October 26, 2009


Toronto, Canada – Fasken Martineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, announced today the release of Baird's Practical Guide to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. The book's author, David Baird, QC, is an active member of the firm's Insolvency and Restructuring practice group in Toronto.

"I have practised insolvency and restructuring law for 50 years, so I used an autobiographical approach to share what I've learned," said Mr. Baird. "There is no one solution for every company because a restructuring of a company's affairs under the Act can take many forms. My goal was to provide step-by-step guidance from the beginning of the restructuring process to the end based on real life cases. This will assist debtors, creditors and everyone else involved in CCAA proceedings."

Mr. Baird's book offers unprecedented insight into the workings of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) for lawyers, trustees, financial advisors, accounting firm and even law students. It offers a practical view on how to conduct a restructuring under the CCAA with options ranging from reduction of debt, refinancing and to debt-to-equity conversion to orderly liquidation.

"My book discusses the amendments to the CCAA that came into force on September 18, 2009. Yet I expect many people will continue to complain that the CCAA's sparse provisions and the relatively few reported court decisions do not provide a complete picture of the strategies and tactics used to effect a successful restructuring under the CCAA," said Mr. Baird.

Over the course of his 50-year career, Mr. Baird has been involved in most of the major restructurings throughout Canada, including the first Chrysler Corporation reorganization, Dome Petroleum, Olympia & York Developments, Algoma Steel, Dylex, Beatrice Foods, Eatons, SkyDome, Air Canada and the recent Asset-Backed Commercial Paper matter. The appendices of the book include excerpts from and summaries of documents used in many notable insolvency filings. Carswell published the book on September 28, 2009. 

About Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Fasken Martineau, which ranks among the three largest law firms in Canada, is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With over 650 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris and Johannesburg. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is a limited liability partnership under the laws of Ontario, and is registered as such for the purposes of its professional activities in Québec. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.

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Anne-Julie Maltais
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