The 16 attorneys in the newly announced partner class at Gowlings include transactional lawyers as well as litigators. In the former category are Toronto-based corporate and M&A lawyer Rob Blackstein, London-based capital markets specialist David Brennan, Calgary-based corporate finance lawyers Maxine Mongeon and Frank Sur and financial services lawyer Ben Nuttall.
Blackstein spoke exclusively with IFLR1000 about trends in deal flow between the U.S. and Canada, and about the growth of a practice spanning a number of industries and sectors, from small-cap to some large-cap deals. Blackstein noted that he has a particular focus on energy, infrastructure, and private equity, and has served a number of different clients within those spaces.
“In terms of the cross-border work, certainly the P3 market in the U.S. is gaining traction and I have had the opportunity to work on transactions that have not been announced for the U.S. market,” he commented.
Blackstein identified the U.S. market for infrastructure as the source of an emerging trend in 2015. The need to refurbish and replace infrastructure is on the agenda in the U.S., he said. Based on his observations, it is fair to say that a number of states are taking a good look at performance-based infrastructure as a way to deliver public works.
“In terms of the cross-border aspect, a P3 project that requires equity may involve Canadian investment coming into that transaction (such as a toll road). On the Canadian side I’ve worked on infrastructure and renewable power projects that involve U.S. in-bound investment into a Canadian project. That’s where the deal flow happens,” he continued.
“[With respect to] the P3 market, some provinces are further ahead than others, but we have seen other provinces get their infrastructure programs off the ground, such as Saskatchewan. Ontario has had a lot of success and so have British Columbia and Quebec with their P3 programs. The Canadian market continues to look favorable for P3 activity,” Blackstein added.