At SMGS, we advise and counsel our clients on all matters relating to and touching on business law. Business law is the body of law which applies to and governs the conduct of business, including commercial transactions. Whether you are an entrepreneur starting out in business or a sophisticated commercial party, SMGS has the knowledge, the resources and the approach to help you grow your business while mitigating legal risk.

Our approach is both technical and holistic. Our knowledge of the law is complemented by our knowledge of how our clients conduct business – how they operate, the areas in which they operate, and their corporate and financial positions and histories. We take learning about our clients very seriously. This knowledge allows us to provide quality advice and carefully tailored legal solutions.

The business law group at SMGS, headed by Me David Sternthal, is supported in its practice by the litigation group. The litigation group handles all legal disputes, provides our clients with litigation support, and with strategic insight into the drafting and preparation of contracts and agreements.

We advise national and international clients on business operations in Quebec and throughout Canada, including regulatory requirement.

• Mergers and acquisitions
• Incorporation, dissolution and reorganization of companies
• Shareholder agreements
• preparation, negotiation and review of a wide variety of commercial agreements
• Corporate financing
• Reorganization
• Partnerships / Joint Ventures
• Trusts/Estates
• Intellectual property
• Real Estate
• Maintenance of corporate books, including government filings

Our focus is on offering a pragmatic and affordable solution to a wide-ranging number of sensitive and personal legal matters.

We can help you plan for and manage all of the most important issues in your life, from those around your work, your home, your estate and any personal legal disputes to the wide variety of legal needs that small and medium sized businesses encounter.

Our lawyers are well-equipped to handle the toughest legal matters that may affect you, your family or your assets.

We understand these situations and can represent you; walking you through them, demystifying them and guiding you to make things a little easier.

We are well aware that any legal process can be stressful and somewhat intimidating.

We’re people first. We practice law because we are passionate about helping our clients with their legal needs. We are committed to providing peace of mind, value and experienced assistance no matter what the scope of your legal requirements might be.

The SMGS litigation department is headed by Me Leon Greenberg and is composed of experienced attorneys that plead on a regular basis before all courts both in trial and appellate divisions and also represent clients in arbitration and mediation matters.

Our approach is simple: We try cases!

By treating every matter as if it will go to trial, we are better able to achieve results for our clients, whether the case proceeds to judgment at trial or ends in a settlement.

Our trial experience benefits clients in many ways:

Preparation counts — in and out of the courtroom. We pay close attention to the factual details of each case and carry out a careful analysis of the applicable legislation and case law.

Sound business decisions. The decision to settle or go to trial is a tough call — often one of the most difficult decisions our clients can make. Through our experience we can better explain options for resolution, conduct a thorough and objective risk analysis, and help clients reach the best decision for their business.

Cooperation. Our attorneys cooperate daily with their colleagues in the Business law department to advise and counsel them to develop strategies to avoid disputes and litigation.  However, when the need arises, they have the required ability to issue the appropriate proceedings to best safeguard your interests in the event of litigation.

Our litigation team attorneys can protect your rights with respect to shareholder disputes, debt recovery, loans and hypothecary recourses, banking issues, claims relating to fraud, bankruptcy and insolvency, civil and professional liability, estate related litigation, commercial leasing issues, construction claims, latent defect claims and wrongful dismissals.

As experienced attorneys, our team is called upon to issue legal opinions of a wide variety of issues for the benefit of lenders, bankruptcy trustees, liquidators and other attorneys who find themselves in a conflict of interest situation.

Our lawyers provide lenders and borrowers with the advice and guidance they need to reduce risk and complete transactions on time, and on budget, without comprising service. With extensive experience working with prominent institutions, including one of Canada’s Big Five Banks, several non-traditional lenders and borrowers.

Our Banking, Financing & Insolvency lawyers have extensive knowledge of bankruptcy and insolvency matters. This allows us to provide well-considered advice and transaction structures to ensure risk is minimized, outcomes are predictable and clients are protected.

With well established connections to lawyers throughout Canada and all over the world, our lawyers are able to manage international transactions with ease, providing clients with a uniform, co-ordinated approach to making sure their interests are well represented in all jurisdictions.

Borrower Transactions and Legal Opinions

We regularly represent corporate clients in their borrowings. This work involves substantial due diligence, negotiation of the complex documentation with financial institutions and the preparation and delivery of complex legal opinions.

Real Estate Finance

We help lenders and borrowers negotiate and document real estate secured loans and related transactions, ranging from loans for single properties to large, multi-million-dollar, credit facilities. Our experience includes advising clients on traditional mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, mortgage securitizations and bank syndication financings.

Securitization Transactions

We have long represented clients in complex securitization transactions and structured financings. We have represented clients in numerous asset-backed transactions, including securitizations of trade receivables, small business loans, equipment leases, government receivables.

We have developed a thorough knowledge base on a wide variety of financing methods and techniques and can input this knowledge to facilitate and expedite financings in the fields of:

• Structured finance
• Subordinated debt finance
• Syndicated financings
• Receivables finance
• Leveraged acquisition finance
• Project finance
• Acquisition finance
• Asset-based lending
• Bridge finance
• Construction finance
• Corporate lending
• Debt restructuring
• Intercreditor arrangements