Mark Brender

Mark Brender

Mark is a tax partner and head of Osler’s Tax Group in Montréal, where he also leads the firm’s Private Client Group. As a trusted advisor on highly complex and sophisticated tax matters, he is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in corporate reorganizations, M&A tax planning, high-stakes tax disputes, and intricate private client matters.

Mark is recognized by leading legal and tax rankings, including Chambers, which ranks him in both Corporate Tax and Private Client, where he holds a Band 1 recognition. He is also a Fellow of ACTEC and an academician of the IAETL.

A distinguished leader in the tax community, Mark served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Canadian Tax Foundation, the country’s preeminent organization for tax professionals, in 2019. He is co-editor of the Corporate Tax Planning feature of the Canadian Tax Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Corporate Groups & Structures Journal published by Thomson Reuters.

Mark is an active member of the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Canadian Bar Association and CPA Canada, contributing to national tax policy development. He received the Douglas J. Sherbaniuk Distinguished Writing Award for his analysis of subsection 55(2), a cornerstone anti-avoidance rule that is central to private and public company reorganizations, spin-offs, and other complex corporate structuring.


Awards and Recognition

  • Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Tax
  • Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Business Lawyers: Recognized in Tax
  • Chambers High Net Worth – Canada: Recognized in Private Wealth Law (Band 1)
    • “Mark is a very strong tax lawyer. He is brilliant, intellectually extremely alert and a very thoughtful person to deal with.”
    • “Mark is extremely capable, vastly experienced, sophisticated and has sound awareness on many areas impacting clients of significant wealth.”
    • “Mark is one of the most knowledgeable in the field. His breadth and depth of knowledge is remarkable.”
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recognized in Corporate Tax; Québec’s top corporate tax lawyers in 2021; Estate & Personal Tax Planning – Estate & Tax Planning
  • Lexpert’s Leading 500 Cross-Border Lawyers: A Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Recognized in Corporate Tax
  • Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Trusts and Estates; Tax Law
  • Legal 500: recognized as a Recommended Lawyer, Tax
  • International Tax Review: Recognized in General Corporate Tax as a Notable Practitioner
  • Who’s Who Legal: Recognized in Corporate Tax – Advisory, Tax – Controversy, Recognized in Private Client (International), Tax – Advisory, Tax – Controversy; Private Client (Canada), Corporate Tax
  • Who’s Who Legal Thought Leaders: Global Elite: Recognized in Private Client; Corporate Tax
  • Best Lawyers Awards Canada: Recognized in Tax Law, Trusts and Estates, and Private Funds Law

Credentials

Education

  • McGill University, LL.B./B.C.L.
  • McGill University, B.A.

Languages

  • English
  • French

Professional Affiliations

  • The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law (recognized Academician)
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (Fellow)
  • Canadian Tax Foundation (member of the CBA/CPA Canada Joint Committee on Taxation)
  • International Fiscal Association (member of council)
  • Association de planification fiscale et financière (APFF)
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Association du Barreau du Québec