Robert W. McDowell

Robert McDowell is Co-Chair of Fasken Martineau's Financial Institutions Group. Robert is a business law lawyer who specializes in corporate, transactional, financing, governance and regulatory advice with respect to deposit taking institutions, life and general insurance companies, cooperatives, credit unions and other financial institutions.

Robert has acted on the merger, acquisition, reorganization, and public and private financing of life and general insurance companies, reinsurers, banks, trust companies, cooperatives and credit unions and also the demutualization of life and general insurance companies. He has acted on the creation, structuring, financing of and generally advised credit unions, cooperatives and fraternals. He has acted on the structure, incorporation and registration of banks, life and general insurance companies, agencies and brokerages and registrations of foreign banks, life and general insurance companies. Robert has advised in connection with insurance reciprocals, captives, portfolio transfers, reinsurance agreements, pooling agreements, credit insurance joint venture agreements, networking arrangements, insurance securitizations, the creation of new products and services, investments and ownership structures, market conduct matters, agency licensing issues, and financial services networking arrangements. These matters almost always involved regulatory advice or extensive dealings with financial institution regulators.

Robert's business experience includes being a director, investment committee member, conduct review committee member and audit committee member of life and general insurance and other companies.

He has been active at annual international seminars of International Insurance Society, Inc., the National Insurance Conference of Canada, the Langdon Hall Forum on Financial services for each of the Life Insurance Industry and the Property and Casualty Insurance Industry and others. He also serves on senior committees of the firm.

Robert joined the firm as an associate in 1972 and became a partner in 1978.

Selected Experience

• Desjardins Credit Union amalgamates with Meridian Credit Union
• MCAN Mortgage Corporation completes public offering of common shares

News

• Best Lawyers in Canada: Over 100 Fasken Martineau lawyers again listed among the best
• Robert McDowell and Koker Christensen are featured on Canadianunderwriter.ca for their article proposing regulations for insurance securizations

Publications

• Insurance Linked Securities in Canada: Key Principles for a Canadian Regulatory Regime
• New Legislation Impacting Financial Institutions

Presentations

• Recent Legal and Regulatory Developments
• Modernization of the Regulatory Regime - Where Do We Go From Here?

Membership/Affiliations

• Robert is a member of professional and business associations, both in Canada and abroad

Honours and Awards

• Recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada 2011 as a leading practitioner in Insurance
• Listed in Who's Who Legal Canada 2010
• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2010, 2011: repeatedly recommended, Banking & Financial Institutions - Financial Institutions Regulatory
• Listed in The International Who's Who of Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers 2011