 Bennett Jones Leonard J. GriffithsPartner • Co-Head of Environmental Practice Toronto griffithsl@bennettjones.com Education Carleton University, B.A., 1980 University of Toronto, LL.B., 1983 Bar Admissions Ontario, 1985 Overview Leonard Griffiths is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in environmental law. Through his broad-based environmental practice, Len assists clients with corporate transactions including mergers, acquisitions and financings, environmental management systems and litigation. He represents clients before administrative tribunals and defends clients charged with environmental offenses. Len counsels clients on matters regarding air, water, hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, chemical substances management (import, export and use), product liability, occupational health and safety, and a wide range of other regulatory issues. He assists clients domestically and internationally to develop and undertake major projects and transactions. He also conducts environmental assessments and compliance audits and has been involved in the decommissioning and remediation of many facilities and properties (brownfields). Len is past vice-chair of the Environmental Specialist Committee for the Law Society of Upper Canada, past chair of the Environmental sections of the Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association, and a founder of the Canadian Centre for Environmental Arbitration and Mediation. Len is the editor and a contributing author of Contaminated Property in Canada and Sustainable Development in Canada: Into the Next Millennium (2000), and is the chief editor of The Environmental Law Journal. He composed a chapter in Directors' Duties in Canada, 4th Edition, published in Canada by CCH Canadian Limited in 2009. Len presents at conferences in Canada and the United States on a variety of environmental, health and safety issues. Len is a former Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto Law School (Natural Resources and Energy; Sustainability). Len is a former and original board member of Plug'n Drive, a non-profit organization committed to accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and infrastructure to maximize environmental and economic benefits. He was a founder and director of the Mississauga Wolverines Youth Basketball league. ,,One delighted client said: 'I would regard him bar none as the best attorney I've ever met, not just in the past year but of all time. He works unrelentingly hard with the highest possible ethical standards and he ensures the outcome is what it should be.',, Select Experience • LSI Industries (Nasdaq; LYTS), a manufacturer of commercial lighting and display solutions, in its acquisition of Canada’s Best Store Fixtures, a provider of retail fixtures and custom store design solutions for grocery, quick service restaurant, c-store, banking and specialty retail environments • Kinross Gold Corporation with environmental review, regulatory permitting and Aboriginal community relations for the Great Bear project • Capvest Partners in its acquisition of Recochem, a Quebec based manufacturer of aftermarket transportation and household fluids. • 48North Cannabis Corp. in its $50-million acquisition by HEXO Corp. • 1908 GP Inc., in the formation of 1908 LP and the formation and capitalization of POI Holdings LP by a syndicate of private Canadian investors led by Cody Church, on behalf of Clear North Capital, together with a team that included Rakesh Saraf (formerly of ATRF) and Kenny Albert (formerly of Kilmer Capital), and the acquisition of a majority interest in the business of POI Business Interiors Inc., a provider of workspace environment solutions and a Steelcase distributer in Ontario. • The Board of Directors of Sears Canada, in Sears' CCAA proceedings, one of the largest court-supervised liquidations in Canadian history. • The Government of Bermuda, as Chief Legal Advisor, in the redevelopment and 30 year operation of Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport. • Shell Canada Products, in regulatory, environmental, aboriginal and land matters regarding a proposed refinery project. • Maple Leaf Heritage Investments Acquisition Corporation, in the debt financing for the acquisition of Hudson's Bay Company for $1.066 billion. • Grafikom, in the debt financing for the management buyout of Quebecor World's Canadian specialty printing unit for $53 million. • New Flyer Industries, leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit
buses, in its initial public offering of $200
million in income deposit securities. • The underwriters, in the $155-million offering of
units by Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. • Sunrise Senior Living REIT, in the acquisition of
an approximate 75 percent controlling interest in a $351-million
portfolio of senior living communities in the US. • Sunrise Senior Living REIT, in a $160-million
bought deal offering of treasury units. • The underwriters, in the $360-million credit
facility for Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. • The underwriters, in the acquisition of Peak Sulfur
and Peak Chemical by Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund for US$166.75
million. • The underwriters, in the acquisition of a portfolio
of seven shopping centers from RioCan REIT for approximately $182
million in cash. • Sunrise Senior Living REIT, in their $270.9-million
initial public offering. • Tootsie Roll Industries, in its US$217-million cash
acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Concord
Confections Inc. • Manitoba Telecom Services, in its $1.7-billion
acquisition of Allstream Inc. (formerly AT&T), whose shares
were then delisted from the TSX and NASDAQ. • The underwriters, in $108 million raised in
Retrocom Mid-Market REIT's initial public offering. • Brascan Financial, in managing the fund through
upstream financing provided to EL-AD Group to acquire 39 apartment
buildings from MetCap Living, for an aggregate sum of over $700
million. • Ontario Power Generation Inc., in an agreement of
purchase and sale for four hydroelectric stations on the Mississagi
River in Northeastern Ontario to Brascan Corporation for $340
million. • The bondholders, in Algoma Steel Inc. and its
emergence from court protection under CCAA and its implementation
of a corporate restructuring and reorganization approved by its
creditors. • The underwriters, in Marsulex Inc. and Chemtrade
Logistics Income Fund and the completion of their initial public
offering of $119-million trust units of Chemtrade. Chemtrade was
formed to acquire the eastern North American sulphur removal
businesses of Marsulex and its subsidiary BCT Chemtrade Corporation
for $156 million. • The underwriters, in the issue of $290 million of
6.27 percent Borealis-Enersource Series Bonds. |