IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025
2 Nov - 7 Nov 2025
Session information
Welcome to the wild west: activism in Canada and elsewhere
Friday 7 November (0930 - 1045)
Committee(s)
Corporate and M&A Law Committee
(Lead)
Description
Shareholder activism continues to rise rapidly in jurisdictions globally, including in Canada, Japan, Europe and elsewhere. For this reason, it has become ever-more important that practitioners globally develop the skills required to identify and respond to a live activism situation with efficiency and expertise.
During this session, our panellists will lead you through an illustrative live activism scenario, walking through relevant legal considerations to keep in mind, potential defensive measures, components of a strong activism response framework and advisor team, and shareholder engagement strategies, among other topics.
Focusing on unique aspects of activism in Canada as compared to other jurisdictions, panellists will discuss how to address developments including:
• the sudden emergence of an activist holding a significant stake;
• attacks by multiple activists in parallel;
• actions that might be anticipated from an activist; and
• potential company responses.
Session / Workshop Chair(s)
| Ronald Chen | Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, New York, New York, USA; Assistant Secretary, Corporate and M&A Law Committee |
| Barbara Ramperti | Marval O'Farrell Mairal, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Conference Coordinator South America, Corporate and M&A Law Committee |
Speakers
| Matthieu Brochier | Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier , Paris, France |
| Tamar Goldstein | Kimmeridge Energy, New York, New York, USA |
| Michael Klym | Goldman Sachs, Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Yuki Oi | Nishimura & Asahi, Tokyo, Japan; Young Lawyers' Committee Liaison Officer, Corporate and M&A Law Committee |
| Walied Soliman | Norton Rose Fulbright, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |