FUNDAMENTALS OF SECURITIES LAW

Common problem areas in Securities Law
Jonathan A. Levin

Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley
Stuart Hartley

Investment fund issues
Rebecca A. Cowdery

Take-over bids
Craig C. Thorburn

Servicing of public companies on a day-to-day basis
Craig C. Thorburn

Rebecca Cowdery joined Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in November 2003, after 9 years as the most senior investment funds regulator with the OSC. Ms. Cowdery was at the forefront of all major investment fund regulatory reform initiatives during her tenure at the OSC and has recognized expertise in investment fund public policy, regulation and practice both nationally and internationally.

Craig C. Thorburn has been the Senior Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions, of Geac Computer Corporation Limited since December 2001. During this period, Geac acquired two public companies. In early 2003, Geac completed the acquisition of Extensity, a California-based software applications provider of solutions to automate employee-based financial systems. In the summer of 2003, Geac acquired Comshare, a Michigan-based provider of business performance management software. Mr. Thorburn is also a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he carries on an active mergers and acquisitions practice.

Jon practices business law, with an emphasis on corporate finance, financial restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, securities, financial institution law and general business law matters at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP. Jon is a recipient of the Dedicated Service Award, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario. He has been named in both the National Post newspaper and LEXPERT magazine as one of the 30 leading dealmakers in Canada. He was named by the English legal directory Chambers Global - The Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers as one of the leading Canadian practitioners in the areas of banking and finance, M&A's and corporate commercial.

Stuart Hartley is President of FocusROI Inc., a specialized consulting firm that provides education, mentoring, risk management and internal auditing services. Stuart is currently focusing on helping public companies get prepared for the anticipated CEO/CFO certi- fication on internal controls. Stuart is a chartered accountant in the U.K. and Canada and has worked extensively in the U.S. Stuart's entire career has been spent in providing professional services (audit and consulting) to clients including public companies, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. Prior to joining FocusROI he was senior audit partner in BDO Dunwoody. He was National Director of Accounting and Auditing and a member of the CICA's Auditing Standards Committee.

Ms. Nancy Ross is Vice-President, Compliance at RBC Private Counsel Inc.

Ms. Ross joined RBC Financial Group in 2002 and currently holds a number of compliance roles and responsibilities for its Wealth Management businesses including:
- Vice President Compliance, Managed Products and Advisory Services, RBC Dominion Securities Inc, Retail Division, with compliance responsibility for
--Managed products, new product review and new business initiatives;
--Wealth management services including financial planners & estate consultants;
--Retail commodities, fixed income & research desks
-VP & Chief Compliance Officer, RBC Private Counsel Inc., a registered ICPM firm
-Chief Compliance Officer, RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc., an SEC registered IA firm
-RBC Dominion Securities Financial Services Inc., a life insurance agency
-RBC Registrations Department, handling registrations and annual filings for approximately 13,000 individual registrants and 6 registered businesses

Prior to taking on her current roles she was responsible for regulatory compliance with RBC Asset Management, manager of the RBC Mutual Funds. She also spent over 10 years with the Ontario Securities Commission, including positions in each of the Enforcement, Corporate Finance, Capital/International Markets and Registration and Compliance Branches. She sat on the CSA Capital Markets Committee and the CSA Distribution Structures Committee.

She is currently involved with a number of industry associations including the Investment Counsel Association of Canada (Director), the Toronto CFA Society (Advocacy Committee member), and the National Society of Compliance Professionals (member and frequent speaker). She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1984.