Richard Balfour is a senior lawyer with extensive experience leading corporate and securities transactions both domestically and internationally.
Richard’s practice focuses on corporate and securities law, and he has substantial experience as lead counsel in both Canadian and international public and private mergers and acquisitions, and public and private offerings of securities, including privatizations and demutualizations. He also has deep experience advising securities regulators and governments on regulation of securities markets, including legislative drafting.
2008-2023 | IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms—Highly regarded in M&A |
2016-2025 | Best Lawyers in Canada—Leading lawyer in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law and securities law |
2008-2024 | The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory—Leading lawyer in corporate commercial law, corporate finance & securities and mergers & acquisitions |
2008-2020 | Lexpert/American Lawyer’s Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada—Leading lawyer in corporate/commercial law, corporate finance and securities and in M&A |
2018 | Lexpert/Thomson Reuters’ Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada—Most frequently recommended lawyer in M&A |
2012-2015 | Who’s Who Legal—Leading Canadian lawyer in corporate governance |
2008-2014 | Chambers Global—Leading lawyer in corporate/M&A |
Richard is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Canadian Securities Transition Office in the implementation of national securities regulation and he was a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation in Canada.
Richard taught “The Law and Finance of Mergers and Acquisitions” at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and "International Securities Transactions" at the Osgoode Hall Law School's Business LLM Program. In addition, he was formerly an assistant professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught corporate and property law.
In the community, Richard is Chair of The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall and sits on the Advisory Board of the Canadian Art Foundation.