Westaway Corporate Law
1 lawyer · Waterloo Region
One of 58 law firms listed in Waterloo, and one of 31 handling Business & Corporate Law.
About Westaway Corporate Law
Westaway Corporate Law is a corporate and tax practice based in Uptown Waterloo, Ontario, and built around its founder, Patrick Westaway. The work centres on three connected areas: business associations, tax, and private equity. Rather than treating legal and tax planning as separate exercises, the firm handles them together, so a company's corporate structure is built with its tax consequences in mind from the start. The practice frames its role around a business's full life cycle, from incorporation and financing through mergers and acquisitions to an eventual sale, a focus it sums up as 'from start-up to sale.' Much of the work crosses borders, covering both domestic and international matters.
Patrick Westaway brings more than twenty-five years in corporate and tax law. That career began at Deloitte & Touche in Toronto in 1998, focused on cross-border tax structuring, and continued at Lang Michener LLP (now McMillan LLP) on mergers, acquisitions, private equity, and commercial contracts, plus a spell as in-house counsel to Wind Mobile (now Freedom Mobile) during its 2009 start-up. The practice moved to Waterloo in 2014, drawn to the region's technology and innovation community, and its clients today include software, biotech, medical, telecommunications, renewable-technology, and entertainment companies. Credentials include a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants In-Depth Tax Course.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Founder Patrick Westaway holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School and a B.A. (Honours) from the University of Western Ontario, and completed the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants In-Depth Tax Course, Parts I and II.
- The practice has operated from Waterloo since 2014, when Patrick Westaway relocated to the region.
- Earlier career work included serving as in-house counsel to Wind Mobile (now Freedom Mobile) during the start-up of a national telecommunications carrier in 2009.
- Business manager Ria Westaway held a Head of Production role at an animation studio named to Canada's Best Managed Companies in 2012.
In the community
- The firm publishes articles for business owners and investors on cross-border and domestic topics, including investing in early-stage ventures, buying and funding Canadian companies, deferred payment on the sale of owner-managed businesses, flow-through shares for the innovation sector, and avoiding Canadian tax when licensing software into Canada.
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The office sits at 14 Erb Street West, the historic Waterloo Insurance Building in Uptown Waterloo. Mutual Life bought the corner lot at Albert and Erb Streets in 1879 and put up the red brick building the next year, and it went on to house a string of insurance companies before later stretches as a police detachment. Lion figures were added at the front in the early 1900s, and they are still there.
The address suits a practice built around technology companies. The same building is now home to the Communitech Data Hub, a base for Waterloo Region's tech community, and the founder has described the 2014 move to Waterloo as following Canada's innovation and technology community to its hub. Uptown Waterloo puts the firm minutes from the region's software, startup, and university ecosystem, the kind of clients the practice tends to serve.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Westaway Corporate Law focus on?
- The firm handles corporate and tax matters across three connected areas: business associations, tax, and private equity. It works with companies through their life cycle, from incorporation and structuring through financing, mergers and acquisitions, and an eventual sale.
- I'm starting a technology company in Waterloo. Can the firm help me structure and incorporate it?
- Yes. Business structuring and incorporation are core parts of the practice, and the firm builds the corporate structure with the tax consequences in mind from the start. Its clients include software, biotech, medical, and other technology ventures.
- Does the firm handle cross-border and international business matters?
- Yes. The founder's background is in cross-border tax structuring, and the practice regularly advises on both domestic and international issues, such as funding Canadian companies and the tax treatment of licensing software into Canada.
- Who would I be working with?
- The practice is led by founder Patrick Westaway, a corporate and tax lawyer with more than twenty-five years of experience, supported by business manager Ria Westaway.
- Where is the firm and how do I get in touch?
- The office is at 14 Erb Street West in Uptown Waterloo. You can reach the firm by phone at 226.606.6750 or by email through its website.
- Does the firm write about tax and business law topics I can read?
- Yes. Its articles cover subjects such as investing in early-stage ventures, deferred payment on the sale of owner-managed businesses, flow-through shares for the innovation sector, and avoiding Canadian tax when licensing software into Canada.
Where to find them
14 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 1S7 · 226-606-6750
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