Padraigin Murphy
Associate
Practice Area
Expertise
Taxation of Pensions and Benefits, Public Sector Pension and Benefit Plans, Multi-Employer Pension and Benefit Plans, Workers’ Compensation, Employee Life and Health Trusts
Called to the Bar
Ontario, 2018
Padraigin is a member of the firm’s Pension and Benefits Department and its Tax Group. They advise unions, plan administrators, and trustees on pension and benefit plan structuring and administration, with a particular focus on tax issues, including income tax, sales and premium tax, and Canada’s income tax treaty network.
They also advise and represent registered charities with respect to Income Tax Act compliance and represent injured workers in appeals before the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal (WSIAT).
Padraigin has published articles, delivered training, and presented at conferences on a range of pension and benefit issues. These include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) matters, such as accommodating gender diverse plan members and the potential impact of proxy discrimination on employee benefit plan pricing.
Padraigin is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and of Osgoode Hall Law School’s Professional Master of Laws Program (Taxation). During law school, they worked at the Advocates for Injured Workers legal aid clinic and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law and Equality.
Padraigin comes from a working-class background and is the first generation of their family to attend university. They have worked in service jobs, in a call centre, and on a factory floor. This background is the foundation of Padraigin’s drive to practice law for the benefit of workers, and to provide advice that workers can engage with and understand.
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Education
LLM (Taxation), 2023
Osgoode Hall Law SchoolJD, 2017
University of TorontoMA, 2010
University of Western OntarioHBA, 2009
University of Toronto -
Memberships / Affiliations
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Member, Ontario Bar Association
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Padraigin's Publications
- "Exploring the Potential Impact of Proxy Discrimination on Employee Benefit Plan Pricing" (2024) 42:5 IFEBP Plans & Trusts, 16-22 (co-authored with Arleen Huggins and Ramna Safeer)
- "Fall Economic Statement – Pension Fund Investment Announcements" (2024) 42:2 IFEBP Plans & Trusts, 30-33
- "Pension Funds Facing Withholding Tax Issues in EU Countries" (2023) 13:3 Canadian Tax Focus, 11-12
- "Addressing the Climate Crisis as Part of Pension Plan Administration" (2021) 39:5 IFEBP Plans & Trusts, 28-30 (co-authored with Matt Masters)
- "Employee Life and Health Trusts: Revised Legislative Proposals" (2021) 39:2 IFEBP Plans & Trusts, 38-41
- “Revised Commuted Value Standards: An Update” (2020) 38:4 IFEBP Plans & Trusts, 26-27
- “A Tribunal Divided: The Effect of Termination on Loss of Earnings Benefits” (2015) 26:1 IAVGO Reporting Service
- “Balancing Negative and Positive Liberty with the Capabilities Approach” in The Capability Approach on Social Order: Proceedings of Unseld lecture 2010, eds. Niels Weidtmann, Yanti Martina Hölzchen, Bilal Hawa (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2012) (preface by Martha Nussbaum).
