Aird & Berlis Recognized in Chambers Global Guide 2025

Aird & Berlis is pleased to announce its inclusion in the 2025 edition of the Chambers Global Guide. The firm was acknowledged as a leader in the areas of Intellectual Property, Projects: PPP & Infrastructure, Restructuring/Insolvency and Tax.

The following individuals were recognized in their respective areas of practice:

Jack Bernstein: Tax

Jack is one of Canada’s preeminent tax lawyers and an authority on multijurisdictional matters. He is Co-Chair of the firm’s International Tax practice and a senior member of the firm’s Tax Group, Estates & Trusts Group and Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Jack is well known in international tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, reorganizations and financing. He also has extensive expertise in cross-border estate planning and frequently advises international clients on doing business in Canada.

Ryan Chalmers: Projects: PPP & Infrastructure

Ryan is Co-Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Construction Group and a member of the Infrastructure Group and Corporate/Commercial Group. He advises on, drafts and negotiates concession, design-build, operation, maintenance and rehabilitation agreements as part of major infrastructure projects across Canada. Ryan also regularly provides strategic advice to clients on services agreements for various engineering-related matters.

Ron Clark: Energy: Power (Transactional) 

Ron is Co-Chair of the firm’s Energy Group as well as a member of the firm’s Corporate/Commercial, Environmental, Infrastructure and Public Policy & Government Relations Groups. He operates his practice at the intersection of corporate/commercial, energy and municipal law. Ron counsels stakeholder groups, retailers, distributors and generators on legislative and policy matters relating to national and international electricity markets. He has been involved in electricity restructuring in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Albania, Macedonia and the Regional Southeast European market.

Jill Fraser: Banking & Finance

Jill is the firm’s Managing Partner and a member of the Financial Services and Energy Groups. She is also a long-standing member of the firm's Executive Committee. Jill's practice focuses on corporate and commercial lending transactions, including syndicated credit facilities, secured loans, project financings, acquisition financings, venture capital investments and asset-based lending. She is also experienced in the area of asset/equipment finance and leasing, including the structuring and documenting of bulk lease financing facilities and private securitizations.

Steven Graff: Restructuring/Insolvency

Steve is Co-Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Financial Services Group and a member of the Litigation Group and Corporate/Commercial Group. His practice focuses on restructuring and insolvency, lending and corporate acquisitions and divestitures, often in the context of distress. Steve has strong ties in the financial sector and acts as counsel for many Canadian Schedule I banks and other financial institutions on restructuring, security enforcement and recovery.

Francesco Gucciardo: Tax

Francesco is a member of the firm's Executive Committee, and a member of the Tax Group and Mergers & Acquisitions Group. His practice focuses on corporate transactions for both public and private companies in the domestic and international sphere. Francesco’s clients rely on his sophisticated knowledge of domestic and international tax to further their business objectives. He frequently advises international clients on doing business in Canada.

Kyle Plunkett: Restructuring/Insolvency

Kyle is a member of the firm’s Financial Services and Insolvency & Restructuring Groups. He divides his time between commercial restructuring matters and asset-based lending and structured finance work. Kyle’s insolvency and restructuring practice encompasses both the litigation and commercial aspects of turnarounds, reorganizations, liquidations, security enforcement, receiverships and plans of arrangement in the context of formal and informal restructuring proceedings. On the corporate and commercial lending side of his practice, Kyle regularly advises and acts for a number of Canada’s largest banks and several alternative asset-based lenders. 

David Stevens: Energy: Power (Regulatory)

David is Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and Co-Chair of the Energy Group. He practises in the area of regulatory and commercial litigation. David has deep and broad knowledge about energy regulation in Ontario. For more than 20 years, David has advised gas and electric utilities, and other participants in Ontario’s electricity market, on a wide range of regulatory and commercial issues, and regularly appears before the Ontario Energy Board. 

Louise Summerhill: Tax Litigation

Louise is Co-Chair of the firm’s Tax Litigation Group, and a member of the Tax Group and Charity & Not-for-Profits Group. She practises almost exclusively in the area of tax litigation. She provides support and advocacy at the audit stage, through the objection procedure and in court if necessary. Louise also has extensive experience advising clients on transfer pricing, goods and services tax, provincial tax and federal income tax and charity law issues. 

Barbara Worndl: Tax

Barbara is a senior member of the firm’s Tax Group. Her 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 mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations. Barbara’s practice includes advising on structures for real estate investments and divestitures, derivative transactions, REITs and syndications. She also has experience dealing with the resolution of tax disputes.

Douglas Younger: Projects: PPP & Infrastructure 

Douglas is Co-Chair of the firm’s Infrastructure Group. He has extensive experience in the structuring, negotiation and documentation of international and domestic project and structured financings. His experience as an advisor to governments and private sector participants in P3 transactions has given him significant insight into the issues confronting participants in the Canadian and international P3 markets. He advises governments, equity sponsors, funders and subcontractors on a wide variety of civil, transportation and accommodation P3 projects.

Stephen Zolf: Telecommunications & Broadcasting

Stephen is Co-Chair of the firm’s Sports, Media & Entertainment Group, and a member of the Corporate/Commercial, Telecommunications, Technology, Gaming and Space Tech Groups. Stephen’s expertise extends to advising clients on merger clearance under the Competition Act as well as foreign investment in Canada under the Investment Canada Act. His deep understanding of the legal and regulatory framework in the Canadian communications sector enables him to guide clients in implementing new business models in the internet environment of rapidly evolving digital distribution networks and platforms.

The Chambers Global Guide ranks the top global lawyers and law firms in more than 200 jurisdictions across the world based on excellence in their work on multi-jurisdictional legal matters.