“After my car accident, I went through an incredibly challenging time. Thanks to Lawyer Jun Lee and his exceptional team, I received tremendous support and strength.”
Jay Kim
Personal Injury Client
Trusted by accident victims and businesses across Ontario
Overview
Corporate law in North York
Need a corporate lawyer in North York? Our experienced corporate lawyers in North York serve the businesses along every corridor in the area, across their entire lifespan.
The lifespan starts with incorporation and formation done right the first time: structure chosen, shares designed, minute book built. Corporate governance and annual maintenance keep the corporate record current. Shareholder, partnership, and joint-venture agreements decide who controls what, and what happens when partners disagree, die, or depart.
From formation to exit
Commercial contracts get drafted, reviewed, and, through our litigation practice, enforced. Business purchases and sales run from the letter of intent to the closing. Reorganizations, restructurings, and share exchanges handle the moments when the ownership structure must change, alongside employment work for employers and the commercial real estate every operating business eventually leases or buys.
Based at 1110 Finch Ave W, our team brings 70+ years of combined legal experience to North York's companies, on the model most of them actually need: outside general counsel. That means a firm that answers the phone, knows your file, and costs a fraction of the legal department you don't need yet.
Start at the beginning, because formation is where a company's legal life goes right or wrong. The structure decision comes first. A sole proprietorship is simple and cheap, with your personal assets fully exposed. A partnership shares everything, including liability, governed by an agreement or by default rules nobody chose. A corporation is the separate legal person that limits liability, opens tax planning, survives its founders, and signals credibility to banks, landlords, and partners. The tax planning includes the small-business deduction, income splitting within the rules, and the lifetime capital gains exemption an eventual sale may capture.
For most growing North York businesses the corporation wins, and then the real choices begin. Should you incorporate provincially (in Ontario, under the OBCA) or federally (under the CBCA)? We weigh three things: how widely you need your business name protected, the rules about whether your directors must live in Canada, and where you'll actually operate. Next come the name search (called a NUANS report) and the question of whether to use a named or numbered company. The share structure matters most of all, and it is the part do-it-yourself incorporations get wrong most often. Different classes of shares should be designed for what's coming: one class for a spouse to receive dividends, another for investors, and the flexibility your accountant will need for eventual succession planning (called an estate freeze). Not just 100 common shares to one founder because the online form defaulted there.
Professional corporations for local physicians, dentists, lawyers, and accountants carry their own naming, ownership, and regulatory rules, work we handle regularly. Holding company and operating company structures (sometimes called holdco/opco) separate the business's operating risks from the wealth the business has accumulated, protecting that wealth from the operating company's creditors.
Our incorporation packages are complete and quoted in writing before work begins: articles tailored, bylaws, organizing resolutions, share certificates and registers, and the minute book built, not promised. CRA program accounts are coordinated. And because formation without governance is a delayed problem, the first year's compliance is calendared before you leave.
Then comes the rest of the lifespan, because a corporation is a relationship, not a transaction. The agreements come first. A shareholder agreement sets the rules between the owners. When every shareholder signs it and it restricts the directors' powers, it is called a unanimous shareholder agreement (USA). Negotiate the agreement while everyone still likes each other and it answers the five Ds of death, disability, divorce, default, and departure while relations are good. Our dedicated practice drafts these agreements with a litigator's eye. Partnership and joint-venture agreements cover the ventures that don't incorporate. And every operating business runs on a set of contracts, from customer and supplier agreements to service contracts and NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). We build those as your own templates, not the other side's.
The compliance layer follows: annual resolutions, the annual corporate return, the transparency register, and the minute book maintained, all on our governance practice's annual cycle. The return has been separate from taxes since the registry modernized, and the missed filing ends in government dissolution.
Next is the growth stage. We document your financings, negotiate your leases through our commercial real estate practice, and put your key employees under contract through our employment practice. When the ownership structure must evolve, we coordinate reorganizations and tax-deferred share exchanges (under Income Tax Act sections 85 and 86) with your accountant. That includes the estate freeze, a succession tool that locks today's company value for tax purposes while future growth passes to the next generation. Our wills practice completes it with dual-will planning.
The exit stage: the business sold through our purchase-and-sale practice, as an asset deal or a share deal, ready for buyer review because the corporate records were kept up to date. Succession gets executed. And when partnerships break instead, the shareholder disputes, oppression claims, and commercial litigation our courtroom practice carries take over. One firm, every stage, with the cross-practice familiarity that makes each stage more efficient: the lawyer who drafted your shareholder agreement reads your buy-sell at the estate planning meeting, and the one who maintains your corporate records makes the buyer's due diligence a non-event.
Consultations are billed, and what they cost depends on the complexity of the matter. Fees for the defined work, meaning incorporations, agreements, and annual maintenance, are quoted in writing before anything begins, with honest budgets for the rest and service in 8+ languages. VC Lawyers is the corporate counsel North York's businesses keep on speed dial, at Finch and Keele, where these companies actually are.
Get in touch
Looking for legal help? Speak directly with a lawyer
Tell us what happened and a lawyer will personally review your case. Personal injury consultations are free and there are no fees unless we win. For all other practice areas, a consultation fee applies.
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Prefer to call? (416) 661-4529
Background
Corporate law in North York: what you need to know
North York's corporate docket is its economy in miniature. The startup incorporating above a Willowdale storefront. The contractor finally moving from sole proprietorship to corporation as the contracts get bigger. The physician's professional corporation on Sheppard, and the family logistics firm on Keele adding the second generation as shareholders.
Add the restaurant group setting up a holding company above its operating companies, the partners who shook hands in 2015 and need a written agreement before the 2026 disagreement, and the owner, everywhere, preparing for the sale that the coming wave of retirements is bringing.
The formation decisions, and what each one turns on
Sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. The proprietorship is instant and cheap, with your house behind every business debt. The partnership means shared control and shared liability, governed by your agreement or by default statutory rules written for strangers. The corporation is the separate legal person, offering limited liability: your personal assets behind the corporate veil, with the exceptions every director should know.
The corporation also brings the tax planning: small-business-deduction rates on active income, the dividend/salary mix your accountant optimizes, and the lifetime capital gains exemption that can shelter a qualifying share sale at exit. Add perpetual existence, and the standing that banks, landlords, and large customers extend to a corporation and rarely to a sole proprietor. The decision comes down to tax and liability numbers we run with your accountant, and it's revisitable. Businesses incorporate when the numbers say so, and we paper the transition cleanly.
OBCA or CBCA. Ontario incorporation offers simpler annual mechanics, no director-residency requirement, and name protection within the province. Federal incorporation protects the name in every province and carries it with you as you expand, at the cost of a Canadian-resident-director requirement and a second layer of filings: the federal return, plus an extra-provincial registration in each province you actually operate in. Most businesses here choose Ontario; the ones with national names or plans choose federal knowingly.
The share structure. The future gets drafted in advance: separate classes for dividend flexibility between family shareholders, preferred shares ready for the investor or the freeze, and the authorized structure that lets your accountant's eventual planning happen by resolution instead of by articles of amendment. The 100-common-shares default is the most expensively corrected line in DIY incorporation.
Professional corporations. The regulated professions' vehicle, covering physicians, dentists, lawyers, accountants, and the rest. It carries college-specific naming, ownership restricted to members (with family-member rules varying by profession), and certificates of authorization maintained. Tax deferral is the reason to do it; compliance with the college's rules is the price; both are routine in the right hands.
Holdco/opco and the mid-life restructures. The operating company carries the risk; the holding company accumulates the wealth behind it, protecting retained earnings from creditors, holding the real estate, and staging the eventual sale.
These structures get built at the right time using tax-deferred transfers under Income Tax Act section 85, which moves assets into a corporation without triggering immediate tax, and section 86 share exchanges, the mechanics of the estate freeze: today's company value is locked in the founder's preferred shares, while tomorrow's growth is issued to the next generation or a family trust. Your accountant designs the tax strategy and we handle the legal documentation, bridging this practice and our estates planning.
Not sure where you stand? One conversation will tell you.
The operating layers, and where the dedicated practices take over
Governance and maintenance covers the corporate record book, annual returns, transparency register, and bringing records up to date: our corporate governance page. The partners' contract covers shareholder agreements, what happens when a partner dies, becomes disabled, divorces, defaults, or departs, and the buyout mechanisms: our shareholder agreement page. The deals cover buying and selling businesses, letters of intent, due diligence reviews, and closings: our purchase-and-sale page.
For disputes, meaning broken contracts, shareholder oppression (where a company or the people running it treat a shareholder unfairly or unfairly disregard that shareholder's interests), partnership deadlock, and debt collection, see our contract disputes and civil litigation pages. For premises, meaning commercial leases and property acquisitions, see our commercial real estate page. For people, meaning employment contracts, workplace policies, and terminations, see our employment law for employers page. For succession, meaning wills, estate freezes, and passing the business to the next generation, see our wills and estates page. This page is the starting point, and the practices behind it carry the detail.
By the numbers
Corporate law facts every North York business owner should know
The structures, the lifecycle, and the model.
Your business structure is the first decision, and it shapes everything after
A sole proprietorship puts your personal assets on the line for every business debt. A partnership shares control and liability under rules you may never have agreed to. A corporation is a separate legal entity that limits your personal liability, opens up tax planning, and outlives its founders. Make this decision with a lawyer and an accountant together.Ontario vs. federal incorporation is a real choice
An Ontario incorporation (under the OBCA) is simpler to maintain and has no requirement that directors be Canadian residents. A federal incorporation (under the CBCA) protects your business name across all provinces but requires at least one Canadian-resident director and involves extra filings. The right choice depends on where you will operate and whether national name protection matters to you.Share structure is where do-it-yourself incorporations fail
A properly designed share structure creates different classes of shares for different purposes: one class for family members receiving dividends, another for future investors, another for tax-efficient succession planning. The default online form gives you 100 common shares to one person, which is expensive to fix later when your accountant needs flexibility that doesn't exist.The corporate record book is built at incorporation or rebuilt when someone asks for it
Your corporate record book contains your articles of incorporation, bylaws, board resolutions, shareholder registers, and share certificates. It is legally required from day one, and it will be reviewed by every bank, buyer, or CRA auditor your company ever deals with.The annual return is not your tax return
Your corporation must file a separate annual return with the Ontario business registry, on its own deadline. Miss that filing and the government can dissolve your company by default, even if it owns real estate.Professional corporations have their own rulebook
If you are a physician, dentist, lawyer, or accountant, your professional corporation must follow your regulatory college's specific rules for naming, ownership, and authorization. This is a defined piece of work we handle regularly, with fees quoted in writing.Holding companies, estate freezes, and share exchanges are mid-life moves
As your business matures, these tools let you separate your accumulated wealth from the business's operating risks, lock in today's value for tax purposes while future growth passes to the next generation, and restructure ownership. They are coordinated with your accountant and documented properly by a lawyer.An outside corporate lawyer beats no lawyer and beats a full legal department
Fees quoted in writing, projects scoped in advance, and a firm that already knows your business when the urgent call comes. This is the model that fits businesses between the kitchen table and the corner office.
From the kitchen table to the closing table
The handshake era, and when to end it
Every company this practice serves started the same way: someone good at something, whether fixing, cooking, coding, or caring, decided to do it for themselves. The legal layer came later, in pieces, when it came at all. There's no judgment in that; it's how businesses are born.
But there's a moment in every company's life when the handshake era should end on purpose rather than by accident. Before the partner dispute, the CRA review, the buyer's diligence, or a shareholder's divorce. That moment is almost always now, the work is almost always scoped and quoted in advance, and the firm at Finch and Keele speaks the language your business actually runs in. From the kitchen table to the closing table, properly papered the whole way.
The deadlines here are shorter than most people expect.
Step by step
What to do as a North York business owner
- 01
Choose your business structure with both advisors
Meet with a lawyer and an accountant together before registering anything. Whether you incorporate, stay a sole proprietorship, or form a partnership affects your taxes and personal liability for decades. - 02
If you incorporate, do it completely
Getting the incorporation certificate is only the first step. Without the corporate record book, bylaws, and properly issued shares, you have a company on paper with problems waiting to surface. - 03
Design your share structure for the future
Set up different classes of shares now for the things your business will eventually need: bringing in family members, taking on investors, or doing tax-efficient succession planning. Fixing a basic share structure later costs far more than designing it right at the start. - 04
Put your partnership in writing before disagreements start
A shareholder agreement is easiest to negotiate while everyone still gets along. It covers what happens if a partner wants out, becomes disabled, gets divorced, or dies. - 05
Stay on top of annual filings
Your corporation has an annual return to file with the Ontario registry, separate from your tax return, plus board resolutions and corporate registers to maintain. Miss the annual return and the government can dissolve your company. Set a calendar reminder, or let your lawyer handle it on a yearly cycle. - 06
Use your own contracts, not the other side's
Have a lawyer draft contract templates for your business. When you sign agreements the other party drafted, you are agreeing to terms written to protect them, not you. - 07
Check the professional rules if you're regulated
If you are a physician, dentist, lawyer, or accountant, your professional corporation has specific naming, ownership, and authorization requirements set by your regulatory college. These are mandatory, not optional. - 08
Set up a holding company when your accountant says it's time
If your operating company is accumulating more profit than it needs to run the business, that money is exposed to the company's business risks. A holding company sits above the operating company and holds that wealth separately, protected from the operating company's creditors. - 09
Get your corporate records audit-ready before you sell
Buyers and their lawyers will review your corporate record book, your agreements, and whether your contracts can be transferred. Business owners who prepare these records early get better sale prices than those who scramble during the sale process. - 10
Keep a North York corporate lawyer on call
Think of it as having a legal department without the overhead. Your lawyer knows your business, quotes fees in writing, handles the annual filings, and is already up to speed when an urgent question comes up.
Our process
How our North York corporate lawyers work with your business
- 01
The consultation, and the business mapped
We meet you wherever you are in the lifecycle. For a new venture, the formation gets planned: structure, jurisdiction, shares, and the professional-corporation rules where they apply. For an existing company, we audit the minute book's state, the registry's status, the agreements that exist and the ones that don't, and the contracts you're running on. You leave with the priority list and written quotes for the defined work. - 02
New company formed, or existing company brought up to date
New companies get incorporated completely: articles tailored to the future, share classes designed with your accountant in the loop, bylaws and organizing resolutions, the corporate record book built, registers and certificates issued, CRA coordination, and the compliance calendar set. Existing companies get brought up to date: years of missing resolutions rebuilt lawfully, registers corrected, the transparency register established, and the annual return filed before the missed deadline leads to dissolution. - 03
Your agreements and contracts, built to last
The shareholder agreement gets negotiated and drafted, covering what happens when a partner dies, becomes disabled, gets divorced, defaults, or wants out, with a workable valuation method and realistic funding. Your contract templates get built for your business: customer, supplier, service, non-disclosure, and employment agreements. The lease is negotiated through our commercial real estate practice. Financings, reorganizations, and share exchanges are documented with your accountant as the ownership structure evolves, and the annual maintenance cycle runs quietly in the background. - 04
Growth, sale, or dispute: the same firm
A business purchase or sale is run by our purchase-and-sale practice, from letter of intent to closing, with due diligence straightforward because the records were kept. Succession planning is executed with our estates practice: dual wills, the estate freeze, and the handoff to the next generation. And where business turns to dispute, whether a breached contract, a deadlocked partnership, or a shareholder oppression claim, the litigation practice that stands behind every document we draft takes the file.
Important
Corporate deadlines fail silently: the annual return lapsing toward dissolution, the share transfer never documented before a shareholder's divorce or death, the contract template you've been signing that was always written to protect the other party, the handshake partnership meeting its first real disagreement. Every one of these is a simple calendar item now and an expensive crisis later. Whatever state your business's legal records are in, book the audit. Contact a corporate lawyer in North York today.
Every situation is different. Yours deserves a specific answer.
Know the pitfalls
Where companies go wrong, and how we keep yours from joining them
The do-it-yourself incorporation
You get a certificate online but nothing behind it: no corporate record book, no bylaws, just 100 common shares in a structure every accountant later asks to fix. A complete incorporation now costs far less than correcting it later.The structure you've outgrown
A sole proprietorship signing six-figure contracts with your house on the line, or an operating company sitting on profits that creditors could reach. The fix is incorporating or setting up a holding company at the right time, with your accountant at the table.The handshake partnership
Equal shares, no written agreement, and then one partner wants out, gets divorced, or dies. A shareholder agreement drafted while everyone still gets along covers exactly these scenarios.Running on the other side's contracts
Years of business run on contracts you didn't draft and never fully read, all written to protect the other party. The fix is a one-time investment in your own contract templates that every future deal rides on.The silent dissolution
Annual returns go unfiled because "the accountant handles that," until the Ontario registry dissolves your company, even if it owns real estate. The fix is a yearly reminder system, separate from your tax calendar, because the filing deadline is separate too.The unprepared exit
When a buyer reviews your company, they find shares that were never properly transferred, a lease that can't be assigned, and a corporate record book that stopped being maintained years ago. Every gap costs you money at the negotiating table. A records audit done early turns these into simple fixes instead of price cuts.
In the news
The registry era, the succession wave, and the professionalizing of small-business law
Ontario's corporate landscape keeps formalizing. The modernized Ontario Business Registry lets anyone check in seconds whether your company is in good standing, and it means the government really can, and does, dissolve companies that stay behind on the annual return. Beneficial-ownership transparency registers, meaning a record of who actually owns and controls the company, are now standard law. The compliance expectations once reserved for big companies now apply to small ones too.
Over it all runs the demographic story: a generation of owners approaching exit. Prepared companies, with clean books, real agreements, and assignable contracts, transfer at premiums, while handshake companies discover their gaps in diligence.
For North York's businesses the read is practical. The legal layer has become checkable, and the buyers and banks are checking. The discipline of doing it right annually has never been cheaper relative to the cost of being caught without it.
Rather ask someone who handles these matters every week?
Why VC Lawyers
Why hire a corporate lawyer in North York at VC Lawyers
Your whole business lifecycle, one firm
Incorporated here, maintained here, grown here, sold here, and defended here. Each stage costs less because the last one was done right and the lawyer already knows your file.Incorporation done completely
Business structure and jurisdiction chosen deliberately, share classes designed for the future, and the corporate record book fully built. Not the bare certificate with nothing behind it.A corporate lawyer that fits your business
Fees quoted in writing, annual filings handled, projects scoped in advance, and a firm that already knows your business when the urgent question comes. The practical middle ground between having no lawyer and hiring a full legal department.Agreements drafted by litigators
Our contracts and agreements are drafted by lawyers who also fight over broken ones in court. That experience is why our documents anticipate disputes instead of inviting them.We work with your accountant as standard practice
Business structures, estate freezes, tax-deferred transfers, and dividend planning are documented so your legal records and your tax filings always match.Related legal needs handled under one roof
Commercial leases through our real estate practice, employment contracts through our employment practice, succession planning through our wills and estates practice, and business sales through our purchase-and-sale practice. Corporate law never travels alone, and here it doesn't have to.Multilingual service
English, Korean (한국어), Hebrew, Mandarin, and more, for businesses run in every language this part of the city works in.
Choosing wisely
How to choose the right corporate lawyer in North York
Before hiring any firm, ask the hard questions. Will they incorporate you completely, with shares designed and the corporate record book built, or just file the certificate? Do they quote fees in writing, handle annual filings, and know your file when the urgent call comes? Do they work with your accountant as standard practice, with business structures and tax planning documented together? Are the agreements drafted by litigators who've seen them fail in court? Can they handle your lease, your employment contracts, your succession planning, and your eventual sale under the same roof? And will they tell you honestly what can wait?
At VC Lawyers, the answer to each is yes, from an office in the heart of North York, with fees quoted in writing, in your language.
Still weighing what to do next? That is what a first conversation is for.
“When my mother suffered a serious head injury, I was devastated. After meeting Lawyer Jae Hyon Cho, my family was able to receive substantial compensation.”
Minkyung Park
Personal Injury Client
“Avi Vaturi was professional, responsive, and thorough. When the transaction became complex, his calm communication and practical solutions navigated us to a smooth close.”
Jordan Glaser
Real Estate Co-Counsel
“Mr. Avi Vaturi did a fantastic job. The whole process was seamless — timely, detailed, and professional from start to finish.”
Howard Huang
Real Estate Client
“He helped me with both my car accident case and the buying and selling of my home. Everything was handled professionally and efficiently.”
Yoon Jung
Personal Injury & Real Estate Client
“Jae Cho was great to deal with and very attentive to my case. His associate Sunny was also very helpful. I would highly recommend.”
Jordan Ungerman
Personal Injury Client
“Their professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to clients truly stand out. Whether handling urgent matters or guiding me through complex issues, the team delivered.”
Charles Hong
Long-time Client
“It has been my pleasure to work with Jae Cho and his team. Knowledgeable, clear in their explanations, and the process was smooth and stress-free.”
Joanne Jeong
Real Estate Client
“Vaturi & Cho LLP is an outstanding law firm. They explain even complex matters clearly, and their dedication to achieving the best outcomes is truly impressive.”
Jong Ko
Client
“The team was not only knowledgeable but also very kind and attentive throughout the entire process. Highly recommended.”
Tobi
Client
“After my car accident, I went through an incredibly challenging time. Thanks to Lawyer Jun Lee and his exceptional team, I received tremendous support and strength.”
Jay Kim
Personal Injury Client
“When my mother suffered a serious head injury, I was devastated. After meeting Lawyer Jae Hyon Cho, my family was able to receive substantial compensation.”
Minkyung Park
Personal Injury Client
“Avi Vaturi was professional, responsive, and thorough. When the transaction became complex, his calm communication and practical solutions navigated us to a smooth close.”
Jordan Glaser
Real Estate Co-Counsel
“Mr. Avi Vaturi did a fantastic job. The whole process was seamless — timely, detailed, and professional from start to finish.”
Howard Huang
Real Estate Client
“He helped me with both my car accident case and the buying and selling of my home. Everything was handled professionally and efficiently.”
Yoon Jung
Personal Injury & Real Estate Client
“Jae Cho was great to deal with and very attentive to my case. His associate Sunny was also very helpful. I would highly recommend.”
Jordan Ungerman
Personal Injury Client
“Their professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to clients truly stand out. Whether handling urgent matters or guiding me through complex issues, the team delivered.”
Charles Hong
Long-time Client
“It has been my pleasure to work with Jae Cho and his team. Knowledgeable, clear in their explanations, and the process was smooth and stress-free.”
Joanne Jeong
Real Estate Client
“Vaturi & Cho LLP is an outstanding law firm. They explain even complex matters clearly, and their dedication to achieving the best outcomes is truly impressive.”
Jong Ko
Client
“The team was not only knowledgeable but also very kind and attentive throughout the entire process. Highly recommended.”
Tobi
Client
“After my car accident, I went through an incredibly challenging time. Thanks to Lawyer Jun Lee and his exceptional team, I received tremendous support and strength.”
Jay Kim
Personal Injury Client
“When my mother suffered a serious head injury, I was devastated. After meeting Lawyer Jae Hyon Cho, my family was able to receive substantial compensation.”
Minkyung Park
Personal Injury Client
“Avi Vaturi was professional, responsive, and thorough. When the transaction became complex, his calm communication and practical solutions navigated us to a smooth close.”
Jordan Glaser
Real Estate Co-Counsel
“Mr. Avi Vaturi did a fantastic job. The whole process was seamless — timely, detailed, and professional from start to finish.”
Howard Huang
Real Estate Client
“He helped me with both my car accident case and the buying and selling of my home. Everything was handled professionally and efficiently.”
Yoon Jung
Personal Injury & Real Estate Client
“Jae Cho was great to deal with and very attentive to my case. His associate Sunny was also very helpful. I would highly recommend.”
Jordan Ungerman
Personal Injury Client
“Their professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to clients truly stand out. Whether handling urgent matters or guiding me through complex issues, the team delivered.”
Charles Hong
Long-time Client
“It has been my pleasure to work with Jae Cho and his team. Knowledgeable, clear in their explanations, and the process was smooth and stress-free.”
Joanne Jeong
Real Estate Client
“Vaturi & Cho LLP is an outstanding law firm. They explain even complex matters clearly, and their dedication to achieving the best outcomes is truly impressive.”
Jong Ko
Client
“The team was not only knowledgeable but also very kind and attentive throughout the entire process. Highly recommended.”
Tobi
Client
“After my car accident, I went through an incredibly challenging time. Thanks to Lawyer Jun Lee and his exceptional team, I received tremendous support and strength.”
Jay Kim
Personal Injury Client
“When my mother suffered a serious head injury, I was devastated. After meeting Lawyer Jae Hyon Cho, my family was able to receive substantial compensation.”
Minkyung Park
Personal Injury Client
“Avi Vaturi was professional, responsive, and thorough. When the transaction became complex, his calm communication and practical solutions navigated us to a smooth close.”
Jordan Glaser
Real Estate Co-Counsel
“Mr. Avi Vaturi did a fantastic job. The whole process was seamless — timely, detailed, and professional from start to finish.”
Howard Huang
Real Estate Client
“He helped me with both my car accident case and the buying and selling of my home. Everything was handled professionally and efficiently.”
Yoon Jung
Personal Injury & Real Estate Client
“Jae Cho was great to deal with and very attentive to my case. His associate Sunny was also very helpful. I would highly recommend.”
Jordan Ungerman
Personal Injury Client
“Their professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to clients truly stand out. Whether handling urgent matters or guiding me through complex issues, the team delivered.”
Charles Hong
Long-time Client
“It has been my pleasure to work with Jae Cho and his team. Knowledgeable, clear in their explanations, and the process was smooth and stress-free.”
Joanne Jeong
Real Estate Client
“Vaturi & Cho LLP is an outstanding law firm. They explain even complex matters clearly, and their dedication to achieving the best outcomes is truly impressive.”
Jong Ko
Client
“The team was not only knowledgeable but also very kind and attentive throughout the entire process. Highly recommended.”
Tobi
Client
Our team
Meet your North York legal team
Our lawyers bring decades of combined experience to the area's businesses, covering formations, governance, agreements, deals, and the disputes behind them. We work on the outside-counsel model that answers, quotes in writing, and knows the file. Every business at VC Lawyers works with a dedicated North York corporate lawyer across its whole life.
Maurice Vaturi
Senior Counsel
Avi Vaturi
Partner
Jae Hyon Cho
Co-Managing Partner
Jun Ki Lee
Associate
Allan Weiss
Associate
Who handles your file
The people on your matter
Avi Vaturi, Partner
Senior counsel for structures, transactions, and the shareholder and commercial litigation that tests them.Jae Hyon Cho, Co-Managing Partner
Experienced counsel serving North York's business communities, including Korean-speaking owners, from formation through exit.Jun Ki Lee, Associate
Dedicated associate handling incorporations, rectifications, contracts, and annual maintenance across North York and the GTA.Allan Weiss, Associate
Associate providing strategic guidance on reorganizations, professional corporations, and succession structures.
Not sure where you stand? One conversation will tell you.
Key metrics
In the numbers
- Years combined legal experience
- 70+
- Languages served
- 8+
- Office at Finch Ave W and Keele
- North York
- Fees set out before work begins
- Written
Talk to us
Starting, growing, buying, selling, or stuck: start with the first conversation
Bring the plan, the problem, or the paperwork: the business you're forming, the partner you're adding, the contract you're unsure about, the company you've been running on a handshake. We'll map what your business actually needs, in priority order, quoted in writing where the work is defined, and tell you honestly what can wait.
Office, video, or at your place of business across North York and the GTA.
Frequently asked questions
We answered all
Should I incorporate, or stay a sole proprietorship?
Incorporate when either the liability test or the tax test says yes; until then, the proprietorship's simplicity may genuinely serve you, and we'll say so. Run both tests with lawyer and accountant together. Liability: are you signing contracts, taking premises, employing people, or carrying risks that should stop at a corporate veil instead of reaching your house? Tax: is the business earning more than you spend, so the small-business-deduction deferral and dividend planning beat personal rates? For most growing businesses one test soon says yes, and the transition is clean, papered work.Ontario or federal incorporation: what's actually different?
The difference is scope versus simplicity. Ontario (OBCA) offers simpler ongoing mechanics, no director-residency requirement (relevant for the community's international families), and name protection within Ontario. Federal (CBCA) carries your name's protection into every province, and asks in return for Canadian-resident directors and a registration in each province you operate in. Most local businesses choose Ontario; businesses with national names, plans, or brands choose federal deliberately. It's a ten-minute analysis at the consultation, decided on your facts.Can't I just incorporate online for a couple hundred dollars?
You can, and the certificate is all you get. No tailored articles, no share design (100 common shares to one holder, the structure every accountant later asks to fix), no bylaws, no organizing resolutions, no minute book, no issued certificates, no compliance calendar. The DIY incorporation isn't wrong; it's incomplete, and the gaps get more expensive to close the longer they sit, which is what our rectification practice spends its time on. The complete version costs less than the eventual fix every time.What share structure should a new corporation have?
One designed for the future you can foresee. That means separate classes enabling dividend flexibility among family shareholders, within the tax rules your accountant navigates, preferred classes ready for investors or the eventual estate freeze, and authorized structures that let later planning happen by resolution instead of articles of amendment. Shares are the corporation's DNA. Drafting them for what's coming is the highest-leverage hour in any incorporation.I'm a physician / dentist / lawyer / accountant. How is a professional corporation different?
A professional corporation is your college's rules layered on corporate law: prescribed naming, ownership restricted to members of the profession (with family-member exceptions varying by college), and certificates of authorization obtained and renewed. One liability nuance matters: incorporation doesn't shield professional negligence, which is what insurance is for. It does enable the tax deferral that makes PCs worthwhile. We do this work regularly, with the college's checklist as the workplan.What's a holdco, and when do I need one?
A holdco is a holding company above your operating company. The opco runs the business and carries its risks; the holdco accumulates the wealth, with retained earnings moved up, generally tax-free between connected corporations, the building held separately from the operations, and the eventual sale staged. You need one when retained earnings are accumulating where the operating business's creditors can reach them, when the real estate should outlive the business, or when the exit plan says so. It's a numbers conversation with your accountant that we paper with section 85/86 transactions when the answer is yes.What's an estate freeze, and why does my accountant keep mentioning it?
It's the succession structure for valuable companies. Your current shares are exchanged (section 86) for preferred shares frozen at today's value, while new growth shares issue to the next generation or a family trust. That caps your eventual tax bill at today's number, moves tomorrow's growth to tomorrow's owners, and often multiplies access to the capital gains exemption across the family. It's accountant-designed and lawyer-papered, coordinated here with the dual wills and shareholder-agreement work the freeze always implicates. When your accountant mentions it, the next call is jointly to us.We've been running on handshakes and the other side's contracts for years. Where do we even start?
Start with the audit, in priority order. The order is usually: (1) the registry status checked today, because dissolution risk is binary; (2) the shareholder agreement if you have partners, because the five Ds wait for no one; (3) the minute-book rectification; (4) your own contract templates for the paper you sign most; and (5) the annual cycle calendared so it never decays again. Most businesses need a few thousand dollars of catch-up work and then an annual rhythm. That costs less than one month of fighting the dispute that any single one of these gaps invites.What does "outside general counsel" actually mean, and what does it cost?
It's the model between no lawyer and a legal department. Defined work is quoted in writing: incorporations, agreements, annual maintenance. Projects are scoped in advance: deals, reorganizations, contract suites. And the standing relationship means a firm that already knows your structure, your partners, and your file when the urgent call comes, billing for work rather than retainers-for-access. Most North York businesses need a few thousand dollars of legal layer per year, properly deployed; the model exists to deliver exactly that.Do you handle the disputes too, or just the paperwork?
Both, by design. The litigation practice behind this firm fights the broken contracts, shareholder oppressions, partnership deadlocks, and collections that corporate life produces, which is exactly why our drafting reads the way it does. The lawyer who knows how agreements fail in court drafts agreements that don't. And when your dispute arrives anyway, the firm that papered your company already knows it. Deals to disputes, one roof.Can you work with our accountant?
Yes, and it's standing practice, not an accommodation. Structures, freezes, rollovers, dividends, and year-ends are joint work: the accountant designs the tax, we paper the law, and the minute book matches the returns. Bring your accountant's name to the first meeting; the best corporate work in this office has two professionals' fingerprints on every page.What does incorporation cost, and the rest of it?
Every fee is set out in writing, before work begins. Complete incorporations, including professional corporations, are quoted at package prices at the consultation; shareholder agreements, contract suites, and annual maintenance likewise; deals and reorganizations are scoped before work starts. The consultation itself is billed, at a cost that depends on the complexity of the matter, and it includes the priority list and every quote. The legal layer should be a line item you can budget, and here it is.
North York corporate lawyers
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Most businesses build their legal foundation by accident, and the cost adds up: the bare certificate with nothing behind it, the handshake partnership awaiting its first disagreement, the contracts that were always written to protect the other party, and the annual return quietly lapsing toward government dissolution. The deliberate version is cheaper at every single stage. Incorporated completely, maintained annually, properly documented as you grow, ready when it is time to sell, fees quoted in writing, deadlines calendared, and handled by one firm that knows your file from the first share certificate to the closing table. Consultations are billed, and the cost depends on the complexity of the matter. Fees are set out in writing before work begins.
Service areas
North York corporate lawyers serving every corridor
From our office at Finch Ave W and Keele, we serve businesses across all of North York, including Willowdale, Don Mills, Downsview, York Mills, Bathurst Manor, Lansing, Newtonbrook, Bayview Village, Flemingdon Park, Jane and Finch, Yorkdale and Glen Park, Clanton Park, Parkwoods, and Victoria Village, plus neighbouring communities in Vaughan, Thornhill, Richmond Hill, Markham, Scarborough, Etobicoke, and Downtown Toronto.
Whether it's a startup incorporating in Willowdale, a professional corporation on Sheppard, a family firm restructuring on the Keele corridor, or an owner preparing the exit anywhere in the area, our North York corporate lawyers run the whole lifecycle. We offer office, video, and on-site meetings, with parking and TTC access (Finch West Station) at our office.
Our office is at 1110 Finch Ave W #310, near Finch and Keele, with parking on site. By transit, take the Finch West LRT or the bus network connecting from Finch West Station on Line 1. If your injuries or circumstances make travel difficult, we come to you at home or in hospital, anywhere in North York.
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