Francesca Guolo

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Francesca Guolo

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Overview

Francesca Guolo is a partner in a business law group at Goodmans, Head of both the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Practice and its Structured Finance and Derivatives Practice, and Co-Chair of the firm’s Opinions Committee. She is a preeminent financial services lawyer with particular expertise in structured finance, securitization, derivatives, wealth management and the regulation of financial services market participants and products. Her experience spans North American and European markets and includes capital markets, restructuring and merger and acquisition transactions.

Francesca’s clients consistently rely on her insightful and practical business advice, and benefit from the breadth of her experience and perspective. She is often called upon to advise in the negotiation and execution of innovative, complex transactions driven by strategic, economic, tax or regulatory considerations. Notably, Francesca led the Goodmans legal team that represented and advised the Pan-Canadian Third Party Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Investors Committee in the successful restructuring of the C$32 billion non-bank sponsored asset-backed commercial paper market in Canada.

Francesca’s clients include domestic and international regulated financial institutions, broker-dealers, securities advisers, asset managers, mortgage lenders and financing companies as well as providers of back-office financial services and solutions, FinTech entrepreneurs, corporations, hedge funds and investment funds, federal and provincial governments, governmental agencies and crown corporations, financial services industry organizations, private family offices and high net worth individuals.

Francesca has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the following publications:
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Derivatives Law) 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Mergers and Acquisitions Law) 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Securities Law) 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Corporate Law) 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 
  • Best Lawyers in Canada (Structured Finance Law) 2022 
  • Lexology Index (Capital Markets - Structured Finance), 2021 (and since 2014)
  • Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law Expert Guide (Structured Finance and Securitisation), 2021 (and since 2016)
  • Euromoney’s Banking, Finance and Transactional Expert Guide (Structured Finance and Securitisation), 2021 (and since 2016)
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Consistently Recommended - Derivatives), 2024 (and since 2014)
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Repeatedly Recommended - Corporate Finance), 2024 (and from 2022 - 2014)
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Repeatedly Recommended – Mergers & Acquisitions), 2024
  • Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers (M&A) 2024, 2022, 2021, 2020

Expertise

Featured Work

Francesca advises clients on novel, state-of-the-art securitization transactions and programs. She has advised on a global diamond inventory securitization and online supply chain trade receivables program, among others. She also assists clients to negotiate and execute financial and commodity derivative transactions and to comply with evolving regulatory requirements imposed upon swap participants.

Francesca assists clients in establishing and maintaining legally compliant operations in Canada and successfully navigating transactions and circumstances attracting regulatory involvement or oversight. 

Francesa regularly advises on matters of governance and regulatory compliance. Her governmental and regulatory clients seek her assistance in developing legislation, regulation, policies and programs, including Canada’s registered covered bonds regime and bank resolution planning.

Awards & Recognition

  • The Legal 500 Canada Recommended, Banking and Finance 2025
  • Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Corporate Law, Derivatives Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2025
  • Lexology Index Recommended National Leader, Capital Markets 2024
  • Lexpert Special Edition: Finance and M&A Canada's Leading Finance and M&A Lawyers 2024
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory Recognized, Corporate Finance & Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, Derivative Instruments 2024
  • Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Corporate Law, Derivatives Law, Mergers and Acquisitions Law, Securities Law 2024
View all Awards & Recognition

Credentials

Professional Involvement

Francesca has served as a board member of a number of profit and not-for-profit corporations, including a wholly-owned Canadian financing subsidiary of a global bank. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Advisors of both St. Augustine’s Seminary and ShareLife.

Credentials

  • Osgoode Hall Law School, 2020, Regulatory Compliance and Legal Risk Management for Financial Institutions Certificate
  • Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B., 1987
  • University of Toronto, B.A., 1984

Professional Affiliations

  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Toronto Opinions Group
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association

Call to Bar

  • 1989 Ontario

Insights

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News & Events

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