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.