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Steve practises civil litigation, mostly in the fields of professional liability, insurance and commercial disputes.

He has extensive experience in advising both insurers and insureds about coverage issues and has had a number of reported cases in that field. He has also acted as a mediator and as an arbitrator in various types of civil disputes, principally in the areas of insurance and commercial law. As well, he has acted as counsel in disciplinary proceedings before the Law Society Tribunal and the Ontario Association of Architects.

Steve is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2019, he was invited to become a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has been selected for inclusion among The Best Lawyers in Canada in Insurance Law and Malpractice Law has been “Repeatedly Recommended” as a Leading Practitioner in the field of “Litigation-Commercial Insurance” by LEXPERT.

In 2014, 2017 and 2019, Best Lawyers in Canada named Steve the Lawyer of the Year in the area of Insurance Law in Ottawa.

From 2007 to 2021, Steve was a member of the Ontario Civil Rules Committee, which is responsible for the Rules of Civil Procedure. In 2013 and again in 2018, he chaired a subcommittee which made recommendations to the Civil Rules Committee regarding the discount rate for future pecuniary damages (Rule 53.09). He also served as a member of various other subcommittees over his 14-year term on the Rules Committee.

In 2020, Steve was invited to serve as a member of the “Civil Working Group”. It is a committee that was struck in the wake of Covid-19, to address urgently-needed reforms to civil litigation practice in Ontario. It is made up of judges and practitioners from across the province.

For five years, Steve was the Ottawa Senior Instructor in Civil Litigation for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course. He also taught Insurance Law and Trial Advocacy at uOttawa’s law school for several years.

In 2022, Steve became a member of the Bench and Bar Committee in Ottawa. It is “an ad hoc committee comprised of members of the judiciary, court administration staff, and senior lawyers who practise in the area of civil litigation in the East Region (primarily in the Superior Court of Justice)".

Contact & Links
Location
  • 400-411 Roosevelt Avenue
    Ottawa, ON K2A 3X9
    Canada
Demographics
  • Pronouns: He/Him
Education
  • University of Western Ontario, LL.B., graduated 1975
Bar Admissions
  • Ontario, The Law Society of Upper Canada, 1980
Affiliations
  • Litigation Counsel of America - Member
  • Advocates' Society - Member
  • County of Carleton Law Association - Member
  • Ontario Bar Association - Member
  • American College of Trial Lawyers - Fellow

Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2024 - Insurance Law Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2019 - Insurance Law Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2017 - Insurance Law Lawyer of the Year Badge - 2014 - Insurance Law
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
  • Insurance Law, Ottawa, Canada (2024)
  • Insurance Law, Ottawa, Canada (2019)
  • Insurance Law, Ottawa, Canada (2017)
  • Insurance Law, Ottawa, Canada (2014)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2024 for work in:
  • Insurance Law
  • Legal Malpractice Law
Awards:
  • Recipient of the County of Carleton Law Association's Carleton Medal in 2019. It is given to a lawyer (including a retired lawyer, judge, former judge, or paralegal) who is most deserving of recognition for great diligence, high ideals and outstanding leadership in the practice of law throughout their career. Those who will receive the medal will have made a significant contribution to the profession of law, whether as a solicitor in effectively performing services in that position, as a barrister in attaining an excellent reputation in the courts, as an academic, or for a single act of notable distinction that advances the ideals of the profession.

Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Professional Malpractice Law

Publications

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