Koby Smutylo — Principal Lawyer.

Background

Koby Smutylo is the principal lawyer of Smutylo Law+, a boutique Canadian business law firm. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2000 and has practiced continuously since — on Bay Street, in-house at Canadian public and private companies, and as the principal of his own firm since 2010.

Koby holds a Juris Doctor from Western University (1999) and a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science, First Class Honours) from Queen's University (1995). He articled at Hydro One Networks, where his work included contributing to the working group that prepared the Transmission System Code substantially adopted by the Ontario Energy Board. He began private practice on Bay Street at McLean & Kerr LLP (corporate, securities, employment, franchising), and then Beach, Hepburn LLP (corporate finance and mining), before moving in-house to Corel Corporation as senior corporate counsel, where he managed legal teams in Ottawa, Taiwan, and Japan.

That sequence — Bay Street private practice, in-house experience running multi-jurisdictional legal teams, and now a boutique firm — informs how the practice works today: senior, practical, business-aware, and comfortable with both Canadian and cross-border work.

Areas of practice

Koby's practice covers Canadian business and corporate law broadly, with depth in several specialty areas:

• Business and corporate law — corporate structuring, commercial contracts, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, employment, financings, and mergers and acquisitions.
• Technology and licensing — SaaS and enterprise software agreements, IP licensing and monetization strategies, reseller and distribution arrangements, privacy and data law.
• Securities and public company work — private placements, initial public offerings, prospectus exemptions, continuous disclosure, TSX and TSX Venture Exchange listings and compliance, and reverse takeovers.
• Regulatory — advising Canadian and foreign entities on regulatory developments and compliance matters across multiple industries.
• Mining and resource sector — option and joint venture agreements, title reviews, and public company filings for junior and mid-tier issuers.
• Estate planning for high net worth clients — strategies to minimize or defer estate administration tax, capital gains tax, and other taxes.
• Cross-border counsel — Canadian-law advice to US, European, and Asian companies doing business in Canada, including serving as the Canadian legal representative for foreign businesses.

Cross-border work

A meaningful portion of the practice involves cross-border matters. Koby has worked with US clients of every size — from California SaaS startups to publicly traded mining issuers — and understands how US legal conventions and contracting patterns map (and don't map) onto Canadian law. The firm maintains direct lines in Ontario, British Columbia, and California for timezone overlap and easy access.

The work product is plain-language, practical, and business-aware. Every recommendation is explained in terms the business owner or in-house team can actually act on.

Dispute resolution & mediation

Koby is increasingly active in mediation and dispute resolution. In 2026 he completed Mediating the Litigated Case at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University (40 hours), Family Law and Procedure for Mediators at MediateBC, Collaborative Divorce training with the BC Collaborative Roster Society (21 hours), Interdisciplinary Collaborative Divorce Training with the ADR Learning Lab (16 hours), and Relational Life Therapy training with the Relational Life Institute. He is also pursuing a Master's in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University (Santa Barbara, California), which complements the dispute-resolution focus.

For business clients, this manifests in a clear preference for negotiated outcomes over litigation, structured dispute resolution clauses in commercial contracts, and the option of facilitated mediation where parties want an alternative to court. For private clients facing family or collaborative-family situations, Koby is available as a mediator on appropriate matters.

Engagement style

Most engagements are fixed-fee or capped-fee, agreed up front. For ongoing clients, the firm acts as external general counsel — handling the day-to-day legal questions that come up in running a business without the cost of retaining a large Canadian firm for every matter. Initial consultations are short, no-cost, and lead with whether the firm can actually help.

Education & credentials

• Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2000; member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario.
• Juris Doctor (JD), Western University, Faculty of Law (London, Ontario), 1999.
• Bachelor of Arts (Political Science, First Class Honours), Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario), 1995.
• Master's in Clinical Psychology, Antioch University Santa Barbara (California), 2026.
• Mediating the Litigated Case, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University, 2026 (40 hours).
• Collaborative Divorce, BC Collaborative Roster Society (Canada), 2026 (21 hours).
• Interdisciplinary Collaborative Divorce Training, ADR Learning Lab (USA), 2026 (16 hours).
• Family Law and Procedure for Mediators, MediateBC (Canada).
• Relational Life Therapy, Relational Life Institute, 2026.

Professional background

• Principal Lawyer, Smutylo Law+ — 2010 to present. Boutique business, corporate, securities, technology, regulatory, and estate practice serving Canadian and international clients.
• Legal Counsel (in-house, part-time), Paladin Pharma Inc. — 2024 to 2025. Commercial and regulatory matters; services, license, and confidentiality agreements.
• Senior Corporate Counsel (in-house, part-time), Canadian public-company group — 2021 to 2024. C-suite advisory on corporate, contract, and litigation matters; strategic, operations, sales, and intercompany agreements; board and shareholder governance.
• General Counsel, COO and Director, Canadian public issuer (regulated industry) — 2015 to 2018. Founded and organized the company, led financings raising over $40 million, oversaw a go-public transaction via reverse takeover of a Canadian public company, and supervised management, marketing, and operations teams.
• General Counsel, Canadian public issuer (regulated industry) — 2015 to 2017. Corporate strategy, regulatory licensing, acquisitions, financings, and operational matters.
• Senior Corporate Counsel, Corel Corporation — 2006 to 2010. Technology and corporate law; managed in-house legal teams in Ottawa (4), Taiwan (4), and Japan (2); technology licensing, sales, services, and international intercompany structuring with tax advisors.
• Corporate Finance Associate, Beach, Hepburn LLP (Toronto) — 2005 to 2006. Corporate, commercial, securities, corporate finance, and mining law; public and private financings, stock exchange listings, mining option and joint venture work.
• Corporate Associate, McLean & Kerr LLP (Toronto) — 2001 to 2005. Corporate, commercial, securities, employment and benefits, and franchising; M&A, financings, stock exchange listings, and continuous disclosure.
• Articling Student, Hydro One Networks Inc. — 1999 to 2000. Contributed to the working group preparing the Transmission System Code substantially adopted by the Ontario Energy Board.

Outside activity & projects

Beyond client matters, Koby has founded and developed several Canadian-business-law-related projects, including ContractRiskCheck.com and ISEDrepresetative.com (2026), the Coco Capital Pool I & II Corp. capital pool company vehicles (2024 and 2026), CodeBuddy.ca (2023 to present), and Wolfpack Brands Corporation (2018 to 2020). He has also spoken at industry and investor events.

Getting in touch

The best way to reach Koby is by email at koby@canadianattorney.com. Direct phone lines are available in Ontario (613.869.5440), British Columbia (604.937.6006), and California (805.459.0479). The practice operates from Ottawa, Ontario; meetings are remote by default, in person by appointment.