Derrick C. Tay

Biography

Derrick Tay leads our  Insolvency and Restructuring Team. He focuses particularly on corporate reorganizations, insolvency and bankruptcy law, with expertise in cross-border and international transactions, secured transactions, banking, environmental law and stakeholder rights.

Mr. Tay has acted in most of Canada's major restructurings and insolvencies in recent years for public and private clients in the health sciences, publishing, financial services, telecommunications, life insurance, steel, entertainment, transportation, construction, power generation and environmental regulation sectors.

Mr. Tay also regularly advises debtor companies or creditors in the crafting of businesslike solutions which help to avoid formal restructuring proceedings.

Year of Call

• Ontario Bar 1981

Law School

• LL.B., University of Toronto, 1979

Selected Client Work

• Quebecor World Inc., as Canadian counsel to the company in connection with its filing under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the filing of its subsidiaries under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
• Iovate Health Sciences Inc., as principal shareholder, in respect of the CCAA and US cross-border proceedings involving MuscleTech Research & Development Inc., the first Canadian / US commercial case utilizing Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code
• Ravelston Corporation Limited, as counsel to the company and to Lord Black of Crossharbour in seeking protection under the CCAA and the appointment of a receiver
• Delaware Street Capital, LLC as counsel in its acquisition of the Slater Steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario
• Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. as counsel in connection with the Air Canada plan of arrangement under the CCAA
• Teleglobe Inc. and its subsidiaries as Canadian counsel to the debtor in connection with CCAA proceedings and Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States
• Bell Canada International, Inc. as counsel to the company in connection with its plan of arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act
• Confederation Life Insurance Company as court-appointed representative counsel for the subordinated debtholders; successfully negotiated a settlement with a potential recovery of approximately 75 cents on the dollar
• Maksteel Inc. as counsel to the lending syndicate in connection with Maksteel Inc.'s CCAA proceedings
• Algoma Steel Inc. as counsel to the existing syndicate of lenders who also provided a $50 million D.I.P. facility
• Cineplex Odeon Corporation as counsel to Oaktree Capital Management, LLC, one of the sponsors of a restructuring plan under the CCAA
• Laidlaw Inc. as counsel to the court-appointed monitor
• Grace Canada, Inc. as counsel to the company seeking ancillary relief to deal with asbestos-related claims in respect of the W. R. Grace filing under Chapter 11 in the United States
• BlueStar Systems Canada Corp., a publicly listed Canadian company, and BlueStar Battery Systems International Corp. in connection with the restructuring of their Canadian and US debt through the CCAA
• A major holder of unsecured bonds in the Canadian Airlines restructuring
• Babcock & Wilcox Canada Ltd. in obtaining innovative ancillary protection in Canada to facilitate the US parent's restructuring of the group's asbestos liability under Chapter 11
• The Loewen Group Inc. as counsel in connection with its restructuring of $3 billion of debt involving insolvency filings both in Canada and in the United States
• The interim receiver of Euro United Corporation with operations in Canada, the United States and Europe
• Various federal environmental regulators with respect to the insolvency of Royal Oak Mines Inc.
• First mortgage bondholders in the Toronto SkyDome restructuring
• A $2.5 billion lending syndicate in Olympia & York's restructuring
• Approximately $300 million of subordinated debtholders in Royal Trust Corporation's restructuring
• $1.2 billion of senior debentureholders in Trizec Corporation's restructuring
• The court monitor, then the trustee in bankruptcy, in Bramalea Inc.'s insolvency
• Corporate trustees and a lending syndicate in Cadillac Fairview's restructuring
• A lending syndicate in the Central Guarantee Trust restructuring
• A Korean banking syndicate owed approximately $300 million by Sammi Atlas Inc., a Canadian steel company. By carefully positioning the banking syndicate in the restructuring process, Mr. Tay was able to get all of the banks bought out by distress funds at prices significantly above the projected recovery which would have resulted from a sale of the debtor company's assets as a going concern.

Publications

Mr. Tay has lectured and published prolifically since the early 1980s in the areas of insolvency, banking, secured transactions, equipment leasing, environmental liability and derivative products.

• Chapter 15 in Practice:  The Canadian Perspective and the Muscletech Story, prepared October 13, 2006 for ABI Winter Leadership Conference.
• Inherent Jurisdiction:  The Silver Bullet of James M. Farley, prepared in August 2006 for the 4th Annual Review of Insolvency Law Conference, March 30, 2007, UBC Faculty of Law, National Centre for Business Law.
• When the Law Clashes with Reality, Reality Wins, August 2, 2006, re T.C.T. Logistics Inc. decision.
• An Overview of Canadian Insolvency Law, prepared for Insight Information, 5th Annual Law Clerks Forum, January 31, 2006.
• Leading Lawyer Warns Against Pro-Union Reforms, Global Turnaround, Canada Survey, December 2005, Issue 71.
• Canadian Asbestos Class Actions Stayed by Canadian Court - Recognition of US Chapter 11 Injunction (re W.R. Grace, December 2005).
• Developments in Cross Border Workouts and Restructurings, prepared for Federated Press Corporate Restructuring Conference, December 6, 7, 8, 2005 (coauthors J. Stam and A. Kuntz).
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to Restructuring Insolvent Companies - Wherever They May Be, prepared for International Finance Corporation Conference, June 2005.
• The Impact of Insolvency Proceedings on the Arbitration Process and Awards, prepared for International Finance Corporation Conference, June 2005.
• Chapter on Canadian Bankruptcy, Business Lawyer's Bankruptcy Guide, Clark Boardman Callaghan (Corporate Law Series), USA, 1992.
• Law of Ontario Personal Property Security, Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing, 1989.

Speaking Engagements

• Speaks extensively on many aspects of insolvency and banking law matters

Media Highlights

• Quoted in "Big ABCP Freeze Shows Signs of Thawing," EuroWeek, September 19, 2008.
• Quoted in "Bankruptcy Cases Straddle Canadian, U.S. Border," National Law Journal, August 14, 2008.

Rankings and Recognitions

• Best Lawyers in Canada - Insolvency and Financial Restructring, 2008
• Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers - The Best of the Best 2006
• The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
• Guide To The Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada
• Guide to the World's Leading Insolvency Lawyers
• International Who's Who of Insolvency and Restructuring Lawyers

Memberships and Activities

• Canadian Bar Association
• Law Society of Upper Canada
• International Bar Association
• Insolvency Institute of Canada
• American Bankruptcy Institute
• Former Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto
• Editorial Board, Insol International Insolvency Review
• Editorial Board, Commercial Insolvency Reporter