Affiliated Scholar
One of Canada’s most respected leaders in corporate governance and corporate and securities law, Poonam is trusted by clients for her expansive legal knowledge, sound business judgment and expertise gained from distinguished service as a director on multiple public and private company boards.
Strategic and pragmatic, Poonam provides incisive counsel to boards, special committees and management teams on a wide range of corporate governance matters, including board structure and effectiveness, disclosure, ESG, strategy and risk. She also has extensive experience conducting governance reviews and independent investigations, and she is regularly asked to serve as an expert witness in significant corporate and securities disputes.
Clients benefit from Poonam’s unique mix of superb legal skills and expertise acquired through her many business, regulatory, academic and public policy leadership roles. Her experience as a corporate director on the boards of public and private sector organizations, in industries ranging from mining and infrastructure to transportation and healthcare, allows her to hone in on clients’ needs and expectations.
Poonam is a tenured professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School and the York Research Chair in Corporate Governance, Investor Protection and Financial Markets. She is a former Associate Dean at the law school and is the founder of its Business Law LLM program and the co-founder of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic, the first of its kind in Canada. She teaches current and aspiring directors in the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.
Affiliated Scholar
One of Canada’s most respected leaders in corporate governance and corporate and securities law, Poonam is trusted by clients for her expansive legal knowledge, sound business judgment and expertise gained from distinguished service as a director on multiple public and private company boards.
Strategic and pragmatic, Poonam provides incisive counsel to boards, special committees and management teams on a wide range of corporate governance matters, including board structure and effectiveness, disclosure, ESG, strategy and risk. She also has extensive experience conducting governance reviews and independent investigations, and she is regularly asked to serve as an expert witness in significant corporate and securities disputes.
Clients benefit from Poonam’s unique mix of superb legal skills and expertise acquired through her many business, regulatory, academic and public policy leadership roles. Her experience as a corporate director on the boards of public and private sector organizations, in industries ranging from mining and infrastructure to transportation and healthcare, allows her to hone in on clients’ needs and expectations.
Poonam is a tenured professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School and the York Research Chair in Corporate Governance, Investor Protection and Financial Markets. She is a former Associate Dean at the law school and is the founder of its Business Law LLM program and the co-founder of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic, the first of its kind in Canada. She teaches current and aspiring directors in the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.
Canadian Lawyer Spotlights Poonam Puri’s Career in Law
Sept. 13, 2021 - Davies affiliated scholar Poonam Puri, who gave the keynote address at Key Media’s Women in Law Leadership Forum on September 9, was recently featured in a Canadian Lawyer article about the many successes and challenges of her accomplished career. An internationally recognized leader in...
Davies Governance Insights 2020, contributor
Oct. 05, 2020 - Davies Governance Insights 2020 provides a comprehensive analysis of the trends and developments that have shaped the corporate governance landscape and those that are expected to define the next decade. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, this year’s report explores key issues...
Davies Governance Insights 2019, contributor
Oct. 03, 2019 - Davies Governance Insights 2019 is a comprehensive report that analyzes the governance trends and issues most important to Canadian public companies. Now in its ninth edition, Governance Insights is designed to be a playbook for navigating the diverse and complex challenges facing...
Davies Governance Insights 2018
Oct. 03, 2018 - Davies’ annual Governance Insights reports analyze the top governance trends and issues important to Canadian boards, senior management, in-house counsel and governance observers...
Patricia Olasker and Poonam Puri Write on Shareholder Activism in M&A Transactions
Dec. 19, 2017 - In an article published in Listed Magazine, Patricia Olasker and Poonam Puri examine how shareholder activism has been increasingly affecting Canadian public company board decisions and M&A outcomes. The authors provide recent examples to illustrate the various ways in which shareholder...
Legal Privilege: Are You Protected?
Oct. 25, 2017 - In this article in Listed Magazine, Patricia Olasker, Tony Alexander and Poonam Puri discuss legal privilege in business transactions, the loss of transactional common interest privilege and best practices that companies should consider to protect the confidentiality of their...
Patricia Olasker, Tony Alexander and Poonam Puri Discuss Legal Privilege in Listed Magazine
Oct. 25, 2017 - In this article in Listed Magazine, Patricia Olasker, Tony Alexander and Poonam Puri discuss legal privilege in business transactions, the loss of transactional common interest privilege and best practices that companies should consider to protect the confidentiality of their...
Davies Governance Insights 2017
Oct. 02, 2017 - Davies Governance Insights 2017 provides analysis of the top governance trends and issues important to Canadian boards, senior management and governance observers. The 2017 edition provides readers with Davies’ take on important topics ranging from shareholder engagement and activism to...
Aug. 15, 2017 - The OSC’s 2017 regulatory enforcement proceedings against Home Capital Group Inc. (TSX:HCG) and three of its executives were the result of a lengthy, extensive and highly confidential investigation. If the OSC decided to target your company, would your team know what to do? A version of this...
Second Opinions Still the Exception
July 11, 2017 - In an article published in Listed Magazine, Patricia Olasker and Poonam Puri discuss the impact of the Yukon court’s ruling on fairness opinions and trends that have become evident since the court’s decision. Patricia and Poonam point out that since the court’s decision, there have been...
New Deal Rules Don’t Shake the Industry, Bringing Little Change in the Number of Hostile Bids
May 18, 2017 - The Financial Post recently published an article outlining findings in a report by Davies affiliated scholar Poonam Puri and Kingsdale’s Hooman Tabesh about the effect of the CSA’s takeover bid rules enacted in May 2016. Poonam and Hooman analyzed the number of deals that became hostile...
If Pills Are Out, Are Private Placements In?
Jan. 12, 2017 - Canada’s new takeover bid regime got its first serious test with Hecla Mining’s attempted hostile takeover of Dolly Varden Silver. Under the new takeover bid rules, poison pills as a bid defence may soon be a thing of the past, to be replaced by private placements as the defensive tactic of choice...
Yukon Appeal Court’s InterOil Decision Based on Cold, Hard and Questionable Facts
Dec. 02, 2016 - Background A recent court decision from the Yukon has grabbed the attention of financial advisers and mergers and acquisition practitioners, raising questions about established market practices in M&A transactions, particularly with respect to fairness opinions. In a decision...
Parents’ Subsidiary Liabilities Hit Home, co-author
Mar. 06, 2016 - Listed Magazine
Leading-Edge Practices in Subsidiary Governance
June 17, 2015 - At a recent presentation at the Davies Academy for Continuing Professional Development, Davies partner Luis Sarabia and Davies affiliated scholar Poonam Puri discussed recent legal proceedings in which courts have been asked to hold parent companies directly liable in negligence for the actions of...
Order of Ontario (2024)
Institute of Corporate Directors–ICD Fellowship Award (2024)
Women’s Executive Network—100 Most Powerful Women in Canada (2011, 2023)
Governance Professionals of Canada—Peter Dey Achievement in Governance Award (2022)
Royal Society of Canada—Yvan Allaire Medal (2021)
Law Society of Ontario—Law Society Medal (2021)
Attorney General of Ontario—David W. Mundell Medal for Excellence in Legal Writing (2021)
Canadian Lawyer Magazine—Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers: Corporate-Commercial Law (2015, 2017)
South Asian Bar Association of Toronto—Female Lawyer of the Year (2010)
Canadian Association of South Asian Lawyers—Award of Professional Excellence (2009)
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce—Female Professional of the Year (2008)
Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award (2005)
University of Toronto—Arbor Award (2004)
Ontario, 1999
Institute of Corporate Directors, ICD.D, 2015
Harvard Law School, LLM, 1997
University of Toronto, LLB (Silver Medallist), 1995
Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ, TSX:CIGI)
Solaris Resources Inc. (TSX : SLS)
DRI Healthcare Trust (TSX : DHT.U)
Banque de l’infrastructure du Canada
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
Fondation canadienne de recherche sur la gouvernance
Jays Care Foundation
Fonds de placement immobilier d’immeubles résidentiels Canadien, ancienne fiduciaire
St. Clement’s School, conseil des gouverneurs, ancienne fiduciaire
Arizona Mining, ancienne administratrice (TSX : AZ)
Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario, ex-administratrice et commissaire
Autorité aéroportuaire du Grand Toronto, ancienne administratrice
Cole Engineering, ex-administratrice et présidente du conseil
Women’s College Hospital, ancienne administratrice
Poonam is a full professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she teaches Business Associations, Advanced Securities Regulation, Corporate Governance and Boards of Directors. An award-winning and dynamic presenter, Poonam also teaches at the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program on topics that include directors’ duties and directors’ liability.
