Barbara Worndl
Partner

Barbara Worndl is a partner and Practice Group Leader of Tax Group at Aird & Berlis LLP. Barbara's practice is focused on income tax with an emphasis on corporate and partnership taxation, particularly in an international and cross-border context. She has extensive experience in structuring cross-border acquisitions, reorganizations and mergers. Barbara's practice includes derivative transactions, REITs and syndications. She also has experience dealing with the resolution of tax disputes, including transfer pricing. Barbara is a contributor to Tax Profile and TaxLine, as well as many other publications and is a regular presenter on new developments relating to tax.

Jack Bernstein
Partner

Jack Bernstein is a senior tax partner and chair of the firm’s international tax group. Jack is well known in international tax planning, mergers, acquisitions, corporate restructuring, reorganizations, and financing. He is experienced in dealing with public and private corporations, hedge funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds and financial institutions. Jack is a former Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation (CTF) and a former co-Chair of the Taxes Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA). He is a member of Council of the International Fiscal Association (IFA) Canadian Branch and former Chair of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Taxation: Foreign Lawyers Forum. Jack is the author of four and editor of two CCH books, editor of Tax Profile and a contributor to Tax Notes International and Canadian Tax Highlights. He has written many articles for a number of other tax-related publications and lectures extensively on domestic and international tax planning for the ABA, IFA, IBA, CTF and other organizations. Jack is recognized by Who's Who Legal, Chambers Global, Euromoney, PLC Which lawyer?, Martindale-Hubbell, Best Lawyers, and Lexpert®.

Martin Kovnats
Partner

Martin Kovnats is a partner and chair of the firm’s mergers & acquisitions team and co-chair of the international practice group. Martin is a member of the corporate finance and mining groups, and the private equity and venture capital team. He practises primarily in the areas of merger and acquisition activities, take-over bids, public and private debt and equity financings, and other corporate commercial matters. Martin practises in Canada and has extensive experience in cross-border matters abroad (principally in the US and UK), advising clients on various mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate governance matters. Martin has lectured at a number of professional seminars on mergers, acquisitions, securities, corporate commercial law and cross-border issues. He has written articles on acquisitions, equity investments, and securities laws, and is frequently interviewed by leading industry publications. He is a past member of the Securities Advisory Committee, a committee appointed by the Ontario Securities Commission. Martin has been recognized as a leader in his field by Who’s Who Legal, Martindale-Hubbell and Lexpert®.

Francesco Gucciardo
Associate

Francesco’s practice focuses on corporate transactions for both public and private companies in the domestic and international sphere. Francesco has extensive experience in areas of corporate mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations and divestitures, divisive reorganizations, structured finance, income funds, REITs, structuring Canadian inbound investment, private equity investment, structuring executive compensation plans, partnership agreements and joint ventures.