For more than 50 years, Canadian businesses, individuals, nonprofits, and their law firms have turned to Hodgson Russ for U.S. legal advice that is precisely calibrated for cross-border clients. Hodgson Russ provides experienced U.S. legal representation that focuses on the unique needs of the Canadian market, and we offer high-quality, cost-efficient legal advice to help Canadian businesses, as well as European and other international businesses with a Canadian presence, succeed in the United States.
As one of only a few law firms with a full-time office in Toronto devoted exclusively to practicing U.S. law, and with one of the largest cross-border teams among U.S. law firms, Hodgson Russ is well positioned to help Canadian clients understand the effects of U.S. law on their business interests and develop practical legal strategies for their particular situations. Whether counseling clients through major acquisitions or offering legal guidance on everyday matters, attorneys in our U.S. offices work closely with their Toronto colleagues to provide Canadian clients with a legal team focused on helping them establish, maintain, and expand their foothold in the U.S. market. Our attorneys also have extensive experience counseling U.S.-based businesses on the U.S. legal issues involved with entering the Canadian market.
Hodgson Russ’s Canada-U.S. cross-border team regularly counsels clients in the following legal areas:
- Antitrust
- Bankruptcy and international creditors' issues
- Business structure and expansion
- Capital market transactions
- Employee benefits
- Estates and trusts
- Executive compensation and relocation
- Export administration regulations
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory matters
- Financing transactions
- Franchise and distribution
- General corporate
- Government contracts and relations
- Immigration
- Intellectual property
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) voluntary compliance
- Labor and employment
- Litigation
- Multinational mergers and acquisitions
- Products liability
- Structuring for acquisition of U.S. commercial and residential real estate
- Taxation (international, federal, state, and local as well as dispute resolution)
- Technology transfers and joint ventures
- Venture capital and project financing
Hodgson Russ understands U.S. law in a Canadian context, and our attorneys are sensitive to the differences in law, expectations, and culture that characterize cross-border transactions. While our practice is restricted to U.S. law, we are frequently invited to present to peers and members of the public on cross-border legal topics by both Canadian and American organizations, including the American Bar Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, the Canadian Employee Relocation Council, the Canadian Tax Foundation, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the Council of American States in Canada, the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the Ontario Bar Association.
Hodgson Russ has six offices in the United States and Canada, including in the major financial and business markets of New York and Toronto. With much of our infrastructure in lower-cost jurisdictions, Hodgson Russ is able to offer clients a full range of excellent-quality legal services in some of North America’s top economic markets without the disproportionate expense of other large U.S. firms.
For information, analysis, commentary, and resources on the latest developments in cross-border law, visit our publications page for the Smarter Way to Cross blog archives.
- $117 Million Credit Facility for Canadian Mutual Fund
- $175 Million Cross-Border Securities Offering for Major Canadian Bank
- $40 Million in Revolving and Term Loans Finance New Manufacturing Operation
- Accounting Overstatement Investigation & Public Disclosure
- Assisted a Canada-Based Foam Products Manufacturer With a U.S. Asset Purchase
- Assisting Canadian Startup Expansion Into the United States
- C$150 Million Asset-Based Lending Transaction for Family-Owned Canadian Manufacturer and Its U.S. Subsidiaries
- Canada-U.S. Client Food Agreements and M&A Transactions Assistance
- Canadian Client Charged with Ten-Year Mandatory Minimum Importation Offense.
- Canadian-based Brewing Company Cross-Border Representation
- Counsel to Canadian Food Products Importer and Distributor on U.S. Commercial Matters
- Counsel to Canada-Based Pub With Respect to Compliance With U.S. Franchise Law
- Cross-Border Limited Partnership Structuring for U.S. & Canadian Citizen-Owned Business
- Development of Construction Documents
- Evaluations of Relevant IP and Preparing Freedom-to-Operate Opinions for Canadian Client
- Federal and State Tax Considerations for Nonresidents Owning U.S. Real Property
- IRS Voluntary Disclosure Assistance for Canadian Client
- Negotiated All Transaction Documents on Series A-1 Investment for Canadian-Based Software Venture Capital Firm Client
- Negotiation of Design-Build Agreement
- Real Estate Acquisitions, Financing for Large Investment Company
- Represents Restaurant Franchise With Respect to U.S. Franchise Law
- Sale of Canadian Company With U.S. Assets to Australian Acquirer
- Tax and Estate Planning Advice to Trustees and Advisors of Foreign-Based Family Trusts
- U.S. Counsel for Calgary-Based Private Equity Firm's Multimillion-Dollar Investments in Companies With U.S. Operations
- U.S. Income and Estate Tax Planning Advice to Canadian Clients With Respect to U.S. Real Estate Investments
- U.S. Legal Counsel to Canadian-Based Software Company on U.S. Corporate and Commercial Matters
- U.S. State Tax and IPO Planning for Large, Privately Held Canadian Company
- U.S. Tax & Corporate Counsel for Multinational Joint Venture Group of Entrepreneurial Companies With Ties to Hong Kong, Canada, and the United States
- U.S. Tax Advice to Canadian Clients with Respect to Cross-Border Hybrid Structures
- U.S. Tax and Corporate Counsel to Business With Barbados-Domiciled Owner
- U.S. Tax Counsel for Reverse Takeover Transaction Involving Canadian Private and Public Companies
- U.S. Tax Counsel to Large, Private, Canada-Based Real Estate Company
- U.S. Tax Counsel to Large, Publicly Traded Canadian Company
- U.S. Tax Counsel to U.S. Company With Respect to Redomestication to Canada for Security Law Reasons
- U.S. Tax Planning for U.S.-Citizen Owners of Canadian Enterprise
In the News
- Canadian Lawyer Magazine, February 21, 2024
- University at Buffalo School of Law, September 15, 2022
- WGRZ, September 15, 2022
- Buffalo Business First, July 28, 2021
- Buffalo Business First, June 26, 2020
- Buffalo Business First, May 17, 2019
- Buffalo Business First, November 23, 2018
- Tax Analysts, June 28, 2018
- Buffalo Business First, June 8, 2018
- The Globe and Mail, November 20, 2015
- Insurance Business America, November 10, 2015
- Lexpert, October 19, 2015
- Buffalo Law Journal, August 24, 2015
- Advisor.ca, June 22, 2015
- Buffalo Business First, May 29, 2015
- Buffalo Law Journal, October 31, 2014
- September 11, 2014
- WBFO, April 14, 2014
- Buffalo Business First, March 21, 2014
- Canadian Manufacturing, December 23, 2013
- Buffalo Law Journal, , February 21, 2013
- Buffalo Business First, December 12, 2011
- Buffalo Business First, May 13, 2011
- December 2, 2009
- October 9, 2009
- Buffalo Law Journal, December 8, 2008
- Buffalo Law Journal, December 8, 2008
- July 9, 2008
- June 30, 2005
Press Releases
- August 10, 2023
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 27, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, April 27, 2020
- Press Release, September 2, 2015
- Press Release, August 24, 2015
- Press Release, March 20, 2014
Publications
- Hodgson Russ Canada-U.S. Cross-Border and Cybersecurity & Privacy Alert, July 7, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Alert, June 10, 2021
- Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Alert, May 19, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Alert, February 2, 2021
- New York Law Journal, January 22, 2021
- Hodgson Russ Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Commercial Litigation Alert, October 23, 2020
- Estates, Trusts & Pensions Journal, March 2, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Cross-Border Finance Alert, January 8, 2020
- Canadian Tax Highlights, October 16, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, October 16, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, July 18, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, June 24, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, May 15, 2019
- Cross-Border Finance Alert, March 5, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, February 25, 2019
- Cross-Border Finance Alert, January 29, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, January 22, 2019
- Canadian Tax Highlights, November 15, 2018
- Canadian Tax Highlights, October 25, 2018
- Canadian Tax Highlights, September 27, 2018
- Canadian Tax Highlights, July 2018
- Canada-U.S. Cross Border Practice Alert, May 31, 2018
- Canadian Client Hodgson Russ Alert , October 17, 2017
- Canadian Tax Highlights, May 2016
- STEP Connection, Toronto Branch Newsletter, April 2016
- Cross-Border Charitable ActivitiesCanadian Not-For-Profit News, February 1, 2016
- Canadian Tax Highlights, November 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, October 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, September 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, August 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, July 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, June 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, April 2015
- Canadian Tax Highlights, March 2015
- Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Alert, February 25, 2015
- Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Alert, January 26, 2015
- Buffalo Law Journal, January 8, 2015
- Lawyers Weekly, November 14, 2014
- Canada-U.S. Tax Traps and MismatchesSTEP Inside, October 2014
- Lawyers Weekly, October 17, 2014
- Lawyers Weekly, October 3, 2014
- Canadian Tax Highlights, August 2014
- Lawyers Weekly, May 23, 2014
- JD Supra, March 24, 2014
- Hodgson Russ Alert, February 7, 2014
- Lawyers Weekly, November 29, 2013
- Lawyers Weekly, July 5, 2013
- July 2, 2013
- July 2, 2013
- Corporate & Securities Alert, June 24, 2013
- Lawyers Weekly, May 17, 2013
- Lawyers Weekly, March 14, 2013
- Lawyers Weekly, October 1, 2012
- Federal/International Tax Alert, September 5, 2012
- Biz TV Canada, September 2012
- Lawyers Weekly, August 28, 2012
- Lawyers Weekly, March 20, 2012
- Federal/International Tax Alert, March 6, 2012
- Federal/International Tax Alert, January 12, 2012
- Federal/International Tax Alert, December 13, 2011
- Federal/International Tax Alert, February 9, 2011
- Exempt Market Dealers Association of Canada Newsletter, January 2011
- Lawyers Weekly, March 19, 2010
- Federal/International Tax Alert, March 18, 2010
- Finance & Bankruptcy Alert, March 12, 2010
- Lawyers Weekly, December 4, 2009
- Canadian Real Estate, December 2009
- Lawyers Weekly, August 21, 2009
- Ontario Bar Association Citizenship & Immigration Newsletter, August 2009
- Federal/International Tax Alert, June 22, 2009
- Buffalo Law Journal, May 7, 2009
- The FranchiseVoice, Spring 2009
- Citizenship and Immigration, April 2009
- International/Cross-Border Alert, March 16, 2009
- Canadian Tax Highlights, February 1, 2009
- Lawyers Weekly, December 5, 2008
- August 8, 2008
- July 9, 2008
- International Tax Alert, June 19, 2008
- June 12, 2008
- Lawyers Weekly, May 9, 2008
- Cross-Border Alert, February 22, 2008
- Business Beat, February 2008
- Citizenship and Immigration, February 2008
- January 15, 2008
- December 5, 2007
- Canadian Tax Highlights, September 1, 2007
- May 18, 2006
- Buffalo Law Journal, July 14, 2005
- Buffalo Law Journal, March 24, 2005
- Canadians Buying U.S. Real Property Should Be Aware of Estate TaxLawyers Weekly, February 25, 2005
- Lawyers Weekly, September 24, 2004
- Lawyers Weekly, December 12, 2003
- Lawyers Weekly, November 22, 2002
Presentations & Events
- October 21, 2021
- June 29, 2021
- May 19, 2021
- April 28, 2021
- February 17, 2021
- November 17, December 1 & 15, January 5 & 19
- November 19, 2020
- November 10, 2020
- September 23, 2020
- June 23, 2020
- June 23, 2020
- June 9, 2020
- Best Western St. Catharines Hotel & Conference Center, December 2019
- Best Western St. Catharines Hotel & Conference Center, November 19, 2019
- Best Western St. Catharines Hotel & Conference Center, November 19, 2019
- Co-hosted with World Trade Center Buffalo NiagaraHodgson Russ LLP, Buffalo, NY, December 5, 2018
- Toronto, Ontario, November 26, 2018
- Toronto, Ontario, November 15, 2018
- October 30, 2018
- Montreal, QC, October 24-26, 2018
- Toronto, ON, October 22, 2018
- Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON, October 26, 2017
- October 20, 2017
- Toronto, ON, October 17, 2015
- Oakville, ON, September 24, 2015
- Toronto, ON, June 18, 2015
- International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Canadian Law Conference: Dealing With U.S.-Based TenantsToronto, ON, April 14, 2015
- Canada/U.S. Cross-Border Estate and Income Tax PlanningToronto, Ontario, September 17, 2014
- Canadian Shopping Centre Law Conference: Dealing with U.S.-based TenantsToronto, ON, April 14, 2014
- Hamilton, ON, June 5, 2013
- Montreal, QC, March 14, 2013
- Toronto, ON, November 15, 2012
- Calgary, AB, November 13, 2012
- Toronto, ON, May 10, 2012
- Toronto, ON, November 18, 2010
- Calgary, AB, October 28, 2010
- Toronto, ON, October 29, 2009
- Toronto, ON, March 25, 2009