity and not-for-profit law, including incorporation, charitable status applications, corporate restructuring, establishment of churches and religious denominations, international operations, gift planning, legal risk management reviews, charity pre-audit reviews and post-audit submissions to CRA, and advising directors of charities an...

Executive Summary As a partner in the Tax and Estate Planning Group, Lindsay practises in the area of personal tax and estate planning, estate administration and estate litigation. She regularly advises her clients on a wide range of matters including wills, trusts, domestic contracts, powers of attorney, mental incompetency proceedings, court audits, estate and trust taxation and post-mortem estate planning. Lindsay has lectured extensively on tax and estate planning at the Canada Tax Confer...

Stephen is a Vancouver-based lawyer who specializes in charities law and estate planning. Stephen provides advice and services to all clients – charities, not-for-profit organizations, foundations, boards, schools, social entrepreneurs, individuals, families, and business owners – in the following areas: Charities Law: Incorporation, Charitable Registration, Board Governance, Compliance and Tax, and Gift Planning. Estate Planning: Wills, Incapacity Planning, Trusts, Business Succe...

Dion Legge practises tax law. His practice focuses on the income tax aspects of corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, takeovers, debt and equity financings, and the taxation of flow-through vehicles. Mr. Legge also advises on tax-planning issues related to international structures for Canadian-based multinational corporations, on investments by non-residents in Canada, and on structuring cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and financings. He joined our Calgary o...

Jules Charette practises tax law. He regularly advises businesses, developers, public bodies and financial institutions on the tax aspects of financings, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, executive compensation and international transactions. Mr. Charette also represents taxpayers in disputes with the tax authorities. In addition, he advises individuals on estate planning, which has led him to develop expertise in trusts and estates. Mr. Charette is co-chair of our Canadian tax team ...

Sarah Fitzpatrick’s practice focuses on the areas of charities and not-for-profits. She provides general advice to these clients, to assist them in carrying out their missions and mandates. Sarah counsels charities and not-for-profit clients on governance matters, tax and regulatory compliance, social enterprise and gift planning. She also assists clients with general corporate legal matters including major business contracts, transactions and restructuring. Sarah's practice is recogniz...