Jack is one of Canada’s preeminent tax lawyers. He is head of the Aird & Berlis International Tax Group and as well as a senior member of the firm’s Tax Group, Estates & Trusts Group and Tax Litigation Group. Jack is well-known in international estate and trust planning, including global tax planning for ultra-high net worth individuals.

Jack advises on complex estate plans [e.g. family member is American, children in different locations (e.g. Australia, Israel, Europe)]; sophisticated reversible freezes; family succession; and informal mediation of family disputes. He works on family shareholders agreements, pre- and post-nuptial and cohabitation agreements, family trusts, family partnerships and family estate planning. He also helps clients plan for marriages and divorces and emigration and immigration. Jack assists family businesses on transactions and on investments and expansion of businesses. He also assists with breakups of businesses, buyouts of family members and other shareholders and spin off transactions for family businesses. Jack sits on family advisory committees and has assisted in the setup of family offices.

Jack’s clients have included over a dozen billionaires; famous recording artists; some of the wealthiest families in Hong Kong, Germany, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, Ukraine, Mexico and Israel; presidents of public companies; hedge fund managers, family offices; and entrepreneurial clients with businesses worth over $100 million.

Awards & Recognition

· Recipient of the 2020 Ontario Bar Association Award for Excellence in Taxation Law

· Recognized in the prestigious Chambers Global: The World's Leading Lawyers for Business and 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

· Recognized in The Legal 500 Canada for his expertise in Tax

· Recognized 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

Jack is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Chair of the International Bar Association Finance & Capital Markets Tax Conference in London since 2011, a former Co-chair of the IBA’s Tax Committee, a former Governor of the Canadian Tax Foundation, a former member of Council for the International Fiscal Association Canadian branch, and a former Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation Foreign Lawyers Forum. Jack is a frequent speaker for the IBA, IFA and STEP. Jack is an International Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, an Academician with the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law and a member of Private Client Global Elite.

Publications

Jack is an editor of Taxation of Crypto Assets published in November 2020 by Wolters Kluwer. He is also the editor of Tax Profile (a monthly CCH tax planning publication started by Jack over 30 years ago) and he has been a Canadian contributor to Tax Notes International. He has published articles in all issues of the Canadian Tax Foundation’s publication Canadian Tax Highlights. In the past, Jack has written books on tax planning for professionals and executives, family tax planning, family succession and shareholders agreements.