Derek Varrin
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Associate at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2024
- Languages
- English
Business & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawAbout Derek Varrin
Mergers and acquisitions, both public and private, sit at the centre of Derek Varrin's work, alongside corporate finance and capital markets deals. Derek is an associate with Gowling WLG's Business Law Group in Toronto, where the practice is corporate and securities law.
Derek's deal experience started before the call to the bar. As a student-at-law at Gowling WLG, Derek assisted on several acquisitions and a private placement, and after being called in Ontario in 2024, Derek joined the team that acted for the agent on a brokered offering of subscription receipts that closed in December 2025. Earlier, Derek spent time as an intern with the NHL Players' Association, researching and writing salary arbitration briefs and rebuttals prepared for players' arbitration hearings.
In May 2024 Derek co-wrote a firm article with partner Zafar B. Jaffer on the new public access rules for information about individuals with significant control under the Canada Business Corporations Act, including the free registry Corporations Canada now makes available.
Hockey is a big part of Derek's background. Derek's hometown is Greely, Ontario, and as an undergraduate at Laurentian University, where Derek majored in law and justice, Derek spent four years on the men's varsity hockey team and earned Academic All-Canadian standing.
Practice areas
Mergers and acquisitions
As a student-at-law, Derek assisted on two share acquisitions by Toronto private equity firm Gestalt Capital: 1772486 Ontario Inc. in November 2023 and Quebec fresh food importer CDS Foods in July 2024. Derek also assisted on Canadian Dental Services Corporation's January 2024 acquisition of Davis Orthodontics.
Private placements and capital markets
Derek worked with Jason A. Saltzman and Andrew Avis on a January 2024 private placement financing for NurExone Biologic, a TSXV-listed pharmaceutical company. In a team led by Peter Simeon, Derek also advised Sentinel Financial Management Corp., the agent, on One Bullion's brokered private placement of subscription receipts, tied to its proposed business combination with Imperial Ginseng Products.
Education & credentials
- JD, Queen's University Faculty of Law (2023)
- BA, Laurentian University (2020)
- Called to the bar of Ontario (2024)
Awards & recognition
- Queen's Law Prize in Mergers and Acquisitions, Queen's University
- Heenan Blaikie LLP Scholarship
Publications & speaking
- Opening the books: Public access to ISC information under the CBCA, Gowling WLG (2024)
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This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm Derek Varrin’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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