Global Law Experts Welcomes Virgil Hlus as Exclusive Member for U.S. and Canada Cross Border Practice

Global Law Experts is pleased to welcome Virgil Hlus of Cozen O’Connor as an Exclusive Member. This appointment recognizes his extensive experience advising companies, private enterprises, family offices, mining businesses, investors, and boards on complex U.S. Canada legal and commercial matters.

Virgil serves as Chair of Cozen O’Connor’s Canadian and U.S. Cross Border Practice. He brings more than three decades of experience to transactions involving capital markets, securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, financings, governance, and tax sensitive reorganizations. His work is grounded in a practical cross border perspective, supported by a deep understanding of the legal, regulatory, and business realities that arise when organizations pursue opportunities in the United States or coordinate operations across both jurisdictions.

Virgil is admitted to practice in British Columbia and California. That dual qualification reflects the cross border viewpoint at the core of his advice. He helps clients navigate the legal, regulatory, tax, governance, and commercial considerations that come up when they seek U.S. market access, complete cross border transactions, or structure ownership and operating interests across Canada and the United States. His approach emphasizes commercially focused planning, thoughtful execution, and the ability to coordinate multidisciplinary teams efficiently.

Global Law Experts selected Virgil because his profile aligns with the qualities the network values in its international members. Exclusive Members are expected to bring more than technical expertise. They must understand the broader commercial context of a client’s goals and guide decision making through sophisticated legal challenges that do not fit neatly within one jurisdiction. Virgil’s combination of transactional depth, cross border licensing and market knowledge, sector insight, and professional leadership makes him well suited to that role.

U.S. Cross Border Legal Practice in Canada

A major focus of Virgil’s practice is advising issuers and businesses pursuing opportunities in Canada and the United States. His work centers on how corporate and securities requirements intersect with the legal and regulatory expectations of other jurisdictions. This includes capital markets requirements, exchange standards, disclosure obligations, governance expectations, tax considerations, and investor communication.

Canadian and U.S. companies that enter or expand into other markets often face challenges that cannot be addressed using a single jurisdiction approach. Whether the objective is a listing, financing, acquisition, or restructuring, success depends on coordinated planning. Virgil advises clients through the connected questions raised by Canadian and U.S. securities requirements, corporate approvals, reporting obligations, tax planning, and commercial priorities. His goal is to help clients implement structures that support both compliance and business outcomes.

His experience includes advising on ADR and ADS structures, Nasdaq and NYSE listings, cross border financings, public and private offerings, reverse takeovers, corporate reorganizations, and tax driven spin offs. He works closely with boards and management teams to identify regulatory touchpoints early, with a focus on reducing execution risk. That attention extends to disclosure regimes, insider reporting requirements, transfer agent processes, exchange continued listing requirements, and the differing expectations of Canadian and U.S. investors.

Virgil’s support continues beyond deal completion. He advises on post listing compliance, ongoing governance responsibilities, investor communications, and the operational expectations that follow access to U.S. markets. For companies pursuing institutional investment, dual market visibility, or improved secondary market liquidity, this continuing perspective can be as important as the initial listing or financing.

His clients include public companies, private companies, family offices, high net worth individuals, investors, and businesses in sectors such as consumer products, mining and natural resources, technology, life sciences, and emerging growth. Client goals can vary widely, including entering the U.S. public markets, raising capital, reorganizing ownership interests, completing acquisitions, or preserving flexibility for future development. Virgil’s ability to tailor legal structures to those objectives is a defining strength of his practice.

Depth of Experience and Professional Foundation

Virgil’s background supports his ability to handle both corporate matters and complex cross border transactions. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce in finance and accounting from the University of Alberta, along with an LL.B. from the University of British Columbia. This combination of financial training and legal education equips him to advise effectively on securities transactions, corporate finance, governance, and business restructurings.

Before joining Cozen O’Connor, Virgil was a partner at a major Western Canadian law firm. During that time, he held leadership roles connected to capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, mining, venture capital, and U.S. practice initiatives. His responsibilities provided extensive exposure to public listings, reverse takeovers, corporate governance, complex financings, acquisitions and dispositions, and restructurings that involved multiple jurisdictions.

He also brings experience working with companies at different stages of development. Virgil advises emerging growth companies and private businesses that are preparing for financing or public market access, as well as established issuers pursuing advanced transactions. He represents boards and management teams that need practical guidance on governance, compliance, disclosure, and strategic options.

This breadth of experience reflects the selection standards used by Global Law Experts. Exclusive Members are expected to demonstrate dependable guidance that accounts for technical detail as well as commercial outcomes. Virgil’s transactional record, cross border practice experience, sector understanding, and leadership within a dedicated Canadian and U.S. practice show that he has the capacity to meet those expectations.

Capital Markets, Securities, and U.S. Market Access

A core part of Virgil’s work involves helping Canadian and other foreign companies build access, visibility, and liquidity in the United States. He advises on the legal frameworks and compliance requirements associated with ADR and ADS listings, Nasdaq and NYSE access, cross border public offerings, private placements, and other financing structures.

These matters require more than an understanding of securities legislation. They also call for coordinated execution across corporate approvals, disclosure strategy, exchange procedures, investor relations, reporting systems, governance practices, and transaction timelines. Virgil helps clients manage these practical requirements while keeping the larger business purpose in view. He approaches each listing or financing as a strategic step that affects the company’s reporting obligations, shareholder base, governance framework, financing opportunities, and long term market positioning.

His experience with innovative listing pathways is particularly relevant to businesses seeking U.S. market access. Instead of treating a listing as a standalone legal event, he considers how the proposed structure will influence long term obligations and operational impact.

Virgil also helps clients address the differences between Canadian and U.S. securities environments. Canadian issuers may need to address foreign private issuer considerations, U.S. insider reporting obligations, differing disclosure expectations, and evolving exchange requirements. Identifying these issues before a transaction begins can reduce delays and lower the risk of future listing challenges.

His capital markets practice serves both public and private companies. For private businesses, the focus may include preparing for financing, planning a reverse takeover, or pursuing a public listing. For existing issuers, the work may involve follow on offerings, cross border financings, restructurings, or continued compliance. In each scenario, Virgil emphasizes clear planning, coordinated execution, and commercially workable solutions.

Mergers and Acquisitions, Restructurings, and Governance

Virgil advises on domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, dispositions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions. His work includes transactions involving companies and investors, mineral properties, and businesses pursuing growth or restructuring opportunities across jurisdictions.

Cross border M and A requires the coordination of securities law, corporate law, tax planning, regulatory approvals, financing structures, governance considerations, and stakeholder communications. Virgil advises boards and management teams as part of an integrated transaction strategy. His experience helps identify legal and commercial factors that can affect valuation, timing, execution, and post closing operations.

He also supports corporate restructurings and tax driven reorganizations, including spin offs that involve Canadian and U.S. implications. These transactions often require careful alignment of legal documentation, ownership structures, tax outcomes, financial considerations, and corporate governance requirements. Virgil works to ensure the proposed structure reflects the client’s objectives while addressing the relevant regulatory and governance expectations.

Corporate governance is another key element of his practice. Virgil provides counsel to boards and companies on governance matters, securities compliance, disclosure expectations, and the policies and procedures needed to support responsible corporate decision making. His leadership experience in capital markets and U.S. practice initiatives gives him practical insight into the responsibilities directors and officers carry in a cross border environment.

Mining and Natural Resources

Virgil has particular experience advising mining and natural resources businesses, an area where Canadian companies frequently engage with international investors, counterparties, properties, and global markets. Mining transactions can be complex and capital intensive. They may involve exploration and development, intricate ownership structures, joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, options, and cross border financing.

His work in this sector includes advising on mining transactions and helping resource companies evaluate U.S. capital markets opportunities. He understands that mining businesses often need legal strategies that can accommodate exploration and development, financing structures, public disclosure responsibilities, investor expectations, and transaction planning involving mineral properties.

For mining companies seeking U.S. market access, the interaction between Canadian disclosure practices and U.S. securities expectations can be especially significant. Virgil helps clients address these issues as part of the broader transaction plan, ensuring that market entry decisions connect to governance, reporting, financing, and commercial objectives.

His mining sector background also supports Global Law Experts’ recognition of his practice. The ability to blend industry knowledge with cross border securities experience, M and A advice, financing support, and restructuring guidance allows him to tailor solutions to the realities of resource businesses rather than relying on a one size fits all approach.

Family Offices, High Net Worth Clients, and Cross Border Planning

Virgil also advises family offices and high net worth clients on cross border legal, tax, governance, and succession matters. His Certified Family Enterprise Advisor designation complements his corporate and transactional background and supports his work with families that manage business interests and assets across Canada and the United States.

Family offices may need advice on succession planning, ownership structures, governance frameworks, tax sensitive reorganizations, and investment or operating interests in both countries. Virgil coordinates with legal and advisory professionals to address these issues in a way that reflects the family’s commercial objectives and long term planning needs.

This element of his practice highlights the breadth of his role. His work is not limited to public companies or single transactions. He also supports the continuing needs of families, private enterprises, and investors whose affairs involve multiple jurisdictions.

A Practical and Integrated Approach

Virgil is known for combining technical securities knowledge with practical commercial judgment. Clients value his focus on execution timelines, regulatory touchpoints, shareholder value, governance considerations, and transaction readiness. He brings together specialists in securities, tax, regulation, corporate matters, and transaction work while maintaining a clear strategic direction throughout the process.

His publications, firm alerts, client briefings, and presentations address developments affecting cross border issuers. Topics include exchange continued listing rules, U.S. insider reporting obligations for foreign private issuers, and U.S. tax legislation that can affect families with cross border interests. Through this work, he contributes practical guidance to Canadian businesses seeking U.S. capital and to clients designing cross border transaction structures.

Global Law Experts welcomes Virgil Hlus as an Exclusive Member in recognition of his established cross border practice, leadership at Cozen O’Connor, extensive experience in capital markets and corporate transactions, and ability to advise Canadian clients through sophisticated U.S. Canada legal and commercial challenges. His work reflects the professional standards, international outlook, and client focused judgment expected of members of a leading global legal network.