Lawyer Profile
Aaron T. Collins
Toronto, Ontario
Overview
When involved in a financing or restructuring transaction, Aaron's experience and insight into the common issues faced by clients allows him to identify potential problems early and provide practical, common-sense solutions that help his clients achieve their objectives. His approach ensures that his clients can focus on running their business, instead of worrying about legal issues. A self-described deal junkie, Aaron thrives on getting deals done and will make sure your transaction gets across the finish line. As the Co-Leader of the firm's Financial Services and Banking & Finance Groups, Aaron's practice focuses on corporate and commercial lending transactions with an emphasis on asset-based, syndicated, secured, mezzanine and subordinated debt, both domestic and cross-border. He also practises in the area of insolvency and restructuring law, including the commercial aspects of turnarounds, reorganizations, liquidations, security enforcement, receiverships, plans of arrangement under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act , proposals and bankruptcies under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the purchase and sale of distressed assets and businesses. Aaron regularly acts for a broad range of lenders, including domestic and foreign banks and asset-based lenders, borrowers in many different industries and unsecured creditors, court-appointed officers and other stakeholders on domestic and cross-border insolvency and restructuring matters.
Practice Areas
Bar Information
Called to the bar: 2008 (ON)
Professional Details
Education
LLB, University of Windsor, 2007 BACS, Finance and Economics, University of Western Ontario, 2004
Associations
Memberships Turnaround Management Association
Articles & Speeches
"Specialty Provisions to Meet New Challenges (Including "Force Majeure")," Law Society of Ontario's Understanding Commercial Debt Financing Transactions Webinar, November 23, 2020. "Guiding Borrower Clients through Potential Breaches," Law Society of Ontario Webinar, September 15, 2020. "Keeping Fees to a Minimum in a Financing Transaction," Aird & Berlis LLP Collateral Matters Newsletter, December 2013. "No Shortcut to an Injunction: Royal Bank of Canada v. Rastogi ," National Banking Law Review , October 2011, Vol. 30, No. 5. "Changes to the Canadian Payments Association Rules for Pre-Authorized Debits," National Creditor Debtor Review , June 2010, Vol. 25, No. 2. "Fraud in Lending Transactions," National Creditor Debtor Review , September 2009, Vol.
Selected Decisions
Represented the Province of Ontario on all aspects of its transaction, including advice on real estate matters and the proposed $670-million loan, to facilitate Vianode's first North American synthetic graphite facility, a cornerstone project in Canada's electric vehicle supply chain. Represented Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust , a leading owner-operator of distinctive urban workspace in Canada's major cities, in the acquisition from Westbank of a 90% ownership interest in 400 West Georgia Street in Vancouver, and an additional 45% ownership interest in 19 Duncan Street in Toronto (increasing Allied's ownership interest to 95%). The transaction was based on an aggregate property value of $920.7 million. Advised the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade on all aspects of its winning bid for Volkswagen's first overseas gigafactory, a several-billion-dollar investment that is one of the largest in Canadian history.