Cross-Border Compliance
Companies operating in both Canada and the United States face two parallel regulatory frameworks that often impose different and sometimes conflicting requirements. These guides cover audits, program design, sanctions, privacy and what happens when a regulator opens an inquiry.
- 134Canada Sanctions List: What Your Business Must Screen and ReportCross-Border ComplianceMost companies that ask about the Canada sanctions list are really asking a narrower question: is the other side a person we are allowed to deal with?
- 131Non-Compete Agreement Ontario: What the ESA Ban Actually ProhibitsCross-Border ComplianceOntario banned most employment non-competes in 2021, and plenty of contracts in the province still contain one. If yours does, the clause is very likely void, which means the protection you believe you have is not there.…
- 108Moving from Canada to the US: Tax Implications Before You GoCross-Border ComplianceThe tax implications of moving from Canada to the US arrive in a specific order, and the order is what catches people out. Canada settles up with you as of the day you stop being a resident. The United States starts coun…
- 089Employment Compliance Lawyer: A U.S. & Canada Guide (2026)Cross-Border ComplianceYou’re usually not looking for an employment compliance lawyer because things are calm. You’re hiring in a new state, opening in Ontario, converting contractors to employees, or dealing with a manager issue that feels sm…
- 077Construction Joint Ventures: A US-Canada Guide for 2026Cross-Border ComplianceYou’ve built a solid construction business in Toronto. Then a project in Buffalo lands on your desk that’s too large to bid alone, too attractive to ignore, and too risky to approach with a thin template agreement. That’…
- 066Employee Privacy Rights: A US-Canada Employer GuideCross-Border ComplianceA common cross-border problem starts with a simple rollout. A U.S. company adds screenshot monitoring, Slack analytics, and location tools for a remote team. Then it hires in Canada and assumes the same setup will work t…
- 063Export Control Compliance: SME Guide to US/Canada TradeCross-Border ComplianceYour first cross-border sale is ready to close. The customer is in the other country. Your team has the invoice, the shipment details, and a signed statement of work. Then someone asks whether the software, design file, …
- 061Reputational Risk Management Guide for US-Canada BusinessCross-Border ComplianceA reputational problem rarely starts looking important. It starts as a customer post, a supplier allegation, a privacy complaint, or an employee screenshot that lands in the wrong Slack channel and then on the right soci…
- 060Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements: US & CanadaCross-Border ComplianceA Canadian company registers to do business in the United States, opens a bank account, starts hiring, and then someone asks a simple question that turns into a compliance problem fast: who are the beneficial owners, and…
- 058Employment Immigration Attorney Guide for US-Canada BusinessCross-Border ComplianceYour first month as HR Director is going fine until cross-border problems arrive all at once. A Canadian manager needs to start work in New York next week. A U.S. engineer wants to relocate to Toronto while keeping proje…
- 057Stock Options Startup: U.S.-Canada Guide 2026Cross-Border ComplianceIf you're hiring across the U.S. and Canada, or weighing an offer that includes equity, the hard part usually isn't the headline grant. It's the consequences. A stock option can look generous in an offer letter and becom…
- 049International Business Lawyer: A U.S.-Canada Guide (2026)Cross-Border ComplianceYou've built traction at home. Now a customer, investor, supplier, or acquisition target sits on the other side of the U.S.-Canada border, and the commercial opportunity is obvious. The legal path usually isn't. Founders…
- 036Compliance Officer Responsibilities for U.S. & CanadaCross-Border ComplianceA founder closes a promising U.S. customer. The sales team celebrates. Then procurement sends a vendor packet asking about sanctions screening, privacy controls, employee training, whistleblower reporting, records retent…
- 020What Is an Antitrust Lawsuit | Mayo LawCross-Border ComplianceYou’re negotiating a distribution deal in New York, opening sales in Ontario, and a potential partner suddenly says, “Let’s avoid anything that looks like price coordination.” Then you see a headline about an antitrust l…
- 009How to Incorporate a Business in Ontario: 2026 GuideCross-Border ComplianceIncorporating a business in Ontario is relatively straightforward. Building the corporation correctly is not. The filing itself can often be completed online in a short period. The more important decisions involve owners…
What does a compliance lawyer do?
A compliance lawyer helps companies build, audit, and maintain programs that ensure their operations satisfy applicable regulatory requirements — at the federal, state or provincial, industry, and international levels. Day-to-day work includes designing internal policies and procedures, conducting compliance audits, training staff, advising on novel regulatory questions, responding to regulator inquiries, and acting as outside counsel for compliance teams that need legal support but don’t need a full-time in-house lawyer.
Which industries does Mayo Law's compliance practice serve?
Our compliance practice serves clients across healthcare, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and other regulated industries. The specific regulatory framework varies by industry — HIPAA and PHIPA for healthcare data, AML and KYC for financial services, data privacy and consumer protection for technology, product safety and trade compliance for manufacturing — but the core work of compliance program design, audit, training, and ongoing counsel applies across all of them.
What's involved in a regulatory compliance audit?
A compliance audit reviews how a company’s actual operations measure against the applicable regulatory framework. Typical components include policy and procedure review, transaction and document sampling, employee interviews, control testing, gap analysis against the relevant statutes and regulations, and a written report identifying findings and recommended remediation. Audits can be scheduled (annual or quarterly) or triggered by specific events (regulator inquiry, M&A diligence, internal report of misconduct, change in regulatory landscape).