Carol Lyons

Partner
Ontario Co-Chair – Insurance


Toronto

Tel : 416.307.4106
Fax : 416.865.7048

Email : carol.lyons@mcmillan.ca
VCard : vcard

Professional Activities

  • Partner since 1994
  • Member of the firm's Business Law Group

Carol Lyons practices in the corporate/commercial law area with an emphasis on transactional work. She advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, contract procurement, including requests for proposals (RFPs), and formation of strategic alliances (including divestment/outsourcing of business functions).   

Carol specializes in working with clients in the insurance, health care and other regulated industries. Her practice includes assisting insurers and reinsurers with the regulatory approval process in the context of transactions and other corporate changes as well as advising on regulatory compliance generally.  She also advises on pension law matters. 

Carol was seconded to IBM Canada Ltd. in 1993-1994 as legal advisor to IBM Business Development. 

Carol Lyons acted as corporate secretary for two property and casualty insurance companies from 1989 to 1994 and is currently lead director and an audit committee member of a leading Canadian reinsurance company as well as a past advisory board member and audit committee member of an Ontario insurance reciprocal.

Special Recognition

  • Practical Law Company's PLC Which Lawyer? Listed as highly recommended practitioner for Insurance: Transactional and Regulatory

Memberships

  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association

Directorships & Business Interests

  • Lead Director, SCOR Canada Reinsurance Company
  • Audit Committee member, SCOR Canada Reinsurance Company
  • Past Director, Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
Representative Transactions

Carol's transactional work includes:

  • Routinely assisting corporations in a variety of industries/sectors with incorporation and licensing, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, corporate reorganizations, jurisdictional changes as well as divestment/outsourcing of business functions
  • Regularly advising with respect to commercial contractual matters, including procurement of goods and services, formation of joint ventures and strategic alliances

Carol's regulatory and corporate governance work includes:

  • Routinely assisting domestic and foreign insurance and reinsurance companies in connection with incorporation and licensing of Canadian subsidiaries, qualification, licensing, run-off and closure of Canadian branch operations as well as portfolio transfers, reorganizations and amalgamations
  • Advising insurers and reinsurers with respect to statutory compliance and required regulatory approvals in a variety of contexts, including transactional and operational matters, related-party transactions 
  • Assisting corporate counsel and boards of directors with the preparation and implementation of board and committee governance handbooks and related policies 
  • Regularly advising health care (e.g. community care access centre corporations), government-funded organizations, with procurement and corporate governance matters

publications and presentations

Carol also hosts and participates in a number of in-house seminars/programs and off-site client presentations.

May 2013
Canada initiates ORSA (and other recent regulatory developments)
insurance bulletin
February 2013
OSFI clarifies expectations for implementation of revised corporate governance guideline
insurance bulletin
September 2012
OSFI issues new draft corporate governance guideline
insurance article
July 2012
upcoming changes to Ontario's insurance regime: FSCO to require Ontario incorporated insurers to transfer jurisdictions
insurance bulletin


  • business law
    • charities & not for profit
    • corporate
    • corporate governance
    • mergers & acquisitions
  • insurance
    • corporate insurance
    • products for the insurance industry
    • regulatory
  • mergers & acquisitions
  • privacy
    • health privacy law - ontario
  • services to women entrepreneurs
  • financial institutions / financial services
    • financial institutions
    • insurance
  • health care & life sciences
    • health care
  • insurance
Called to the Ontario bar - 1989

University of Toronto, JD - 1987

University of Toronto, BA - 1984