Overview
Kristina Shaw’s many years of experience in corporate law has her advising various clients—from start-ups to large corporations—on a broad range of business law and finance matters. Kristina continually strives to build trusted adviser relationships with entrepreneurs, executives, and senior leadership teams while providing practical, timely, and cost-effective advice. Kristina is also involved in the Firm’s social impact practice and works with a number of not-for-profit and charitable entities.
Kristina has extensive experience advising clients on mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, lending and asset-based financing transactions (acting for both lenders and borrowers), business structures, partnerships, joint venture arrangements, and corporate reorganizations. Kristina’s work with not-for-profit organizations includes forming new entities, mergers, and corporate governance.
Kristina provides practical advice and counsel in a number of key areas:
- Mergers and acquisitions: representing owners of businesses in many industries on acquisitions, sales, mergers, and plans of arrangement.
- Lending: representing lenders (institutional and non-institutional) and borrowers in the establishment of traditional secured financings, unsecured credit facilities, equipment leasing and other lease finance arrangements, and asset-based transactions.
- Business formation: representing entrepreneurs in the formation and establishment of new businesses.
- Regulated professional corporations: assisting regulated professionals to create professional corporations, transfer existing professional practices, and acquire or dispose of professional practices.
- Social impact: assisting charities and not-for-profit organizations with mergers, corporate governance, formation and organization, windup, and dissolution.
Professional achievements & leadership
- The Best Lawyers in Canada – Corporate Law, 2015-2025
- The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory – Corporate Commercial Law, 2014 - 2024; Banking and Financial Institutions, 2017-2024; Mergers & Acquisitions, 2022-2023
- Lexpert Zenith Award: Mid-Career Excellence in the Legal Profession, 2018
- Recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2017 Corporate Law "Lawyer of the Year" in London/Windsor
- Recipient, Stuart Tom Prize in Business Law
- Recipient, McCarthy Tetrault LLP Prize in Business Law
- Recipient, Greta J. Grant Award for Community Legal Services
Notable matters
- Represented a US-based shareholder of large national animal feed and nutrition manufacturer on the sale of shares of Canadian subsidiary to a multinational animal nutrition and health products distributor.
- Represented a Southwestern Ontario-based company in connection with the sale of a retirement residence to a national retirement residence and seniors’ living operator.
- Represented a large national animal feed and nutrition manufacturer in connection with their merger with another Canadian-based animal feed manufacturer and distributor.
- Represented sellers of an Ontario-based agricultural automation developer and manufacturer to a global animal health company.
Thought leadership
- “Control of Governance: Who are the Proper Members and Directors of a Charitable Not-For-Profit Corporation?” Charities and Not-for-Profit Newsletter, June 2010
Community involvement
- Board Member, Southwestern Ontario YMCA
- Vice-Chair Corporate Governance Committee, Southwestern Ontario YMCA
- Co-chair 2021 Southwestern Ontario YMCA Women of Excellence Steering Committee
- Chair, Personal Gifts Division, London Regional Children’s Museum, 2002 Capital Campaign
- Vice-Chair and Director, Children’s Health Foundation
- Committee Chair, Fore the Kids Golf Tournament
- Past President, London Convention Centre
- Past President, Goodwill Industries Ontario Great Lakes
- Member, Management Committee, Stiller Centre for Technology Commercialization
- Member, Emerging Leaders Sustainability Taskforce
Professional memberships
- Member, Canadian Bar Association
- Member, Middlesex Law Association
- Member, TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario
- Member, London Club
Bar admissions & education
- Ontario, 1999
- LL.B., Western University, 1997
- B.A. (Economics), Queen’s University, 1994
