Elizabeth M. Brown

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Elizabeth‘s extensive pension law experience involves advising public and private sector employers, sponsors and administrators on a wide range of regulatory governance, compliance and administration matters relating to pension and employee benefits plans.

Elizabeth represents firm clients on pension litigation disputes and large corporate transactions, including insolvencies, mergers and acquisitions, and reorganizations. She provides ongoing advice to provincially and federally regulated plan sponsors and administrators on jointly sponsored pension plans, defined benefit and defined contribution plans, and savings and profit-sharing plans.

The Ontario Bar Association honoured Elizabeth with the 2017 Award of Excellence in Pensions and Benefits Law.

Representative Work

• Acts as pension counsel to the joint sponsor board of a jointly sponsored pension plan located in Western Canada, including advising on amendments and governance related matters.
• Advises an Ontario based public sector employer on the transfer out of its defined contribution pension plan arrangement to two separate jointly sponsored pension plans.
• Acted as pension counsel to a federally regulated private sector employer in binding arbitration regarding union demand for improvements to large defined benefit pension plan.
• Advises the employer sponsor of a newly established, Ontario based jointly sponsored pension plan and the associated governance and regulatory aspects of the consolidation of multiple single employer pension plans.
• Appointed by the Province of Nova Scotia as one of three pension experts serving on a panel to assess and make recommendations on improving the funding of the Nova Scotia Teachers’ Pension Plan.
• Advised an Ontario broader public sector employer and its investment manager in the transfer and consolidation of its pension plan assets within a new created jointly sponsored pension plan.
• Acted as pension counsel to a broader public sector employer in pension dispute related to the employer sponsored defined benefit pension plan.
• Advised the employer sponsor of a public sector jointly sponsored pension plan on the creation of a new benefit option under the plan for the not-for-profit sector.
• Represented a foreign parent corporation in defending two proposed Newfoundland and Labrador class actions seeking damages in relation to pension and benefits claims related to insolvent Canadian subsidiaries.
• Advised several employers in their negotiations for the conversion of their existing defined benefit and hybrid registered pension plans to a newly created $10 billion multi-employer jointly sponsored pension plan, involving multiple unions and other interested stakeholders.
• Acted as pension counsel to large defined benefit pension plan administrators in applications before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
• Acted as lead pension and benefits counsel to a large steel manufacturer in Companies Creditors’ Arrangement Act proceedings.

Awards & Accolades

• Chambers Canada (2016-2024)
  Band 1: Pensions & Benefits – Nationwide – Canada
• The Best Lawyers in Canada™ (2014-2024)
  Employee Benefits Law
• The Legal 500 Canada (2015-2023)
  Leading Individual: Pensions
• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2007-2023)
  Most Frequently Recommended: Pensions & Employee Benefits – Employer
  Repeatedly Recommended: Labour Relations – Management
• The Best Lawyers in Canada™ (2022)
  “Lawyer of the Year”: Employee Benefits Law, Toronto
• Who’s Who Legal: Global Guide (2019-2023)
  Global Elite Thought Leader: Pensions & Benefits
  Global Leader: Labour & Employment
• Who’s Who Legal: Canada (2012-2022)
  National Leader: Labour, Employment & Benefits
• Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Pension and Benefits Law (2017)

Associations & Memberships

• Steering Committee for Northwind’s 19th Annual Pension Fund Invitational Forum (2022, 2023) | Member (2022, 2023)
• Institute of Corporate Directors | Member
• International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA) | Member
• Ontario Bar Association | Member, Pension and Benefits Law Section
• American Bar Association | Member, CBA Liaison Member | Continuing Legal Education Division | Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (2016 – 2018)
• Canadian Bar Association | Executive Member, Pension and Benefits Law Section | Past Chair (2018-2019)
• Marshall Stakeholder Reference Group | Appointed by the Ontario Minister of Finance | Employer Counsel Representative (2016-2017)

Education

• Institute of Corporate Directors, Directors Education Program (2019-2020)
• York University, LL.B.
• Queen’s University, B.Mus.
• University of Leicester, LL.M.