Kristen Wittman
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Kristen Wittman Partner
Kristen is partner in the firm and has practiced law at Taylor McCaffrey LLP since her call to the Bar in 1996 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her primary area of practice is corporate & commercial law, where she has had the opportunity to represent corporations, cooperatives and partnerships in their business endeavors, from structuring start-ups to crafting by-laws, assistance with general commercial contract matters, obtaining financing from traditional financial institutions, drafting shareholder and member agreements, and assisting with fundraising. She has represented clients in pursuit of matters with both the Manitoba Securities Commission and the Cooperatives Regulator and has provided general assistance to the Manitoba Cooperatives Association in lobbying for changes to applicable legislation.
She has assisted new generation cooperatives in assembling business plans and prepared them for equity drives. She also represents more traditional cooperatives and multi-stakeholder co-ops, and has assisted in drafting by-laws and articles of incorporation for every type of co-op, both provincially and federally. Kristen provides general legal advice to cooperatives in a variety of industries, including agriculture, housing, insurance, retail, and oil and gas, to name a few. Kristen has assisted cooperatives and credit unions in addressing multi-jurisdictional issues.
Kristen currently sits on the Board of Directors of Red River Co-op, a retail fuel and food co-op serving over 300,000 members located in Winnipeg and the surrounding region.
Practice Areas
Memberships and Professional Designations
- Canadian Bar Association
- Manitoba Bar Association
- Coop Zone
- Canadian Council for Public-private Partnerships
Positions
- Bookmates Inc., Director (1998-2016)
- Winnipeg International Writers’ Festival (2014 – 2021)
- Red River Co-op Member Relations, Committee Member (2013-2016)
- Red River Co-op Director, Committee Member (2013-Present)
- Canadian Cooperative Income Fund, Director (2021-present)
Lecturer
- University of Manitoba Faculty of Law: Solicitors’ Transactions (1996-1998)
- Hallcrest College: Intro to Commercial Law (1998)
- Manitoba Bar Admission Courses: Commercial Law (2002, 2003)
- Business Transactions: the Art of the Deal, Robson Hall, University of Manitoba (2013)
Recognitions
- Kristen Wittman was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in Canada 2024 in the field of Structured Finance Law (since 2024)
Additional Information
Securities
Involved in numerous initial public offerings; provides local counsel opinions for national public and private offerings.
Commercial
Focus on public private partnerships (P3s), experienced with limited partnerships, general partnerships, limited liability partnerships; mergers and acquisitions; corporate reorganizations.
Estates
Multi-trust wills for high net-worth clients; corporate reorganizations for estate planning purposes.
Environmental
Experienced in advising commercial private enterprises in dealing with government, environmental policies, assisted in public offerings for bio-diesel/ ethanol plants, wind farms.
Other Interests
Has published two books of poetry, “Stone Boat” in 2004 and “Death Becomes Us” in 2021, both with Turnstone Press. Passionate about cycling, travel and wine.
