Leading Tax Lawyer, Douglas Powrie, Joins Canadian Law Firm, BLG
Douglas Powrie, one of Canada’s most respected tax lawyers, has joined the Vancouver office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP as a partner and head of its regional tax practice. In addition to serving regional clients, he will help expand the firm’s respected national tax practice.”I came to BLG because I’m excited by the opportunity to continue doing quality work with great clients and to add a new dimension to my career – building on work with commercial clients of a top-tier national full-service firm to grow the tax practice,” said Mr. Powrie. “My initial mandate is to serve and expand tax work in the Vancouver regional office but I’ll be a resource to the national tax practice, which has a solid base and is well positioned for growth.”
Mr. Powrie said he is looking forward to not only expanding the client base of BLG’s tax practice but to ensuring the firm is the premier destination for the country’s very best tax counsel, at every stage of their careers.
“Having Doug join us as a partner was a real coup for us,” said Deborah Overholt, Regional Managing Partner of BLG’s Vancouver office. “He is without a doubt one of the most skilled and respected tax lawyers in Canada, bringing a new leadership dimension to an already strong tax practice. He will be a magnet for some of the most exciting tax work in the country, and for the best legal talent who want to be involved with that work.”
Mr. Powrie’s 21-year legal career is highlighted by work on some of the biggest and most high profile transactions in Canada. Recent transactions in which Mr. Powrie served as Canadian tax counsel include the 2007 merger of Lundin Mining and Tenke Mining, creating a company valued at more than $5 billion on the day of the merger, the acquisition by Teck Cominco Ltd. of a 50 per cent interest in Lease 14 in the Alberta oil sands, and the takeover bid by Finning International Inc. for Collicutt Energy Services.
He was also Canadian tax counsel to Lundin Mining in its $900-million takeover bid for Rio Narcea in 2007, and Canadian tax counsel to Ballard Corp. in the sale of its automotive fuel cell assets to Daimler AG and Ford.
“When thinking about coming to BLG it was important to me that I be able to practice law with a firm that focuses on the interests of the clients,” said the 1987 graduate of the University of Western Ontario’s combined law and MBA program, where he was a gold medalist in both the law school and the combined law-MBA program. “As lawyers we exist to serve the interests of clients in a timely and effective way, and I know that BLG shares that belief and a commitment to unparalleled client service.”
About Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
With more than 700 lawyers, intellectual property agents, and other professionals working in six major Canadian cities, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP is a leading Canadian full-service law firm. BLG provides bilingual legal and intellectual property services in virtually every area of law, and represents a wide range of regional, national and multinational organizations. For further information, visit www.blgcanada.com.