Financial Services Litigation

Our clients include domestic and international banks and challengers, FinTech and emerging financial services companies, brokers and dealers, investment fund managers and asset managers, insurers, and other regulated entities. We provide our clients with decisive strategy, deep industry and regulatory experience, and the ability to be practical without compromising trial readiness.

Why choose McCarthy Tétrault for financial services litigation?

Our expertise combines leading litigation capability with deep industry knowledge and cross-disciplinary strength.

Our Firm has the largest dispute resolution practice in Canada: We operate as a single, integrated disputes team across Canada’s key financial centres, so we can lead complex, multi-jurisdictional matters with consistent strategy, tight coordination and no loss of momentum.

Cross-disciplinary integration and expertise: Complex financial services disputes do not sit neatly within one discipline. We combine top-tier litigators with market-leading practitioners across banking and financial services, securities and capital markets, AML and sanctions, insolvency and restructuring, competition and antitrust, and privacy and cybersecurity. The result: advice that reflects the full commercial and regulatory reality.

Depth that wins: We bring the bench strength required for the most demanding mandates. Our litigators have represented clients on Canada’s most significant disputes for more than a century. Our team includes leading advocates who have experience before all levels of courts, tribunals and arbitral panels. With our industry expertise and regulatory insight, we field the right national team, at scale, from the outset to resolution.

Our approach: We are strategic, focused and outcome-driven. We resolve disputes efficiently by focusing on:

• Strategic triage and early resolution where possible
• Proactive management of legal, regulatory, reputational and business risk
• Relentless advocacy when litigation is required and thoughtful management of settlement windows
• Commercially informed outcomes aligned with business objectives
• Proactive, clear, decisive communication at every stage

What kinds of financial services disputes does McCarthy Tétrault handle?

We are consistently engaged on disputes that shape the financial services landscape in Canada:

Banking and lending disputes

We act on high-stakes disputes involving lending arrangements, syndicated financings, enforcement strategies, priority contests, covenant breaches, intercreditor issues, guarantees and other complex banking relationships.

Class actions

We defend financial institutions and other market participants in class actions involving consumer protection, disclosure, fees, lending practices, investment and insurance products, privacy, cyber incidents and other alleged systemic issues.

Wealth and capital markets disputes

We act in disputes involving investment products, portfolio management, dealer and advisor conduct, suitability, disclosure, fiduciary duty, market practice and other contentious issues arising across the wealth and capital markets ecosystem.

Regulatory and enforcement matters

We represent clients in investigations, examinations, enforcement proceedings and other high-stakes interactions with regulators and self-regulatory bodies, as well as advising on compliance, including regulations around promotions and advertising.

Fraud and asset recovery disputes

We advise on complex fraud matters, asset tracing and recovery strategies, freezing orders, injunctions and other urgent remedies, often across multiple jurisdictions.

Employment disputes

We represent financial institutions in complex executive and employment disputes, including contentious terminations, constructive dismissals, restrictive covenants, compensation and incentive claims, fiduciary duty litigation, team departures and workplace investigations. We also advise on discrimination and harassment matters, code of conduct breaches, and defend individual and class proceedings involving employee misclassification and broader statutory compliance obligations.

Tax disputes

We represent financial institutions in high-stakes tax disputes, advising on contentious tax matters at every stage including audits, information requests, objections and appeals. Our integrated team of tax advisors and litigators delivers strategic, business-focused solutions to resolve matters early where possible and advocate effectively before tax authorities and courts at all levels.

Contractual and commercial disputes

We handle high-value contractual disputes involving service arrangements, outsourcing, technology, distribution, trading, investment management, procurement, leasing, insurance and other complex commercial relationships.

Multi-jurisdictional litigation and arbitration

We manage proceedings that span multiple provinces, foreign jurisdictions, arbitral forums and parallel regulatory processes, while maintaining a consistent national strategy.

Internal investigations

We conduct and support sensitive internal investigations involving alleged misconduct, fraud, compliance concerns, governance issues, whistleblower complaints and other high-risk matters.

Private wealth disputes

We advise on private wealth disputes both when the financial institution is directly involved in the management of the assets as a fiduciary and where there are disputes among family members in a private setting that implicate financial institutions, both directly and indirectly.

Strategic risk management

We advise clients on dispute-related risk before issues escalate into formal proceedings, including early exposure assessment, privilege planning, response strategy and coordination across legal, regulatory and business teams. Managing reputational risk across all issues is paramount.

Technology, data and AI-related disputes

We advise financial institutions and other regulated entities on disputes, investigations and risk arising from digital transformation, data use, cybersecurity incidents, outsourcing relationships, automated decision-making and the implementation of artificial intelligence tools. Our approach reflects the operational, regulatory and reputational sensitivities that accompany technological change in the financial services sector.