Bio

Daren Baxter is a Partner in McInnes Cooper’s Halifax, NS office whose law practice is focused on tax, estate planning, trusts and corporate law. He provides a comprehensive range of tax services to corporations, trusts, non-profit organizations and high net worth individuals, focusing on tax planning for businesses and their owners. He advises on business mergers and acquisitions, domestic and cross border tax planning, complex corporate structuring and reorganizations, and disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency. Daren received his Queen’s Counsel designation in 2011. He is a Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner with a particular knowledge of trusts, estate planning, and business succession. Daren’s expertise extends to taxation of corporations and their shareholders, and the design and implementation of various tax effective planning strategies. Daren is a member and frequent lecturer of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Canadian Bar Association and the Halifax Estate Planning Council. He speaks regularly on taxation and estate planning at national and local continuing education programs for these and other professional bodies. Daren was twice elected by his partners as a member of McInnes Cooper’s Board of Directors from 2011 to 2017. During that time he served on the firm’s Pension Committee, Audit Committee and the Governance, Management Compensation Committee. Daren was the president of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society in 2016-2017. Prior to serving a three year term on the Society’s executive, he was elected by his fellow lawyers three times as a member of Society’s governing Council. Daren Chairs the Society’s Governance and Nominating Committee, and previously chaired its Finance Committee, Limited Liability Partnerships Committee, and its Incorporation of Law Firms Committee, in addition to serving on various other committees. Daren was also the Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia Securities Commission from 2004 to 2010, and a member of the Commission for 10 years. In this role he represented the Canadian Securities Administrators on the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators (the forum through which pension, securities and insurance regulators co-ordinate, harmonize and streamline the regulation of financial products and services in Canada). He was also an advisor on trust law to the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia. Daren completed the Directors Education Program offered by the Institute of Corporate Directors and Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He was previously an elected member of the Board of Directors of a TSX listed company and served on its Audit Committee. Daren is an avid automobile enthusiast and a high performance driving instructor for Porsche Club of America and BMW Clubs Atlantic Canada. He is the proud father of two young children – his daughter is an aspiring singer & actress, and his son is the 2017 ASN Canada FIA National Karting Champion – Briggs Cadet.