Jack Bernstein
- he / him / his
Admitted to the Ontario Bar
Admitted to the Quebec Bar
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Toronto
- Bio
- Awards & Recognition
- Professional Involvement
- Insights
- Education
Jack is one of Canada’s preeminent tax lawyers. He is a prolific writer and speaker and is internationally recognized for excellent service and delivering practical and innovative advice that his clients can trust. Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax has described him as “the leading Canadian tax adviser” with an "unparalleled profile" in the market and has ranked him "among the top 10 recommended tax lawyers in the world,” and Who’s Who Legal: Canada has noted that “He is extremely strong – a number of players rated him as the star of the tax bar” and that he “commands a spectacular reputation as a first tier tax lawyer and is an excellent writer and speaker.” He is commended for his knowledge of the local market, outstanding legal ability and responsiveness.
An authority on multijurisdictional matters, Jack regularly contributes to leading tax publications globally, including Taxation of Crypto Assets published by Wolters Kluwer and Tax Notes International. He has been actively involved at a senior level in several international and Canadian tax organizations, including being a past Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation, former Chair of the American Bar Association Foreign Lawyers Forum, former Global Co-Chair of the International Bar Association Taxation Committee, and former Member of Council of the International Fiscal Association (Canadian Branch). Jack has chaired the International Bar Association's Finance & Capital Markets Tax Conference in London since 2011.
Jack is the senior tax partner and Chair of the firm's International Tax practice as well as a member of the firm’s Tax Group, Tax Litigation Group and Mergers & Acquisitions/Private Equity Group. He is well-known in international tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, reorganizations and financing. Jack is experienced in dealing with public and private corporations and has advised hedge funds, venture capital funds and real estate funds. He also has extensive expertise in cross-border estate planning and frequently advises international clients on doing business in Canada.
In addition to these accolades, Jack is repeatedly acclaimed by clients, peers and market commentators during the research process conducted by various legal publications.
Awards & Recognition
- Recipient of the 2020 Ontario Bar Association Award for Excellence in Taxation Law
- Listed in the prestigious Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business, Chambers Canada: Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading Canadian tax lawyer and Chambers HNW: The World's Leading High Net Worth Advisers for his expertise in private wealth law
- Recognized in three Who’s Who Legal guides, including as a Thought Leader in WWL Thought Leaders – Corporate Tax (one of three prominent corporate tax lawyers who shared their insight as a leader in the global tax market through a Q&A), as a Global Leader in WWL Corporate Tax – Advisory (one of the most highly regarded individuals and the top thought leader in North America) and as a National Leader in WWL Canada – Corporate Tax
- Noted in The Legal 500 Canada for his expertise in Tax
- Recognized by ITR World Tax (Canada) as a Notable Practitioner in General Corporate Tax
- Chosen to appear in Legal Media Group's Tax Expert Guide
- Named to the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers for earning the highest level of professional excellence
- Received the highest rating for legal ability as well as an extremely high adherence to the professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada in the fields of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Listed in the Best Lawyers Global Business Edition 2020 in Tax Law and Trusts and Estates
- Recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as a leading lawyer in Corporate Tax and Estate & Tax Planning
- Appeared in The Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in Corporate Tax
- Appeared in The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada as a leading lawyer in the area of Corporate Tax
- Listed in the Lexpert Leading Canadian Lawyers in Global Mining Special Edition
- Listed in the Lexpert Special Edition: Agribusiness and Cannabis
Professional Involvement
Professional Activities
- Jack is an editor of Taxation of Crypto Assets published by Wolters Kluwer, November 13, 2020.
- Jack is the author of four and editor of two CCH books.
- He has been a regular contributor to Canadian Tax Highlights, a newsletter published by the Canadian Tax Foundation, and is a Canadian correspondent for Tax Notes International, a leading U.S. tax publication and the author of two newsletters - CCH's Tax Profile which is distributed nationally and Aird & Berlis LLP’s Taxline which is distributed internationally.
- Jack has also written many articles for a number of other contemporary tax-related publications, including: The Canadian Tax Journal, CAmagazine, Tax Management International Journal, The Bulletin (a publication of the International Fiscal Association), The Journal of International Taxation, World Tax Report and Derivatives and Financial Instruments (IBFD).
- Chair of the International Bar Association Finance & Capital Markets Tax Conference in London since 2011
- Former Co-Chair of the Taxes Committee, International Bar Association
- Former Governor, Canadian Tax Foundation
- Former Member of Council, International Fiscal Association (Canadian Branch)
- Former Chair, Foreign Lawyers Forum - Taxation Section, American Bar Association (Recognized by the ABA, Section of Taxation, for distinguished service as Chair of the Foreign Lawyers Forum Committee)
Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Canadian Tax Foundation
- Canadian Bar Association
- International Bar Association
- International Fiscal Association (Canadian Branch)
- International Fiscal Association (U.S. Branch)
- Ontario Bar Association (Taxation Law Section)
- Quebec Bar Association
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Canada)
- International Fellow, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
Insights
Education
- LLB, McGill University
- BCL, McGill University