Robert J.C. Deane

Rob is the National Leader of the Firm's Arbitration Group. He is also an elected member of the Firm’s Partnership Board (2013-2020, and 2022-present) and Chair of the International Committee.

Rob is recognized nationally and internationally as a leading counsel in commercial litigation, international and domestic commercial arbitration, and intellectual property litigation, among other areas.

As litigation counsel, Rob has litigated complex cases throughout Canada and at all levels of Court, including to the Supreme Court of Canada, in diverse areas including contractual disputes; arbitration-related litigation including appeals, set-aside applications and enforcement applications; mining disputes; construction and infrastructure disputes; life sciences and other intellectual property disputes; consumer class actions; sponsorship and advertising disputes; shareholder disputes; securities regulation; information and privacy law; and administrative law.

As arbitration counsel, Rob has appeared in significant arbitration proceedings in North America, Asia and Europe, under almost all major institutional sets of rules, in a wide array of industry sectors including construction and infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, distribution, pharmaceuticals, energy, and mining as well as investor-State disputes.

As arbitrator, Rob has either chaired or been sole arbitrator in international and domestic proceedings involving parties throughout the world engaged in disputes arising in, among others, the real estate development, distribution, intellectual property licensing and resource sectors.

Rob graduated as the Law Society of British Columbia Gold Medalist in 1998, from the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Law. After graduating, Rob served as a Law Clerk to the Honourable Madam Justice Beverley McLachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada (subsequently the Rt. Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada) in 1998-1999.