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William Sirdevan

Phone: 905.452.6871
Fax: 905.451.5058
wsirdevan@lawrences.com

Bill has practiced business law for over 25 years. His clients are primarily owner-managed businesses, many of which are family-owned. Bill helps them plan and implement strategies—as simple or as sophisticated as the situation dictates—to minimize risk and operate profitably with an eye to their future. 

A focus of his practice is family business transition planning. Where succession to the next generation is desired, he assists in the structuring of the business to extract value for the founder while preserving value for the successors. Where a third party sale is the goal, he assists in the positioning of the business with a view to maximizing sale value. 

In addition to his considerable experience in business transitions, Bill has acted on a wide variety of complex corporate reorganizations, financings, acquisitions and divestitures.

Representative Work

  • Handled the complex sale of a multimillion dollar manufacturing business by five siblings and their elderly parents (with varying degrees of business acumen and knowledge), situated in three countries.
  • Assisted two siblings in navigating an involved and difficult family and business dynamic, ultimately leading to a successful third party sale.
  • Helped negotiate and complete a sale between estranged family members of a long-standing, highly successful service business.
  • Through a series of corporate reorganizations and related business succession strategies, helped a couple to transition a successful business to one of their children in a manner that was fair and equitable to both the successor and their other children.
  • Through the use of a “shotgun” buy-sell provision, helped two siblings secure an already successful business that they had helped build and that was destined for even greater success.
  • Helped a business owner-operator remediate his business to address his bank’s concerns (the bank was threatening to realize upon its security) and to position the business for a profitable third party sale, while navigating an estranged shareholder relationship.

Affiliations

  • Law Society of Upper Canada
  • Ontario Bar Association Member of the Executive, Ontario Bar Association’s Business Law Section, 2002-2006
  • Peel Law Association

Involvement

  • Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE), 2002-2009
  • President, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel Inc., 2006-2007
  • Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel Inc., 2003-2008
  • Junior Achievement of Peel Inc., 1990-1993
  • Downtown Brampton Business Improvement Association, 1990-1993
  • Chairman and Division Deputy Chairman, United Way of Peel, 1990-1993

Awards

Speaking/Teaching Engagements

  • Frequent speaker on business law to community groups and business associations
  • "Business Succession Planning", Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, 2007
  • As one of the founding sponsors of the Brampton chapter of the Canadian Association of Family Enterprise (CAFE), helped organize and present series of seminars to the Brampton family business community, 2004-2006
  • Taught business law at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course, 2003-2006
  • "What’s in a Sales Representative Agreement and Why it Matters”, Canadian Hardware & Building Materials Show, 2003
  • "Sales Representative Agreements–Terms and Terminating”, Canadian branch of the Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA), 2002
  • Presented programs on various business law issues, including "Methods of Carrying on Business”, "Business Start-ups", "Business Structures", "Shareholder Agreements, and "Franchising”, with the City of Brampton’s Economic Development Office, 1988-1999

Publications

  • “For The Record:  New Filing Requirements", The Lawrences Letter, Summer 2017
  • "Selling Your Business: 12 Mistakes to Avoid", The Lawrences Letter, Fall 2015
  • "Protecting the Money You’ve Made”, The Lawrences Letter, Summer 2009.
  • “Corporate Minutes: Why They Matter”, The Lawrences Letter, Winter 2007
  • “So You’ve Built the Business: Now What?” The Lawrences Letter, Spring 2006
  • “Bankruptcy Changes Give Suppliers New Rights” The Lawrences Letter, March 1993
Sep 15, 2015 | Article

Selling Your Business: 12 Mistakes to Avoid

Business owners who run their own companies make huge investments of time, money and expertise to make their businesses successful and should be ab...

Jul 01, 2009 | Article

Protecting the Money You’ve Made

John and Jane run a website development business through their corporation, Risk Inc. John and Jane’s business grows and Risk finds itself with significant retained profits. This gives John and Jane the confidence to have Risk branch out into software development.

Dec 01, 2007 | Article

Corporate Minutes:Why They Matter

The founder of a family business adds his new son-in-law to the company’s board of directors. A small corporation seeks a substantial bank loan for a new acquisition. A growing company decides to pay out large, one-time bonuses, rather than large, annual raises, to its management team.

Apr 01, 2006 | Article

Business Succession Planning - So You've Built the Business: Now What?

Jane and Brenda are business partners in a successful real estate venture. They’ve worked together for years, building the business from a basement sideline to a fulltime venture with 12 employees in a downtown office.

News

May 28, 2024

Law Society of Ontario Congratulates Lawrences on Their 100th Anniversary

Law Society of Ontario Dear Lawrences Lawyers, On behalf of the Law Society of Ontario, I would like to congratulate Lawrences Lawyers for your ...

Dec 15, 2023

Lawrence, Lawrence, Stevenson LLP at 100 – a Tradition of Legal Excellence, a Culture of Service

“To my loyal partner, Harold, who has been more like a brother than a partner to me.”  Gordon Graydon inscribed those words on a p...

“SPS Inc. has been with Lawrences since our inception 15 years ago. We started with one business and now, four ongoing businesses later, our relationship with them is still going strong. We have always received timely and relevant legal advice. Bill Sirdevan is very knowledgeable in all aspects of business and employment law and we are very pleased to have him assist us.” 

A. J. Bajwa
SPS Inc.
President

© 2015 Lawrence, Lawrence, Stevenson LLP

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43 Queen Street West, Brampton, ON, Canada L6Y 1L9
Telephone: 905.451.3040 Fax: 905.451.5058 Email: lls@lawrences.com

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