Michael C. Morgan
Michael Morgan was called to the Ontario Bar in 1978, after having graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto with a B. Comm. and then from the University of Toronto Law School with an LL.B. During his career, Michael also earned a Master-in-Laws degree in Taxation Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1986.
Michael joined Chappell Partners LLP in July 2011 as a tax partner, after having been counsel to and a tax partner at other well-established business law firm in Toronto.
Michael practices in the areas of taxation law, estate planning, wills, trusts and estates, tax dispute resolution and business law. His practice is primarily focused on providing tax planning advice and strategies, estate planning advice and strategies, preparing wills and trusts, advising regarding estate administration, and representing clients in tax disputes and tax litigation, as well as providing business law advice regarding the establishment, reorganization and purchase/sale of businesses.
During his career, Michael has assisted clients to achieve business and/or personal objectives in connection with a broad range of activities, including:
- tax structuring for businesses, including tax advice regarding the establishment of businesses, the reorganization of corporations and the purchase/sale of businesses
- business succession arrangements, including the transfer of family-owned businesses between generations
- estate planning, including the structuring and preparation of wills, trusts and powers of attorney
- planning for estate and wealth preservation, including “estate freeze” reorganizations and “crystallization” transactions
- family trust planning, including the establishment of trusts and the preparation of trust agreements
- charitable gift planning, including the establishment of charitable foundations
- retirement planning strategies, including the establishment of individual pension plans and retirement compensation arrangements
- advising accountants, investment advisers, insurance advisers and financial planners regarding tax planning strategies, estate planning strategies and retirement planning strategies for their clients
- advising executors and/or beneficiaries in estate administration situations
- representing individual clients and corporate clients in tax disputes resolution and tax litigation (including tax appeals to tax courts)
- business law advice, including structuring and implementing business transactions (such as corporate reorganizations and the purchase/sale of businesses)
Michael has been a frequent speaker on a broad range of tax planning, estate planning and will preparation topics to various organizations, including The Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Bar Association, and numerous business organizations. He has also been an adjunct professor at Queen’s University Law School, teaching the personal taxation course and the corporations taxation course, and previously served as an instructor in the Business Law course and the Estate Planning course of the Ontario Bar Admission course.
Michael is a member of The Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Bar Association and the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP) and has been a member of the Estate Planning Council of Toronto. He is also active in a couple of community-based organizations.
Mark G. Appel, Q.C.
- Retired 2012
- Practicing with the firm 1973-2011
- Graduate of McGill University, Columbia University Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School
- Former clerk to the Chief Justice of the High Court
- Has appeared in all courts including the Supreme Court of Canada
Paul R. Henry
- Practicing with the firm since his call to the Bar in 1974
- Acts extensively in administrative matters, including Ontario Municipal Board Hearings
- Expertise in expropriation law
- Acts in insurance claims, employment law suits and personal injury cases
Paul Henry graduated from Trinity College, University of Toronto with a B.A. in 1969 and with an LL.B. from University of Toronto Law School in 1972. He articled with the firm and was called to the bar in 1974. He has been counsel on over 60 major civil and criminal trials and administrative board hearings.
Paul has acted on behalf of numerous personal claimants and plaintiffs, developers and public agencies including Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the Regional Municipality of Peel, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the County of Northumberland, the Town of Richmond Hill, the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ontario Realty Corporation.
Paul has been a frequent lecturer to the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Expropriation Association, the Investigative and Forensic Accounting Diploma Program and to the Ontario Municipal Board. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Expropriation Association and the Advocates Society.
Paul is frequently counsel for owners of expropriated properties and expropriating authorities. He has been involved in many major projects including the Pickering Airport, the North Pickering Project, the Humber Bay Shores (Motel Strip), the Port Union Linear Park and the widening and construction of Highways 401, 427, 407, 410, 416, 69, 7, 6 and the Queen Elizabeth Way.
He has been counsel in the former County and Supreme Court, the Superior Court of Justice, the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Publications:
- Editor for a newsletter with respect to expropriation
Ross M. Anderson
Ross Anderson graduated from Trinity College at the University of Toronto with a B.A., and from the University of Toronto Law School with an LL.B. He was called to the Bar in 1977. He has practiced at the firm since 1989, principally in the areas of corporate, commercial and business transactions. His practice also extends to real estate law, including mortgages, leases and construction liens, as well as secured loan transactions, family business succession, wills, trusts and estate administration.
During the period 2002 to 2007, Ross acted as counsel to the Province of Ontario and the Ontario Realty Corporation with respect to the taking into public ownership of more than 1250 acres of the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill, Ontario. His varied experience and sound judgment make him a valued counsel to small, large and medium size corporations of all types as well as individuals in need of sensible, well-balanced advice. Problem-solving and timely decision-making skills are his professional hallmark.
Ross is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association, and acts as counsel to other lawyers and law firms.
Ross has handled a wide range of legal matters including:
- real estate acquisitions and sales including all types of properties: commercial, residential, multi-residential
- real estate financings both commercial and residential including multi-residential and condominium;
- leasing for landlords and tenants;
- real estate developments, syndicates and partnerships;
- wind/solar energy transactions and related financing;
- mortgage enforcement, remedies and powers of sale;
- incorporation of companies and formation of partnerships including shareholders agreements and partnership
- drafting of a wide variety of commercial contracts;
- restructuring of corporate relationships;
- acquisitions and dispositions of businesses and other commercial entities;
- succession and estate planning;
- estate freezes;
- wills, estates and trusts;
- general counsel to ongoing clients including individuals, businesses and institutions.
James Herbert
Originally from Alberta, James has lived in Toronto for nearly twenty-five years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in 1985, followed by a Master of Arts degree at the University of Toronto in 1986, and his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1990.
James was called to the bar in 1992. He has worked his entire career at the firm, practicing family law and civil litigation. He is a partner in the firm.
In his twenty-year career, James has accumulated a great deal of experience, appearing in court in a wide variety of cases.
James’ approach to litigation is practical. He understands the costs and stress of litigation. He resolves his clients’ cases fairly, and in a cost efficient manner. In any litigation, a cost / benefit analysis is conducted before taking any significant step.
He is a supporter of alternatives to the traditional litigation route. In particular, James has had success with “Mediation / Arbitration” which is an increasingly popular way of resolving family law cases.
James has significant experience outside the area of family law. He regularly works in the area of defamation, wrongful dismissal, collections, and commercial litigation.
James is a member of the Advocate’s Society and the Ontario Bar Association.
He speaks at continuing education programs offered by the Ontario Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada.
James was the co-chair of the “Family Law Institute,” a significant continuing legal education program offered by the OBA in February 2009.
He also acts as the editor of O’Brien’s Encyclopedia of Forms – Family Law.
T. Michele O’Connor
“One of the biggest challenges in family law is to get everyone focused on resolution. This not only reduces costs, but lets people get on with their lives.”
Michele is a Partner with the firm. She has practiced exclusively family law since graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School and her call to the Bar in 1985. Her work involves all aspects of family law and she has extensive trial and appellate experience at every level of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Michele is a member of Collaborative Practice Toronto, the Advocates Society, the Toronto Lawyers Association, and the Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. She has completed training in mediation and collaborative law and was an Instructor with the Law Society of Upper Canada Bar Admission Course for many years. While involved in the Operations Committee of the Ontario Court of Justice (member and past-Chair) Michele sat as a Family Law Referee for 5 years.
Michele also served as a Board member (and past President) of the Canadian Foundation for Children and the Law (Justice for Children and Youth), and as a Board member for Covenant House Toronto.
For more information on Collaborative Practice, please contact info@collaborativepracticetoronto.com
Articles: – Collaborative Law
Robert B. Lawson
“We bring a common sense approach to the practice of law. Our philosophy is to advocate forcefully to achieve creative and cost-effective solutions for our clients.”
Robert Lawson is a partner in the firm. Robert practices in the areas of family law and civil litigation, particularly in expropriation. He is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Expropriation Association and the Advocates’ Society. Rob participates in the Advocates’ Society Court of Appeal pro bono programme. Rob is a graduate of York University and the University of Toronto Law School.
David M. Flynn
David Flynn was called to the Bar in 1997 after graduating from the University of Toronto with a B.A.; McGill University with an MBA; and the University of Western Ontario with an LL.B.
Before joining the firm in 2004, David was in-house counsel with a Toronto public company, Androcan, and a member of the mergers and acquisitions group at PricewaterhouseCoopers. His areas of practice include corporate-commercial transactions, and real estate law, with emphasis on financing and conveyancing as well as wills, trusts and estate administration.
David is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada. During the period 2004 to 2007, David acted as co-counsel with Ross Anderson of the firm in closing the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Exchange; a complicated transaction involving his client, the Province of Ontario, as well as numerous developers, public agencies, and lands valued at in excess of one billion dollars.
David is experienced in all aspects of renewable energy projects including licensing, project financing, leases, easements as well as all conveyancing requirements associated with green power projects.
