Background

Carol Derk is a partner in our Toronto office. Carol was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1986. She graduated from the University of Toronto Law School in 1984.

Prior to that, Carol majored in music history and received a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree from the University of Alberta and a Master of Arts from the University of Toronto. She is the National Leader of the Firm's Derivatives Group and the Firm's Structured Products Group, a sub-group of the Investment Management Group.

Areas of Practice

• Carol practises in the area of securities law, specializing in investment management funds. She works extensively for managers of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end investment funds and pooled funds, particularly in the area of new product development.
• She also has an extensive derivatives practice, particularly for investment funds and pension funds.
• Other practice areas include corporate and securities transactions, such as public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Mutual Funds Law)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rating

Professional Experience

• Advises investment fund managers on a range of legal issues relating to the administration of retail and exempt investment funds in Canada. Has advised on a number of leading edge transactions and assisted in developing new products in the investment fund area, including:
  
  • The first retail fund of ETFs
  • The first RSP clone fund using derivatives to replicate the performance of an underlying foreign fund
  • The first multi-class structure within a family of mutual funds
  • The creation of tax-efficient returns in fixed income investment funds through the use of a derivative structure
  • Hedge funds and fund-of-fund hedge funds
  • The use of derivatives generally by investment and pension funds.
• Advises public and private companies regarding equity and debt financings, business acquisitions and dispositions, take-overs, corporate mergers and plans of arrangement.
• Advises public and private companies in all areas of their business, including financings, private placements, continuous disclosure obligations, regulatory compliance and directors' and officers' obligations and liabilities.

Professional and Community Activities

• Member of the Canadian Bar Association.
• Member of the ISDA Exchange Traded Funds Annex Working Group.
• Speaker at seminars and conferences on derivatives and investment fund issues.