A partner and recognized leader in pension and benefits law, Stephanie’s experience and strategic perspective help clients navigate the wide range of governance, compliance and tax matters affecting the administration and sponsorship of pension, benefit, and executive compensation plans.
Stephanie maintains a broad practice advising employers, plan administrators and service providers on strategic, compliance, and implementation issues such as pension plan asset transfers, mergers and wind-ups, correction of enrolment and contribution errors in pension plans, annuity purchases, delegated investment mandates, and governance structures for single employer and jointly sponsored plans—as well as pensions and benefits issues that arise across the spectrum of corporate transactions and insolvencies. Stephanie also frequently guides clients on the tax treatment and employment aspects of incentive plans and various group benefit plans.
Stephanie has appeared before the Financial Services Tribunal, the Ontario Superior Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
2020-2025 | Chambers Canada—Leading lawyer in pensions and benefits |
2018-2019 | The Legal 500—Leading lawyer in pensions and benefits law |
2018-2025 | Best Lawyers in Canada—Leading lawyer in employee benefit law |
2018-2023 | The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Consistently recommended in pensions and employee benefits |
2019-2022 | Who's Who Legal—Global leader in pension and benefits law; national leader in labour, employment and benefits (Canada) |
2022 | Don Ireland Award for Exceptional Volunteerism |
2019 | ACPM Council Award |
Before joining Torys, Stephanie was a partner and Chair of the pension, benefits and executive compensation group at a leading management-side labour and employment law firm.
Stephanie is the Past-Chair and current member of the National Policy Committee of the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) and Past-Chair and current member of the Ontario Regional Council of the ACPM. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers, the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute, the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association, and the Ontario Bar Association (Pension and Benefits and Taxation). She participated in the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s Technical Advisory Committee on family law. She is a past member of the Canada Revenue Agency’s former Pension Advisory Committee and the former Pension Legal Advisory Committee of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, and a Former Executive Member (Chair of Continuing Education Committee, Pensions & Benefits section) of the Ontario Bar Association.