Cross Canada Arbitration Checkup
Thursday August 20, 4 – 5:30 pm ET
Cooperating Entity:
Register Now! (Deadline to register is August 18, 11:59 pm ET)
Chair: Megan Keenberg, C.S, B.A, LL.B, LL.M (ADR), Van Kralingen & Keenberg LLP - Toronto
Alison FitzGerald, BA, BCL, LL.B Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP - Ottawa
David Gruber BSc, JD, LLM, Bennett Jones LLP - Vancouver
John B. Martens, BA, LL.B, MLT Aikins - Winnipeg
Daniel J. McDonald, QC, B.Sc, LL.B, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP – Calgary
Gregory M. Smith, QC, BA, B.Ed, M.Ed, LL.B, Curtis Dawe Lawyers
Laurence Ste-Marie BA, LL.B, JD, Woods Litigation LLP - Montreal
- Preference of arbitration over litigation
- Availability of qualified (non-conflicted) arbitrators
- Effectiveness of arbitration procedures being employed vs litigation procedures
- Typical length of arbitration vs court litigation
- Attitude of the courts
- Quality of court intervention and support
- Adequacy of legislation
Cross Canada Arbitration Flyer
Megan Keenberg, C.S, B.A, LL.B, LL.M (ADR), Van Kralingen & Keenberg LLP - Toronto
Megan Keenberg co-founded Van Kralingen & Keenberg LLP – a boutique commercial litigation and employment law firm. Megan has substantial experience in the advancement, defence, management and resolution of diverse complex commercial claims. Her clients include private and public corporations, directors and officers, shareholders, creditors, partnerships, business owners/ employers and other individuals with business or professional claims.
Megan holds a Master of Laws from Osgoode specializing in Dispute Resolution and has completed the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society’s prestigious Gold Standard Course on commercial arbitration. She maintains a mediation and arbitration practice focused broadly on business disputes arising from a wide variety of sectors including Art & Design, Automotive, Commercial Property Management, Entertainment & Media, Finance & Lending, Manufacturing, Medical, Mining, Oil & Gas, Retail, and Technology.
Megan also holds positions on the Executive Boards of each of the ADR Section (Chair) and the Civil Litigation Section (CPD Liaison) of the Ontario Bar Association and is a Practice Group Leader for the Arbitration and Mediation Advocacy group at The Advocates’ Society. She is a frequent speaker at seminars geared towards litigators and ADR practitioners.
Alison FitzGerald, BA, BCL, LL.B Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP - Ottawa
Alison FitzGerald specializes in international arbitration and international trade and investment. She has extensive experience advising and representing clients in international and domestic ad hoc arbitrations and arbitrations administered under the auspices of major arbitral institutions, both in commercial disputes and investor-state disputes. She served as Tribunal Secretary for over 10 years in commercial and investor-state arbitrations, including the largest construction arbitration in European history. Ms. FitzGerald also represents and advises clients in respect of arbitration-related domestic court proceedings. Most recently, she represented the ICC in its intervention in the Uber Technologies Inc. appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada.
In addition to her disputes experience, Ms. FitzGerald regularly advises clients on business risk pertaining to economic sanctions, bribery and corruption, and human rights in supply chain in connection with a wide range of transactions. She has advised clients on complex matters of international law and corporate liability, as well as issues of state responsibility.
Ms. FitzGerald has been named three years in a row by Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader in Arbitration. She was appointed by the Canadian government in 2018 to the NAFTA Chapter 19 roster, and is regularly called upon to write and speak on topics in international arbitration and international law. She is co-author of the Canada chapter on sovereign immunity in Getting the Deal Through 2018, 2019 and 2020.
David Gruber BSc, JD, LLM, Bennett Jones LLP - Vancouver
David Gruber practices in the areas of corporate/commercial arbitration and litigation, restructuring and insolvency, and class actions. David has significant experience as counsel in both international and domestic arbitration.
David has presented on topics in commercial arbitration for the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and at the University of British Columbia. He has also contributed to the ADR Perspectives newsletter.
In 2010 David was awarded a diploma in International Commercial Arbitration and became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. David serves on the Board of Directors of the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre.
John B. Martens, BA, LL.B, MLT Aikins - Winnipeg
John is a partner in the Winnipeg office of MLT Aikins LLP. He practices commercial and civil litigation, with a focus on construction matters and professional liability defence.
John has appeared before all levels of court in Manitoba, the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal, handles major arbitration matters, and appears regularly before administrative tribunals in Manitoba.
John is the incoming Chair of the CBA National Civil Litigation Section. In Manitoba he is involved as a member-at-large of the MBA Construction Section, and regularly presents at the Winnipeg Construction Association. At the community level, John is a long time board member of Art City Inc., a not-for-profit organization in Winnipeg.
Daniel J. McDonald, QC, B.Sc, LL.B, Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP – Calgary
Dan McDonald is the vice-chair and a senior partner at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP in Calgary with over 40 years' experience advising on complex litigation cases and acting as counsel in mediation and arbitration matters. During that period, he has also acted as a sole arbitrator, member of an arbitration panel, adjudicator and mediator.
He is actively involved as arbitrator, mediator and counsel in commercial and energy disputes, and has broad experience in general litigation matters including corporate, commercial, energy, securities, construction, tax and estate litigation. He has appeared before trial and appellate courts in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, the Federal Court of Canada, and tribunals including securities commissions, competition tribunals, utilities and energy boards, professional disciplinary tribunals and others.
Dan was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994 and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and President and Director of the Western Canada Commercial Arbitration Society (WCCAS). He was named in Legal 500 Canada, as a leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution, 2017-2020; Chambers Canada as a leading lawyer in Dispute Resolution: Most in Demand Arbitrators, 2019 & 2020; Chambers Global Client's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Dispute Resolution: Most in Demand Arbitrator, 2019; Who's Who Legal: Canada as a leading lawyer in Canada in Commercial Litigation, 2016-2018; Best Lawyers' Calgary Bet-the-Company Litigation Lawyer of the Year in 2015, and as a leading lawyer in the areas of corporate and commercial litigation, securities litigation and directors/officers liability litigation by Benchmark Canada, Lexpert, The Best Lawyers in Canada and others for the past several years.
Dan is a Director of the Glencoe Club, President and Director of the Glencoe Golf and Country Club and a Director of Book Clubs for Inmates.
Gregory M. Smith, QC, BA, B.Ed, M.Ed, LL.B, Curtis Dawe Lawyers
Greg Smith is a senior partner with Curtis Dawe in St. John’s, NL. He has practiced law as litigation counsel since 1989, following his LLB in 1988 from the University of New Brunswick and his M.Ed. in 1984 and B.A., B.Ed. in 1981 from Memorial University of Newfoundland. With a problem-solving approach and a focus on mediation and commercial arbitration, Greg works with clients to resolve challenging and complex litigation disputes within the construction, corporate, commercial, energy, and insurance law fields. Greg has a “BV Distinguished" Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. Since 2013, he has been selected annually by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada for his work in Construction Law, Corporate and Commercial Litigation, and Insurance Law. He serves on the (NL) Law Society’s Bar Admission Course Committee as Civil Litigation Section Chair and perennial course instructor.
Laurence Ste-Marie, BA, LL.B, JD, Woods Litigation LLP - Montreal
Laurence develops a diversified civil and commercial litigation practice and acts in international arbitration proceedings, both as counsel and assistant to the tribunal. Over the last years, she acted in matters in various industries and fields of law, including cases related to financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, engineering, construction, renewable energies, defamation and professional liability.
She has appeared before all levels of Quebec courts and has experience in both international commercial and investment arbitration. She has been involved in proceedings governed by the ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL and ICSID rules and applying different laws, from both the civil law and common law traditions.
Prior to joining Woods, Laurence served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada for the Honourable Marie Deschamps. She next trained and practiced in the Montreal litigation department of a national firm and later worked at a leading international arbitration boutique in Paris.
A member of the Quebec, Ontario and the Paris bars, she holds a civil law degree from the Université de Montréal and a Juris Doctor from the Osgoode Hall Law School. She also received a degree in international relations and international law from the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Professional Development Accreditation:
- ADRIC designation holders earn 3 Continuing Education & Engagement (CEE) points
- CPD accreditation received to date for this webinar (pending from other Law Societies across Canada):
- Law Society of British Columbia: 1.5 hours
- Law Society of New Brunswick: 1.5 hours
- Law Society of Saskatchewan: 1.5 hours
- Law Society of Ontario: 1.5 Substantive hours
Register Now!
More information about ADRIC 2020 - Cross Canada Arbitration Checkup