Firm welcomes enhanced cross-border and corporate tax capabilities in line with growth objectives
This article was produced in partnership with MLT Aikins.
MLT Aikins recently made a significant move to expand its tax practice in Calgary, bolstering its bench strength with the addition of tax lawyers Rob Worthington, Saul Abrams, and Melissa Guenette. This strategic expansion addresses a growing need for tax support in the firm’s Calgary office, particularly in corporate and cross-border tax advisory services.
“We’ve seen tremendous success in our commercial group in Calgary over the last several years, but we didn’t have an experienced tax practitioner dedicated to the office — something we felt was missing,” says Aaron Runge, managing partner at MLT Aikins. “Rob has a proven aptitude for building a team around him and that's exactly what we were looking for when we sought him out. We see Rob and his team as the first step in building out a tax team on the ground here.”
MLT Aikins has one of the largest tax law teams in Western Canada with 24 lawyers practicing across multiple provinces in an integrated fashion, providing an unmatched reach, particularly when it comes to provincial-level advice. But the decision to strengthen the Calgary office at this time was fortuitous, with businesses in Western Canada increasingly in need of focused tax experience.
From carbon tax and pricing frameworks that impact Alberta’s energy sector as well as regulatory changes such as the increase in capital gains taxation — which was already pushed into next year and might see another changeover in government in the meantime — to the recent threat of tariffs and changing trade policies from the United States, “we’re in a phase of uncertainty,” Worthington notes.
The Alberta market, with its strong ties to the energy sector and cross-border trade, presents unique tax considerations and the collaborative practice Worthington and Abrams have built with clients navigating complexities both north and south of the border is a service that few other firms can match. Currently, Worthington’s priority is helping businesses navigate through the unknown.
“We want to offer solid, practical advice on how clients can move forward and give them the tools they need to make decisions amidst coalescing complexities,” he says. “Many Canadian businesses are looking at how US tax changes impact them — whether they should expand, scale back, or adjust their strategies — and having US tax advice in-house is a huge advantage for our clients.”
Runge agrees, emphasizing the new team’s capabilities as a big benefit to the firm especially in an area that is incredibly broad and where “the only constant is change.” Whether it’s advice sought by a client navigating uncertain future legislative changes to the Income Tax Act or an esoteric corporate tax issue, having a large team means someone has the answer. He sees the trio as a strong addition to the significant bench strength of the firm’s tax group in Western Canada, making their tax offering to clients even stronger.
Though MLT Aikins was unquestioningly a good fit for his mid-market private company clients, the firm’s culture was also a considerable factor in Worthington’s decision to make the move. Noting that some firms operate more like a confederacy of individual practices, MLT Aikins stands apart as “a symbiotic ecosystem of lawyers.”
“Before I even officially started, partners in the Calgary office were reaching out to introduce themselves — and with tax questions,” Worthington recalls with a laugh. “Operating in a truly collaborative environment means putting the right lawyer in front of the client for right matter at the right time, and that’s important to me. It’s a far better client service approach and it’s a more fun environment to practice in.”
This appealed to Worthington because tax, by its nature, is often secondary to the main legal issue: the icing on the cake as opposed to the cake itself. It’s an important consideration for an M&A transaction or an estate plan, for example, but there’s always more going on than the tax side of things. But Worthington points out, what’s a cake without icing? In two decades of practice, Worthington has seen time and time again how his work results in tangible value for clients.
“Tax law services are not an expense, they’re a profit centre,” he says. “Using these complex rules to the client's advantage, to gain efficiency or avoid risks or enhance profit, is highly rewarding. Especially in the private company space, where you're making a difference to real people.”
Worthington was also drawn to the firm’s ambitious plan of expansion, calling himself similarly growth minded. He’s aiming to capitalize on opportunities, such as room for high-quality advice in Vancouver, and ultimately provide clients with “the best tax brains they can get” on today’s various tax-related issues.
With this latest addition to its bench strength, MLT Aikins reinforces its position as a leading law firm in Western Canada, which is of course the end goal.
“We’re excited about where this is going,” Runge says. “We’re already a powerhouse in the Saskatchewan and Manitoba markets, and there’s significant opportunity to continue our growth trajectory in Alberta and British Columbia. We’re looking forward to Rob and his team being a big part of that growth going forward.”
