THORSTEINSSONS - Key Persons
Adrian is an associate at the firm's Vancouver office.
Adrian's practice focuses on Canadian commodity tax, including the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), Goods and Services Tax (GST), provincial sales taxes, and realty taxes (including the B.C. Speculation and Vacancy Tax, City of Vancouver Empty Homes Tax, land/property transfer taxes, and the B.C. Foreign Buyers Tax).
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons LLP, Adrian clerked at the Tax Court of Canada, Adrian obtained his Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School. During his JD, he received the Benjamin Laufer Memorial Prize in International Law for the highest cumulative average in Public and Private International Law courses and the Honourable N.W. Rowell Prize for the highest standing in Public International Law.
Education
J.D., Osgoode Hall Law School
BA - Western University
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Vice - President of the Canadian Tax Foundation 's Vancouver Young Practitioners Steering Committee
Alexei Paish is an associate practicing in the firm's Vancouver office.
Alexei maintains a broad tax practice with a view to achieving tax efficiency across his clients' personal and business affairs. Alexei's advisory work relates primary to succession / estate planning and reorganizations of closely-held corporations. Alexei also regularly advises on immigration / emigration tax planning, taxation of settlements, executive compensation and tax-exempt organizations.
Alexei currently serves as the vice-president of the Canadian Tax Foundation's Vancouver Young Practitioners Steering Committee and is an instructor and author for Chartered Professional Accountants (British Columbia) and the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (CLEBC). Alexei also serves as a director of the Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, a registered charitable organization.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons LLP, Alexei clerked with the Honourable Judith M. Woods of the Federal Court of Appeal and practiced at a national law firm. Alexei obtained his Juris Doctor from the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia, where he received numerous awards including the Honourable R.L. Maitland Memorial Scholarship for highest standing in second year of law. Alexei previously worked as a professional freelance percussionist with organizations including the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Island Symphony and Theatre Under the Stars. In his downtime, Alexei enjoys writing and playing music, exercise and spending time with his family.
Education
Juris Doctor, University of British Columbia
Bachelor of Music, University of Victoria (with Distinction)
Antonio Alcantara Tangonan is an associate working out of the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Antonio is a Dual JD graduate from the University of Windsor and University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. In 2020, he competed in the Donald D.H. Bowman National Tax Moot, and he was a coach for Windsor Law's 2021 team. Antonio also served as Windsor Law's Tax Law Society President and was a teaching assistant for Canadian Income Tax. On two separate occasions, he was a judicial intern in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons, Antonio was a summer and articling student at a national law firm.
Education
JD, University of Windsor, 2021
JD, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, 2021 cum laude
BSc (Hons), University of Toronto, 2018 High Distinction
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Adjunct Professor at the Peter a. Allard School of Law
Asif Abdulla is a partner working out of the Vancouver office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
He practices in the area of domestic and international tax planning for individuals, trusts, corporations and other private enterprises with a view to achieving tax efficiency across all aspects of his clients' personal and business affairs.
Asif's practice is focused on advising individuals and businesses in respect of succession and estate planning, tax-driven corporate reorganizations, immigration/emigration tax planning, business structuring and cross-border tax planning. Asif acts for a number of clients who are in dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency and provides advice in respect of applying under the Voluntary Disclosure Program.
Asif is an Adjunct Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law - UBC, teaching upper year courses involving taxation of corporations and corporate reorganizations. He is also an instructor and author for various courses and seminars offered by CPA BC and other business institutions in BC.
Education
J.D., University of Victoria (competitor in the Donald G.H. Bowman National Tax Moot; recipient of the University of Victoria President's Scholarship, McMillan LLP First-Year Achievement Award and the Acheson Whitley Sweeney Prize in Torts)
B.A., University of Ottawa (concentration in Criminology)
In-Depth Tax Course, CPA Canada
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Firm 's Management Committee and Co - Chair
Brandon Wiener is a partner of Thorsteinssons LLP.
His practice focuses on personal, corporate and trust planning for high net worth individuals, professionals, executives, owner-managers and their businesses, both domestic and international, including: corporate reorganizations; structuring of investments and businesses including professional incorporations; purchases and sales of businesses and real estate; estate planning; immigration and emigration; and non-profit organizations and charities including private foundations.
Brandon also advises investment funds and their managers and advisors in connection with structuring and other fund-related tax issues.
Having a strong background in tax litigation, Brandon also assists and represents clients in their dealings with the taxation authorities in the context of an audit or assessment or voluntary disclosure.
Brandon is also a member of the firm's Management Committee and co-chair of the firm's Recruitment Committee.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons LLP in 2010, Brandon worked in the litigation and tax departments of the Montreal office of a large national law firm. He also worked as a law clerk for the Honourable Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Brandon has written and presented on a wide variety of tax topics in various publications and conferences, including the 2011 Annual National Tax Conference (in Montreal) and the 2014 and 2017 Ontario Tax Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation. Brandon has served on the Executive of the Taxation Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association and has been a member of the Program Committee for both the Annual National Tax Conference as well as the Ontario Tax Conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation. Brandon is also a course instructor for the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. He is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the International Fiscal Association and the Association de planification fiscale et financière and has completed Parts I and II of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants' In-Depth Tax Course.
Brandon obtained a B. Sc. from McGill University in 1999 (Dean's Honour List and with Great Distinction) and a B.C.L./LL.B. from McGill University in 2002 (Dean's Honour List and with Great Distinction). While at law school (where he ranked second in his graduating class), Brandon was awarded a host of prizes and scholarships, including the Alexander Morris Exhibition Prize (for highest standing in second year), the Stikeman Elliott/Carswell National Tax Award Prize (for excellence in Taxation Law and Corporate Law), the Allan Neil Assh Memorial Award (for highest standing in the Business Associations course), and the Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Scholarship (for highest standing in the Securities Regulation course).
Brandon was called to the Québec Bar in 2003 and the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2005. Brandon is fluent in French and advises and represents clients in federal, Ontario and Québec tax matters.
Brendan Forrest is an associate working out of the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Brendan's practice focuses on corporate tax advisory and planning services.
Brendan earned his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto and his Juris Doctor from the Robson Hall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. While in law school, Brendan worked as a student editor for the Desautels Review for Private Enterprise and the Law and volunteered with Pro Bono Students Canada providing legal aid services to low-income individuals. Brendan attended the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2017 and completed the Asper International Program on Israeli Law & Society.
Brendan has been published in an academic law journal and has authored practitioner-oriented articles on several tax topics for a provincial bar association.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons LLP, Brendan practiced in the corporate and tax departments of a major law firm.
Education
B.A. (Honours), St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, 2014
Asper International Program on Israeli Law & Society, Rothberg International School, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2017
J.D., Robson Hall Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba, 2019 (UMSU Scholarship for placing in the top 4% of first year law; Dean's Honour list for placing in the top 10% of law students 2017, 2018, 2019; Pitblado Scholarship 2017, 2018; Neil James MacDonald Memorial Prize for highest standing in Criminal Law)
Brian R. Carr, LLB is of Counsel in Thorsteinssons' Toronto office. He holds a B.Sc. (1970) and an LL.B. (1973) from the University of Toronto.
Mr. Carr is a former Chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, a Past-Chair of the National Taxation Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association and former Co-Chair and Member of the CBA/CICA Joint Committee on Taxation. He is a Past-Chair of the legislative subcommittee of the Taxation Section of the Ontario Bar Association. He is currently Co-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association programme "Tax Law For Lawyers", an educational programme designed for tax lawyers in the first three years of practice. He is a former editor of the Canadian Tax Journal. Mr. Carr has served as contributing editor to Ward's Tax Law and Planning (1983-95) and as assistant editor of the Canadian Petroleum Tax Journal (1988-96). He is the author of "Taxation of Resource Industries" (Carswell, 1987), the co-author and a co-Editor-in-Chief (with Torran Jolly of KPMG LLP in Calgary) of Canadian Resource Taxation" (a loose-leaf service first published by Carswell in 1996) and co-author with C. Anne Calverley, formerly with Dentons LLP in Calgary, of Introduction to Resource Taxation in Canada (Carswell, 2014). Mr. Carr has written several articles published in the Canadian Tax Journal, the Corporate Management Tax Conference Reports, the Canadian Tax Foundation Conference Reports and the Canadian Petroleum Tax Journal. In 1996, he was co-winner of the Canadian Tax Foundation's Douglas J. Sherbaniuk Distinguished Writing Award as co-author of "Today's Butterfly," published in the Foundation's 1994 Conference Report. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to the Canadian Tax Foundation. In 2016, he was awarded the inaugural Award of Excellence by the Tax Section of the Canadian Bar Association of Ontario and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Brittany Rossler is an associate working out of the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Brittany's practice focuses on all aspects of tax litigation and dispute resolution.
She has represented clients in appeals before the Tax Court of Canada, Federal Court of Appeal, and various levels of provincial courts on a wide range of international and domestic issues. She also assists clients throughout the CRA's administrative processes and has drafted successful submissions for audits, objections, voluntary disclosures, and taxpayer relief applications.
Practising primarily in income tax and indirect tax disputes, Brittany also has experience assisting with tax planning and preparing legal opinions.
Before joining Thorsteinssons, Brittany worked at the affiliate law firm of a big 4 accounting firm and clerked for the judges of the Tax Court of Canada.
Education
In-depth Tax Course (Parts I, II, and III), CPA Canada (completed)
Cadie Yiu is an associate practicing in the firm's Toronto office.
Chris is a partner practicing in the firm's Vancouver office.
Chris's practice focuses on tax litigation and taxpayer representation. He represents taxpayers in all manner of tax disputes, including income tax and GST/HST audits and objections, representation before the courts, and voluntary disclosures. He has extensive experience with recent Canada Revenue Agency audit projects, including capital vs. income reassessments (e.g., sales of real property) and net-worth assessments. Chris takes a detail-oriented approach and seeks to resolve disputes as efficiently as possible for his clients, whether through substantive success on the facts and the law or through negotiated settlements.
Chris also writes on a variety of tax-related issues, and his work has been published in Canadian Tax Focus and Tax Times.
Education
D., University of Victoria
A. (Honours, Economics), Vancouver Island University
Colin Smith is a partner at the Toronto office.
Colin's practice covers all income tax matters relating to domestic and foreign business ventures and administrative appeals to the Canada Revenue Agency. However, Colin has a particular focus on the taxation of private corporations and estate planning for high net-worth clients.
Colin is a frequent lecturer and contributor to various tax publications. Colin has published various articles in the Federated Press' Taxation of Executive Compensation and Retirement, the Canadian Tax Foundation's Tax Highlights, the Canadian Tax Foundation's Tax For The Owner Manager and in various Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association publications. Colin has spoken at numerous conferences, including conferences sponsored by the Ontario Bar Association, the Strategy Institute, the Council for International Tax Education, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ontario. Colin is the author of several courses, and serves as instructor for several courses, offered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ontario.
Colin Smith received his B.A. degree from Huron College at the University of Western Ontario and his LL.B. degree from the University of New Brunswick. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2000. He is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the OBA and the CBAO (tax section).
David Baxter received his law degree from the University of Toronto and earlier graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of British Columbia. He was admitted to the British Columbia Bar in 1994.
David's practice focuses on tax planning for individuals, trusts and corporations in both domestic and international matters, including divisive reorganizations, estate planning, business structuring and sales, life insurance matters, foreign affiliates and cross-border structures. David's clients include owner-managers, private corporations and public corporations. David also advises non-residents, including persons who plan to immigrate to Canada.
David is a frequent lecturer to tax advisors, professional associations and businesses regarding tax planning matters. He has written numerous papers and articles on a variety of tax planning matters and is the author of business succession courses for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia and Ontario. David has also lectured on tax matters at the University of British Columbia law school.
David Christian is a graduate of Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia Law School and a partner at Thorsteinssons, Tax Lawyers.
David's practice covers all taxation matters, with a particular focus on corporate reorganizations and taxation of owner-managed businesses.
David was for eight years an adjunct professor of corporate tax law at Allard Hall, the law school at the University of British Columbia. He was for many years a contributor to the tax materials for the Professional Legal Training Course of British Columbia, and has lectured on tax matters at conferences sponsored by the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Conference for Advance Life Underwriting, the Pacific Business and Law Institute, the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, and various professional organizations including the Certified General Accountants Association of British Columbia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the British Columbia Medical Association, and the Canadian Bar Association.
David Thompson received a B.Comm (1979) and LLB (1983) from the University of British Columbia.
He was called to the bar in 1984 and has practiced exclusively in taxation matters since 1985. David is a registered trust and estate practitioner certified by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. David was a governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation.
David is noted as a leading Canadian tax lawyer based on peer-review ratings in Lexpert and in Martindale Hubell. He is noted as a leading Canadian tax lawyer and a leading Canadian trust and estate lawyer based on peer-review ratings in The Best Lawyers in Canada.
David has lectured on taxation for the CLEBC, the CPABC, the CRA and at various professional development seminars including the national and provincial tax conferences of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the national tax conference of the CPA Canada.
David was one of the founders of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation (now Avalanche Canada) and was a forestry contractor before becoming a lawyer.
Elliott Simpson is an Associate working out of the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Elliott obtained his JD from Western Law in 2022. At law school, he was VP Finance of the Student Legal Society, and a co-chair of the Western Tax Law Association, the Social Committee and Running From the Law (a running club). Elliott is developing a practice in corporate tax advice and planning.
Education
JD, University of Western Ontario, 2022
Eryn Fanjoy is a partner working out of the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Eryn advises clients in all areas of income tax law, including corporate reorganizations and restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, cross-border structures and executive compensation.
Eryn advises investment funds and their managers and advisors in connection with structuring and other fund-related tax issues. Eryn also practises in the areas of personal taxation, estate planning and trust taxation for individuals and families.
Eryn advises clients in their dealings with Canada Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Finance on tax matters.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons, Eryn was an associate at a national law firm.
Education
JD, University of Toronto
MA (Economics), Queen's University
BA, McGill University
Florence Sauve is a partner in the Toronto office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Florence's practice focuses on all aspects of taxpayer representation and tax. She assists her clients in managing and resolving tax audit and appeal disputes and represents her clients before the courts. Florence has extensive experience in making representations to the federal and provincial tax authorities and successfully negotiating out of court settlements. She is currently working on a number of audits and appeals dealing with a wide range of international and domestic tax issues. Florence is a regular lecturer and writer on various tax issues.
Gloria is a partner practicing in the firm's Toronto office.
Gloria's practice includes corporate tax advisory, tax planning for individuals and trusts, business structuring, and tax dispute resolution. She is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese.
Prior to joining Thorsteinssons, Gloria was a summer and articling student at an international law firm.
Education
Osgoode Hall Law School, 2017, JD
Queen Mary University of London, 2016, LLM Exchange Program
Western University, 2014, HBA
Ian Gamble is widely recognized as a leading international tax lawyer in Canada. He has vast experience representing large multinational and domestic corporations across all industry sectors. He advises on cross-border mergers & acquisitions, financings, group restructurings, controlled foreign affiliates, international tax treaties, joint ventures, CRA audits, and related tax appeals.
Ian has been recognized in several industry publications: Best Lawyers in Canada; Guide to the World's Leading Tax Advisers; International Tax Review (Top 10 Tax Advisors in Canada); Lexpert Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada; Lexpert Guide to the Leading US-Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada; Lexpert Canadian Legal Directory (Corporate Tax); Canada's Leading Corporate Tax Lawyers Lexpert Special Edition; Chambers' Global Guide to the World's Best Lawyers; and Who's Who Legal (Corporate Tax).
Ian has written two leading textbooks in Canada - The Foreign Affiliate Rules (Wolters Kluwer, co-authored with Bill Holmes) and Taxation of Canadian Mining (Carswell). He is also a former Editor-in-Chief of the International Tax Planning and Resource Sector Taxation Journals (Federated Press), Adjunct Professor of Corporate and International Taxation at the Peter A. Allard School of Law (University of British Columbia), Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation, and author of numerous tax-related articles.
Ian Humphries is a partner working out of the Vancouver office of Thorsteinssons LLP.
Ian joined Thorsteinssons after articling and practicing securities law at a national law firm. Prior to law school, Ian worked as an investment banker in the real estate and infrastructure sectors.
Ian's practice primarily focuses on international and domestic corporate tax planning for private corporations and multinational groups as well as providing tailored personal and estate planning advice. Additionally, Ian provides taxpayer representation services to his clients in managing and resolving tax audit and appeal disputes with the CRA.
Education
Bachelor of Commerce (Honors), Queens University
J.D., University of British Columbia (Kenneth S Fawcus Memorial Prize in Civil Procedure, Douglas Knowles Fellowship in Insolvency Law)
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner
- Member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
Jim is the Managing partner of Thorsteinssons LLP and practices in the firm's Toronto office.
Jim's practice includes both domestic and international corporate and personal tax planning, private corporations, trusts and estates. Jim also represents clients during audits and appeals with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Jim is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and the Canadian Tax Foundation. He is a member of and Past-Chair of the Taxation Section of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA). Jim has spoken at numerous conferences and continuing education programs offered by the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the OBA, STEP, the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ontario), the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU), Strategy Institute, Insight and the Council for International Tax Education. Jim has published articles in the Canadian Tax Foundation's Canadian Tax Journal and Canadian Tax Highlights, STEP Journal, Taxation Law (OBA), and Tax Litigation (Federated Press).
Jim was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1999. He received his LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario in 1997 and his Bachelors of Business Administration (Honours) from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1993.
Jeanne is an associate in the firm's Toronto office.
Her practice centers on domestic tax planning for owner-managers, professional corporations, trusts and estates, and high-net worth individuals. She also advises clients on tax disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency.
Jeanne has contributed to presentations for the Ontario Bar Association, Canadian Tax Foundation, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, and has published in Canada Law Book, Canadian Tax Highlights and Tax for the Owner-Manager.
Jeanne articled at the firm and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2007. She received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall and B.Comm (Finance & Economics) from the University of Toronto.
Jenna is a partner practicing in the firm's Toronto office.
Jenna advises clients on the tax aspects of a wide variety of matters, including corporate reorganizations and restructurings, mergers and acquisitions and cross-border structures. She also practises in the areas of personal taxation, estate planning and trust taxation for individuals and families.
Jenna also advises clients in their dealings with Canada Revenue Agency and the Ministry of Finance on tax matters.
Education
In-Depth Tax Course, CPA Canada
JD, University of Toronto
BA, McGill University
Jennifer is a partner practicing in the firm's Vancouver office. She represents companies and individuals in complex tax litigation, in both the civil and criminal contexts. She guides her clients through all stages of interaction with the tax authorities including tax audits, administrative appeals, trials in the Tax Court of Canada, judicial review applications, and appeal proceedings.
She also represents clients who are the targets of criminal investigations and prosecutions for tax evasion and related offences such as Criminal Code fraud and forgery. Trained as both a tax lawyer and as criminal defence counsel, she brings a unique combination of skills to criminal tax cases. She has appeared before all levels of court in British Columbia, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal.
Jennifer has:
successfully appealed reassessments issued to mining companies under B.C.'s Mineral Tax Act in the BC Supreme Court and defended against applications by the Ministry of Finance for leave to appeal these judgments to the B.C. Court of Appeal;
represented clients in disputes over tax reassessments under the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR);
acted for clients in high-profile tax evasion and fraud prosecutions in the B.C. Provincial Court and the B.C. Supreme Court;
assisted clients in making applications to the CRA's voluntary disclosures program (VDP);
acted for clients subject to search and seizure of documentation and electronic devices by the Canada Revenue Agency, including litigation related to the protection of solicitor client privilege;
assisted clients in navigating concurrent investigation and enforcement actions by Canadian tax authorities and other agencies such as police, the B.C. Securities Commission, the B.C. Director of Civil Forfeiture, and the IRS; and
acted for clients in Charter challenges against actions by tax authorities and challenges to the constitutional validity of legislation.
In her active pro bono practice, Jennifer assists low income clients with various issues affecting them such as disputes regarding their benefit entitlements and applications for relief from interest and penalties on overdue taxes. She also represents individuals and community organizations in public interest litigation, including constitutional cases.
Jennifer writes on a variety of tax issues and her work has been published in Thomson Reuters' Tax Times and the Canadian Tax Foundation's Canadian Tax Highlights. She is a frequent speaker on tax issues, including for CLEBC and the Pacific Business & Law Institute.
Jennifer received her B.Sc. (Honours, Physics) from Queen's University and her J.D. from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining the firm, she clerked at the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
Jill has advised both Canadian and international private and public entities in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, technology, natural resources, entertainment, and transportation.
Prior to practicing law, Jill practiced tax as a Chartered Accountant and was a senior manager in the tax group at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
Jill received a B. Applied Arts from Ryerson University in 1990 and an LLB from the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law in 2005. She was called to the British Columbia bar in 2006. Jill is a member of both the Law Society of British Columbia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Jill is a frequent presenter for the Law Society of British Columbia's Professional Legal Training Course.
Job Titles:
- Director of Operations and Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Director of Information Technology