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July 29 2008
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, announced today that the Honourable Donald G.H. Bowman, former Chief Justice of the Tax Court of Canada, has joined the firm as Counsel in the National Tax Group. Mr. Bowman will provide advice to lawyers within the group and throughout the firm on projects and litigation matters, and will work to enhance the firm's ability to reach early resolution of tax and related disputes for our clients. Mr. Bowman’s formidable tax expertise and extensive experience resolving tax disputes with all levels of government will help FMC maximize business opportunities for clients throughout North America. He will be based in FMC’s Toronto office, and will work closely with FMC's Tax Group across Canada.

"We are all thrilled to have a jurist as eminent as Donald G.H. Bowman join our National Tax Group," said William I. Innes, Counsel in the FMC Tax Group. "He is extremely accomplished and held in the highest regard by practitioners across the country. In the most recent issue of Lexpert magazine senior tax litigators were effusive in his praise, one going so far as to refer to him as ‘the Lord Denning of the Tax Court’."

Mr. Bowman has spent his entire career as a tax litigator. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1962 and soon after joined the Federal Department of Justice, Tax Litigation Section, and was appointed director in 1968. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1974 and has been a member of the New York Bar since 1982. Mr. Bowman was appointed Judge of the Tax Court of Canada in 1991 and Associate Chief Judge in February 2000. He was appointed Associate Chief Justice in July 2003 and Chief Justice in February 2005.

"The privilege and advantage of having Mr. Bowman join Fraser Milner Casgrain is that he will add even greater depth to our National Tax Group and create significant value for current and prospective clients," said Michel Brunet, Chair and CEO of FMC. "His presence will provide us with the opportunity to extend national reach and regional strength through mentoring, consultation on key issues and strategies. His arrival will also enable us to open new fields of potential tax alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to the firm."

Mr. Bowman joins a team of leading tax experts, including William I. Innes, Chia-yi Chua and R. Brendan Bissell, authors of Federal Tax Practice, published by CCH Canada, the leading Canadian authority on practice and procedure in tax litigation. Fraser Milner Casgrain’s Tax Litigation Group is one of the strongest and most respected in Canada and has been responsible for several recent landmark and precedent-setting wins that will have major implications for tax and non-tax litigation in Canada:

McLarty v. R.  – FMC successfully represented the taxpayer before the Supreme Court of Canada in a case on exploration expense deductions.

Knights of Columbus v. R.  – FMC successfully represented the taxpayer before the Tax Court in a landmark case on the definition of "permanent establishment" under the Canada-U.S. tax treaty.

Prévost Car v. R . – FMC successfully represented the taxpayer before the Tax Court in a ground breaking case on the definition of "beneficial owner" under the Canada-Netherlands tax treaty.

Procter & Gamble Inc. v. Ontario – FMC successfully represented the taxpayer before the Ontario Court of Appeal on the application of retail sales tax to rental pallets.

489599 B.C. Ltd. v. R. – FMC successfully represented the taxpayer before the Tax Court in a case on the definition of "personal services business" under the Income Tax Act (Canada).

For more information:

Alison Janzen
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
416-863-4455
alison.janzen@fmc-law.com

Matthew Kanas
Maverick Public Relations Inc.
(416) 640-5525, ext. 237
matthewk@maverickpr.com