Kenneth E. "Ken" Burns
Recognized since 2010
Vancouver, British Columbia
Employee Benefits Law





Contact & Links
- E-mail: kburns@lawsonlundell.com
- Lawyer Page: https://www.lawsonlundell.com/team-Kenneth-Burns
Location
- Cathedral Place, Suite 1600
925 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 3L2
Canada
Languages
- English
Bar Admissions
- Alberta, 2006
- British Columbia, 1998
- Northwest Territories, 2000
Affiliations
- Association of Canadian Pension Management - Board of Directors - Member
- Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute - Past British Columbia Council Member
- International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans - Current Canadian Legal/Legislative and Public Sector Committee Member
76 The Best Lawyers in Canada™ awards
19 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada™ awards





Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Employee Benefits Law, Vancouver, Canada (2023)
- Employee Benefits Law, Vancouver, Canada (2019)
- Employee Benefits Law, Vancouver, Canada (2017)
- Employee Benefits Law, Vancouver, Canada (2014)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada™ 2023 for work in:
- Employee Benefits Law
Awards:
- Best Lawyers: Employee Benefits Law Lawyer of the Year in Vancouver for 2017
- 2016 Premier Awards: Premier Award for Collaboration
- Chambers Canada: recognized in the Pensions & Benefits (Canada) category
- Best Lawyers in Canada: recognized for Employee Benefits law
- 2014 Best Lawyers in Canada: Employee Benefits Law Lawyer of the Year 2014 for Vancouver
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2016: most frequently recommended as a Leading Practitioner for Pensions & Employee Benefits (Employer)
- Chambers Global: recognized in the Pensions & Benefits (Canada) category
- Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory: AV Peer Review rated
Experience
- Acting for the board of a public sector multi-employer pension plan in negotiations with government over changes to legislation governing the plan
- Acting for a mining company in the design and set up of new pension and benefit plans prior to the opening of operations in northern Canada
- Structuring and advising on a client company's pension committee, and providing professional oversight for several of the company's pension plans
- Setting up pension governance and legislative compliance monitoring systems for various clients
- Representing a multi-employer pension board in litigation to recover withdrawal liability obligations of a former participating employer
- Assisting a forest products company in negotiating the pension and benefits disclosure requirements in a complex lending agreement
- Negotiating pension and benefit terms in corporate mergers and acquisitions on behalf of numerous large and small clients
- Drafting submissions to pension regulators on behalf of numerous clients
- Advising on and setting up letters of credit to secure supplemental pension plans for various employers
- Setting up retirement compensation arrangements for employers in the forest, mining and retail industries
- Advising a US airline and a US mining company on ways to best mirror 401(k) plans for employees in Canada
- Drafting an opinion to a forestry company on best practices in winding down a pension plan
- Helping a Canadian multi-national company establish a savings plan for expatriate employees
- Drafting template custodial documents for a trust company
- Negotiating funding relief for a plan sponsor with the federal pension regulator
- Assisting an energy company in selecting and moving its pension fund to a new pension fund holder
- Assisting a consortium of pension funds on joint investments in private equity funds
- Drafting statements of investment policies and procedures for an insurance company's defined contribution plan
- Advising a US head office on the oversight of its Canadian subsidiary's pension obligations
- Drafting and amending pension trust agreements for various employers and multi-employer plan boards of trustees
- Advising a mining company on the implementation of phased retirement provisions in its pension plan
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