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Sylvia Jacob

Sylvia A. Jacob

Sylvia Jacob has been practicing in the areas of cross-border corporate/commercial law and litigation for more than 25 years. She represents corporate clients and private investors in acquisitions and mergers in jurisdictions including Canada, Germany, England and China.

She has set up subsidiaries and carried out business acquisitions for numerous American and Canadian global players as well as establishing high-tech startups in the German market. Due to her considerable experience in the German business environment she is able to identify difficulties arising from the differences between the Anglo-American and German legal cultures at the outset of a project and to solve these by clear and effective communication in both languages.  One of her key skills is to put together a team of professionals in short order to ensure that projects are completed quickly and efficiently and with a high level of expertise.

During her many years of practice, she has also successfully launched the Canadian operations of a number of German multi-national firms in the manufacturing and technology sector, including green energy in form of subsidiaries and joint venture firms in all major Canadian provinces. By having an office in Canada, she is able to consult with her Canadian partners in order to provide tailor-made solutions for the varied legal issues faced by her clients based on a quick turnaround and a results-oriented perspective. Due to her presence in both legal jurisdictions she is able to meet with clients both in Germany and in North America and give on-site advice.

As a result of her unique set of qualifications, she is able to provide legal opinions on a range of issues involving the interplay between German and Anglo-Canadian law.

Recent transactions include consulting a major American automotive supplier in connection with its entry into the German market and the negotiation of a joint venture agreement between a German hotel chain and a resort in British Columbia.

In her international litigation practice, she has considerable experience in enforcing and defending claims resulting from contractual relationships between German and North American firms, including agency and distribution agreements and shareholders’ rights. She has successfully represented clients in legal disputes in England, Germany, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

In April of 2011 she was successful before both the Munich District Court and the Munich Appellate Court in defending the claim of a number of German investors against a Canadian mining company based on the sales prospectus used in Germany. At present, she is representing a number of German investors in their oppression claim against two Canadian real estate funds in the Province of Alberta.

Sylvia Jacob can look back at 20 successfull years of of transatlantic experience in drafting contract and licencing agreements for distributors and commercial businesses. This has been especially the case for North American companies looking to set up a subsidiary in Germany and includes also consultation on the general economic and employment related aspects relating to setting up a business. Recent activities included a involvement in a fusion of two global software companies in British Columbia, the establishment of a subsidiary company in Berlin for a Canadian music instrument producer and negotiations on sales and distribution contracts between a German manufacturer and a New York based distibution company.

The successful defence of a German mid-sized company against a US based multi-national corporation in the resource sector, represented by a major league legal team, proved to be the high point of recent successes for Sylvia Jacob in 2016 which also happens to mark the 20 year anniversary of service to her clients.

She is bilingual in German and English and fluent in French and Spanish.

Articles/Publications

Author and Presenter: “Setting up Corporate Structures in Canada and the Provinces”, “Drafting Agreements for Managers and Employees in on Secondment to Canada”, Bavarian Trade Association, Munich 2010

Author and Presenter: “How to Choose the Right Entry Structure into the North American Market”, Bavarian Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology, Munich, 2006

Author and Presenter: “Successful Firms are Innovative”, Bavarian Trade Association, Munich 2005

Author and Presenter: “Legal Aspects of Cross-Border Business”, Photonics, Ottawa, 2004

Author and Presenter: “Distribution Strategies for German Companies in Canada and the U.S. with a focus on product liability”, TÜV Academy, Dresden, 2004

Author and Presenter: “Recent Developments in Canadian Corporate Law and Corporate Governance”, Canadian-German Lawyers Association, Dresden, 2003

Author and Presenter: “Comparative Legal Analysis between German and Anglo-Canadian Business Structures”, Bavarian Ministry of Trade, Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology, Munich, 2003

Author and Presenter: “The Law of the Internet from a North American Perspective”, KLW Corporate Forum, Munich 2003

Author and Presenter: “Legal Pitfalls in Cross-Border Agency and Distribution Relationships”, KLW Corporate Forum, Munich, 2000

Author and Presenter: “How to Do Business in Germany, a primer for Canadian companies”, Presentation to the Canadian Trade Delegation at CEBIT, Hannover, 1998

Author and Presenter: „Distribution Channels into North America”, Munich Chamber of Trade and Commerce, 1997

Author and Presenter: “Differences in Doing Business between Germany and Canada”, Canadian-German Lawyers Association, Toronto, 1996

Education

  • University of Toronto
    (B.A. Hon., 1981)
  • University of Toronto,
    Faculty of Law (LL.B., 1984)

 

Years of Call

  • Ontario 1986
  • England & Wales 1991
  • Germany 1996

 

Professional Memberships

  • Law Society of Upper Canada
  • Canadian/Ontario Bar Association
  • Law Society of England and Wales
  • Rechtsanwaltskammer München
  • German-Canadian Chamber of Trade & Commerce
  • Deutsch-Kanadische Gesellschaft
  • Canadian-German Lawyers Association (Executive Board Member 1996-2008, German Co-President 2008)
  • Canadian-German Business Club Munich