Legal year in review 2020 - Legal Year in Review 2020

Listen to our Legal Year in Review

Throughout 2020, there were many significant legal developments that will continue to affect Canadian businesses in 2021 and beyond. Our 2020 Legal Year in Review includes 32 articles where we share our insights and views on the most important legal and business developments from the past year.

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Without a doubt, 2020 was a challenging year. While COVID-19 had a profound impact, many of this year’s legal developments were unrelated or occurred in spite of it. Here are our observations on the most significant legal and business developments from 2020.

Read or listen to the Introduction

Economic Overview

Understanding the K-shaped economic recovery

M&A

Top public M&A legal developments in 2020

Litigation

Litigating during COVID-19 and other notable litigation developments in 2020

Health

COVID-19 expands health industry to all sectors

Employment & Labour

COVID-19 and difficult decisions for employers: Employment challenges in 2020

Corporate / Securities

Reducing the regulatory burden: Positive changes in corporate and securities law

Capital markets - U.S.

U.S. securities law developments in 2020

Governance

The rules they are a-changin’: Corporate governance developments in 2020

Executive Compensation

A year of upheavals and dashed expectations: Executive compensation developments in 2020

Emerging and High Growth Companies

Canadian technology sector M&A activity accelerates into 2021

Mining

All that glitters – 2020 mining review

Capital markets

Novel hybrid debt issuances by Canadian banks

M&A

Representations and warranties insurance – An increasingly important tool for Canadian dealmakers

Litigation

Force majeure clauses: Contractual risk allocation and the COVID-19 pandemic

Capital Markets Enforcement

Evolving capital markets regulatory enforcement

Insolvency

Notable developments in insolvency law: Flexible tools for challenging times

Litigation

Key developments in white-collar defence

Financial services

Flexibility in the financial market in response to major changes

Financial Services Regulatory

Financial services regulation in 2020: Convergence, disruption and acceleration

Cryptocurrency

New opportunities and new challenges for cryptoasset trading platforms

Competition

Enhanced foreign investment scrutiny and a busy year for the Competition Bureau

Trade

CUSMA comes into force and Biden is elected President: Calmer seas ahead for U.S.-Canada trade?

Construction

Economic recovery stimulates the Canadian construction and infrastructure sector

Energy

Pursuing renewable projects in Alberta in 2021: 5 things you need to know

Climate

Federal and provincial battles continue over climate change regulation

Real Estate

“Location, location, location” replaced by “COVID, COVID, COVID”

Tax

COVID-19 tax measures and proposed international tax reform

Tax

From treaty shopping to FAPI and transfer pricing: Notable international tax cases

Intellectual property

2020: A year of clarity for Canadian life sciences and software patents

Technology

A busy year for technology: From contracting during COVID to consumer-directed finance

Privacy

A year featuring a flurry of Canadian privacy legislative reform

Innovation

Listen to our Legal Year in Review

Ways to listen

Read our Legal Year in Review

Legal Year in Review

Understanding the K-shaped economic recovery

Top public M&A legal developments in 2020

Litigating during COVID-19 and other notable litigation developments in 2020

COVID-19 expands health industry to all sectors

COVID-19 and difficult decisions for employers: Employment challenges in 2020

Reducing the regulatory burden: Positive changes in corporate and securities law

U.S. securities law developments in 2020

The rules they are a-changin’: Corporate governance developments in 2020

A year of upheavals and dashed expectations: Executive compensation developments in 2020

Canadian technology sector M&A activity accelerates into 2021

All that glitters – 2020 mining review

Novel hybrid debt issuances by Canadian banks

Representations and warranties insurance – An increasingly important tool for Canadian dealmakers

Force majeure clauses: Contractual risk allocation and the COVID-19 pandemic

Evolving capital markets regulatory enforcement

Notable developments in insolvency law: Flexible tools for challenging times

Key developments in white-collar defence

Flexibility in the financial market in response to major changes

Financial services regulation in 2020: Convergence, disruption and acceleration

New opportunities and new challenges for cryptoasset trading platforms

Enhanced foreign investment scrutiny and a busy year for the Competition Bureau

CUSMA comes into force and Biden is elected President: Calmer seas ahead for U.S.-Canada trade?

Economic recovery stimulates the Canadian construction and infrastructure sector

Pursuing renewable projects in Alberta in 2021: 5 things you need to know

Federal and provincial battles continue over climate change regulation

“Location, location, location” replaced by “COVID, COVID, COVID”

COVID-19 tax measures and proposed international tax reform

From treaty shopping to FAPI and transfer pricing: Notable international tax cases

2020: A year of clarity for Canadian life sciences and software patents

A busy year for technology: From contracting during COVID to consumer-directed finance

A year featuring a flurry of Canadian privacy legislative reform

Acceleration in the adoption of innovative legal service delivery