Bespoke Legal Solutions

Life Science & Biotechnology | Health Science & Health Technology | Medical Science & Medical Technology

At a Glance

The Firm

Located in Toronto's vibrant Discovery District, Yocto Law® Professional Corporation is a dynamic boutique law practice. The firm is proud to provide friendly and client-tailored legal advice to individuals, startups, and established businesses.

Yocto fosters enduring relationships with all its clients as a trusted advisor. The firm provides efficient, well-rounded, and practical advice with attention to the smallest detail of its clients’ legal needs.

When engaging with Yocto Law®, clients gain a steadfast and attentive partner on their path to success.

The Clients

Yocto Law® advises individuals, startups, and established businesses in the life science and biotech, health science and healthtech, and medical science and medtech sectors.

Yocto is proud to count among its clients world-renowned scientists and organizations whom it assists to protect and commercialize research conducted in Canada’s top research institutions.

Yocto's startup clients, in particular, appreciate the mentorship and guidance they receive in all aspects of starting and growing their business.

The Founder

Dr. Gabriella Chan is a lawyer, scientist, educator, and startup mentor. She often acts as external general counsel for her clients.

Gabriella’s clients benefit from insightful legal counsel, underpinned by her diverse background, technical knowledge, and practical experience.

As the founder of Yocto Law®, she connects with her clients by sharing an understanding of the challenges of forming and running a business. Clients particularly value her background as a scientist because she understands her clients' inventions, technology, and product needs and can provide informed tailored legal advice.

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Services

yocto is eager to assist you with your legal needs

Business & Corporate

Business formation - selection of business structure, incorporation and preparation of minute books;

Preparation of essential agreements – IP assignments, shareholder agreements, employee and executive stock option plans;

Drafting, review, and negotiation of operational and commercial agreements – confidentiality, service and development, manufacturing, distribution, and leases;

Financing matters - private equity investments, venture capital and angel financing agreements;

Corporate Governance - advice on the composition, responsibilities, evaluation, and best practices guidelines for boards of directors, advisors, and committees.

IP Management

Guidance with protection of intellectual property assets including patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyright;

Preparing intellectual property assignment documents for founders, consultants, advisors and employees;

Negotiating licensing and assignment agreements with universities and research institutions/hospitals;

Developing and negotiating joint development, research and collaboration, and material transfer agreements.

Privacy & E-Commerce

Preparing corporate privacy policies and educational materials and best practice manuals about privacy;

Preparing website privacy notices compliant with Canadian privacy law, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and the General Data Protection Regulation;

Preparing website Terms of Use, Terms of Service, and End User License Agreements;

Other e-commerce matters including advertising and marketing agreements and associated due diligence;

Evaluating cybersecurity and data breach readiness, including PIPEDA Breach notification requirements.

Consulting & Employment

Guidance on employment, compensation, and HR matters;

Drafting, review, and negotiation of employment, consulting, and contractor agreements;

Executive and employee compensation matters including development of stock option and other equity compensation plans;

Preparing employee policies and handbooks, exit interview structure, and checklists.

Testimonials

what people say about us

"Gabriella, through Yocto Law, provides excellent legal support to early-stage innovative companies. iTP Biomedica has found Gabriella to be responsive, attentive and well-informed. It is a pleasure to work with her. I have no reservation whatsoever in recommending Yocto Law to any early-stage innovator."

Kenneth Hughes, PhDBiotechnology Executive, Scientist, Consultant

"Gabriella pulls out all the stops to provide personal and highly effective legal services. Since 2015 she has helped me through tricky IP issues, corporation set-up and management, lease agreements --- you name it, she gets it done and the outcome is always successful."

Kelly Murphy, PhDPsychologist

"We are a very early biotech startup based in Silicon Valley in California and Toronto. When we started establishing ourselves in Toronto, with the early stage that we were in at the time, we did not expect to receive attention from any law firm to the extent that we eventually received from Yocto. In retrospect, I don't believe we could not have done any better in terms of our legal needs with any other firm. During our engagement, we received help on numerous occasions, be it answer to a simple and commonly naive question or a complicated legal document. We never needed to wait or do a follow-up before we had all we needed to the best quality. I strongly recommend this firm to anyone, and especially startups that need extra attention."

Amin ZiaFounder, dyCode bio

"Dr. Chan supported our start-up company when we critically needed accurate legal information to move forward. Passionately, she went through the processes and spent time understanding our issues and objectives, then she prepared us accordingly. Having someone who understands science and knows legal issues related to a biotech company has been a substantial advantage to us."

Azar AzadFounder, A.I. Vali

"Gabriella is a true professional that you'll absolutely enjoy working with. Yocto Law has helped grow our business from a small startup to a multi-million dollar business. Would recommend Yocto Law to any of my friends and family!"

Maggi MitchellFounder, UX Research Collective Inc.

Recent Posts

From the Y Blog

Overview of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) for federal corporations

Canadian Corporation are incorporated under and governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act R.S.C. 1985, c. C-44 (the “CBCA”). The directors of a Canadain Corporation must call an annual general meeting of the shareholders (“AGM”) within 18 months after incorporation and thereafter within 15 months of the preceding AGM, but no later than 6 months after the end of the corporation’s preceding financial year (CBCA, s. 133(1)). Find a detailed overview fo the AGM process […]

You have a great invention and you disclose it at a conference…Now what?

On June 11, 2018, the United States Federal Court of Appeals (the “Court”) heard the case of Medtronic Inc. v. Mark Barry. Medtronic is a global manufacturer of various medical devices including spinal surgery tools and devices. Spinal surgeon Dr. Mark Barry sued Medtronic, alleging that some Medtronic products infringed a group of his patents that were directed to methods of improving spinal column deviations using pedicle screws to correct conditions such as scoliosis.  Medtronic […]

Is your consent meaningful?

Do you read the privacy policies of every site you visit? Can any of us truly say that we know who has access to our personal information and how they are using it, whether or not we consented to its collection and use? In this day and age, is our consent ever truly informed and meaningful? It should be. Advancements in technology and the dawn of the internet of things have spawned new business models […]

Contact

Meetings by appointment only

Yocto Law Professional Corporation
1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2500
Toronto Ontario M5G 1Z3
Telephone: (437) 836 3089

Sending an e-mail to Yocto Law PC will not make Dr. Gabriella Chan your lawyer.

You are not a client of the firm unless you sign an engagement letter with Yocto Law PC. Until then, no information you send to the firm is held in confidence and no information we provide to you is legal advice.

Please do not include any confidential information in your inquiry.

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