Michelle Lally

Michelle Lally

Partner, Competition/Antitrust and Foreign Investment

Toronto

(416) 862-5925 

[email protected]

Bar Admission: Ontario, 1992

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Areas of Expertise

Foreign Investment ReviewAntitrust M&AStrategic Antitrust Guidance and Risk ManagementRetail and Consumer ProductsRegulatory InvestigationsCompetition DisputesCompetition/AntitrustRisk Management and Crisis Response

Michelle is a senior partner of the Osler Competition/Antitrust and Foreign Investment Group. She has previously served as Chair of the Group and on the firm’s Executive Committee and is a former executive member and Chair of the National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

With over 30 years of extensive experience in all aspects of competition law, Michelle's expertise includes mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, price fixing & bid-rigging investigations and pricing and distribution matters, and reviews under Canada’s foreign investment law, the Investment Canada Act.

Michelle has successfully obtained clearances under the Competition Act for hundreds of domestic, cross-border and international transactions. She regularly advises parties on the application of the Competition Act’s criminal and civil provisions to agreements between competitors, agreements between customers and suppliers, unilateral conduct, greenwashing and deceptive marketing practices. As part of providing strategic competition law counselling and compliance advice, Michelle often designs and conducts internal antitrust audits/investigations for clients.

Her depth of experience in the area of Competition/Antitrust has been recognized nationally and internationally. Over the last decade, Michelle has been consistently ranked in Chambers Canada. She has also been recognized in Lexpert’s Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada and Best Lawyers in Canada among several other legal ranking directories.

Areas of Expertise

Antitrust M&ACompetition DisputesCompetition/AntitrustForeign Investment ReviewRegulatory InvestigationsRetail and Consumer ProductsRisk Management and Crisis ResponseStrategic Antitrust Guidance and Risk Management

Representative Work

  • The Interpublic Group of Companies in connection with its merge with Omnicom
  • TELUS in its $1.26-billion wireless tower infrastructure partnership with La Caisse
  • Microsoft in its acquisition of Activision Blizzard
  • BlackRock in its acquisition of HPS Investment Partners
  • Béton Provincial in connection with its acquisition of CRH Canada Group Inc.
  • Kyndryl in the sale of its Securities Industry Services business to Broadridge
  • WT Microelectronics in its acquisition of Future Electronics for US$3.8 billion
  • ODP Corporation (Office Depot’s parent company) in connection with Staples proposed unsolicited bid
  • Metro Supply Chain in its acquisition of SCI Group Inc.
  • Photonis Group in its acquisition of Telops
  • Zebra Technologies in its acquisition of Matrox Imaging
  • Domtar in its acquisition by Paper Excellence
  • The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in its acquisition of DECIEM Beauty Group Inc.
  • Drax Group plc in its acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy
  • Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking in its $1.13 billion acquisition of People Corporation
  • Ventas in its acquisition of a Canadian seniors housing portfolio in partnership with Le Groupe Maurice

Awards and Recognition

  • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Competition/Antitrust (Band 1) (Nationwide – Canada)
    • “Michelle really understands our business and is pragmatic; she thinks of ways to reduce risk for our company.”
  • Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Business Lawyers: Recognized in Competition/Antitrust
    • …a “fantastic resource for competition law,”
    • …”is excellent in navigating complex regulatory situations. She’s strategic but also practical and understands business.”
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recognized in Competition Law (Most Frequently Recommended)
  • Lexpert’s Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Recognized in Competition Law
  • Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Competition/Antitrust Law
  • Legal 500: Recognized as a Leading Lawyer, Competition & Antitrust
  • Who’s Who Legal: Recognized in Competition (International); Competition (Canada)
  • Thomson Reuters: “Stand-out Lawyer”

Credentials

Education

  • Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.M.
  • University of Western Ontario, LL.B.
  • Queen’s University, B.A. (Hons.)

Professional Affiliations

  • Canadian Bar Association, a Former Chair of the National Competition Law Section
  • American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law
  • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow

Osler is a leading business law firm practising internationally from offices across Canada and in New York. Our clients include industry and business leaders in all segments of the market and at various stages in the growth of their businesses. We have built our reputation on our commitment to our clients' success and the experience, expertise and collaborative approach for which we are recognized. We believe that our success is a reflection of our clients' success.