Leading competition lawyers in Ontario

Here are the leading competition lawyers in Ontario based on the results of Lexpert’s annual peer survey. Check out the complete line-up of the province’s most recommended competition lawyers and law firms on our practice area rankings list.

The practice of competition law in Canada falls into two categories, namely solicitor work and litigation.

Solicitor work revolves around providing advice and representation on the implications of competition law on day-to-day business activities, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, marketing and distribution activities, relations with customers, competitors and suppliers and the interface between competition law and intellectual property law.

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Competition litigation involves representing clients before the courts on criminal matters and before the Competition Tribunal on civil proceedings initiated by the Commissioner of Competition.

Most frequently recommended competition lawyers

George N. Addy

Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1979 (ON); 1999 (AB)
City: Toronto

George N. Addy is a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. He boasts 40 years of experience in foreign investment, regulatory and competition law and is considered one of Canada’s best competition lawyers. Addy advises clients on matters involving domestic and foreign regulators, including cartels, mergers and acquisitions and various trade practices. He has appeared at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada and at judicial inquiries and regulatory hearings on behalf of private and public sector clients. Addy also advises on foreign investment matters involving the Investment Canada Act and related sectoral control legislation and anti-corruption matters, and on the full range of civil and criminal practices governed by the Competition Act. Addy was the head of Canada’s Competition Bureau from 1993 to 1995 and its merger review branch from 1989 to 1993. He was also a senior executive in the telecom sector.

Melanie L. Aitken

Law firm: Bennett Jones LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1991
City: Toronto

Melanie L. Aitken is the co-chair at Bennett Jones LLP’s competition, antitrust and foreign investment practice, where she specializes in global antitrust and competition law and litigation. Aitken is also the firm’s managing principal, practising Canadian law in Toronto and Washington, D.C. She served as Canada's competition commissioner from 2009 to 2012. In this role, Aitken led many high-profile civil and criminal matters and worked extensively with leaders of antitrust authorities around the world on enforcement and policy cases. Since returning to practice, she has represented clients in a broad range of industries in merger, conduct and criminal investigations, including financial services, large retail, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, airlines, oil and gas, consumer products and organized sport.

Anita Banicevic

Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Year called to the Bar: 2000
City: Toronto

Anita Banicevic is a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP’s competition, antitrust and foreign investment practice. She advises on all aspects of Canadian competition and foreign investment review law, with a particular emphasis on complex multinational mergers, criminal price-fixing investigations, and advertising-related investigations and general compliance issues. Banicevic has been involved in several major competition cases in Canada. She assists clients with contested proceedings before the courts and the Competition Tribunal and negotiated resolutions and consent agreements. Banicevic is recognized as among the country’s leading competition lawyers. She has held leadership positions within the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and American Bar Association (ABA). Most recently, she served as chair of the National Competition Law Section of the CBA from 2017 to 2018 and is currently the vice-chair of the ABA Antitrust Section’s mergers and acquisitions committee.

John D. Bodrug

Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1987
City: Toronto

John D. Bodrug is a partner Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. He devotes his practice to competition law and foreign investment review, including mergers, price-fixing investigations and other pricing, distribution and advertising matters. Bodrug has acted for Canadian, US and international corporations across a wide range of industries, including energy and resources, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services and consumer products. He has obtained Competition Act and Investment Canada Act clearances for numerous transactions. Bodrug also has extensive expertise in advising companies on the criminal provisions of Canada’s Competition Act and is regularly consulted on contested matters, immunity or leniency agreements and resolutions prior to formal proceedings. He is a member of the CBA’s anti-corruption team and a past chair of its National Competition Law Section.

Oliver J. Borgers

Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1988 (ON); 1995 (England & Wales)
City: Toronto

Oliver J. Borgers is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. He specializes in antitrust and foreign investment law and national security review. Borgers boasts extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, notifications and market conduct. He is also a specialist in foreign investment merger review issues arising under Investment Canada Act. Borgers has extensive dealings with the Canadian government on investment and national security matters. He had successfully handled numerous high-profile mergers and led a team that obtained Competition Act and Investment Canada Act clearance for Canada’s largest transaction to date. Borgers regularly speaks on competition law, foreign investment, national security and merger-related topics to audiences in Canada and abroad. He teaches competition law and sits on the editorial board of Practical Law Canada’s Competition Law Handbook. Borgers speaks English, French, German and some Spanish.

A. Neil Campbell

Law firm: McMillan LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1991
City: Toronto

A. Neil Campbell is the co-chair of the competition and international trade groups and a partner at the energy group at McMillan LLP. He is recognized as one of Canada’s leading competition lawyers, boasting more than 300 merger clearances under the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act. Campbell has also acted in over 25 major cartel cases and related class actions, including optical disc drives, vitamins, air cargo, chocolate confectionery, auto parts and foreign exchange. He has represented clients in major abuse of dominance and other unilateral conduct investigations and proceedings. Campbell’s trade law practice includes anti-dumping and subsidy proceedings, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) matters, export and import controls and trade sanctions, foreign corrupt practices, investor-state disputes and lobbying on trade policy issues.

Paul Collins

Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1994
City: Toronto

Paul Collins is senior counsel and the former head of the competition & foreign investment group in the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott LLP. He practises corporate and commercial law, specializing in competition law. Collins is considered among Canada’s leading competition lawyers. He provides advice on transactional and general compliance and marketing and advertising law. Collins is also a leading advisor for foreign investors in connection with the Investment Canada Act. His practice puts him in constant contact with the federal Competition Bureau and the Investment Review Division of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. He is a past chair of the executive committee of the CBA Competition Law Section. From May 2010 to May 2012, Collins served as senior deputy commissioner with the Competition Bureau where, as the head of the mergers branch, he was instrumental in the bureau’s review of high-profile corporate transactions and the development of key bureau policies arising from the significant amendments to the Competition Act introduced in 2009.

Brian A. Facey

Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1993
City: Toronto

Brian A. Facey is the chair of the competition, antitrust and foreign investment group at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, where he also serves as partner. He is also a member of the firm’s executive committee. Facey advises clients on regulatory matters, including multijurisdictional and domestic strategic merger transactions, criminal cartel cases, dominance matters, class actions and distribution and advertising matters under the Competition Act. He also advises foreign investors, companies and states under the provisions of the Investment Canada Act and the State-Owned Enterprise Guidelines, which regulate the acquisition of control of Canadian businesses by non-Canadians. Facey is a leading authority on the Investment Canada Act and co-author of the Investment Canada Act: Commentary and Annotation. His treatises have been cited by all levels of courts in Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada for his work on efficiencies and strategic mergers. He has also appeared on behalf of clients before the Competition Bureau, the Competition Tribunal, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal and various levels of Ontario courts.

Sandra A. Forbes

Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1992
City: Toronto

Sandra A. Forbes is a partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. She specializes in corporate, class action, securities and competition litigation. A significant portion of her practice involves defending clients in national and cross-border class actions. Forbes acts for clients before all levels of court and various administrative tribunals in Canada, including the Competition Tribunal. She has achieved successful results for clients on diverse issues, including class actions alleging anti-competitive conduct or collusion and competition matters such as abuse of dominance. Forbes is highly experienced in defending litigation for directors and audit committees. She is the past president of The Advocates’ Society, a regent of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Calvin S. Goldman

Law firm: The Law Office of Calvin Goldman, Q.C.

Year called to the Bar: 1976
City: Toronto

Calvin S. Goldman is the principal at The Law Office of Calvin Goldman, Q.C. He devotes his practice to Canadian competition law, including domestic and international case matters before the Competition Bureau, as well as foreign investment reviews before Investment Canada. Goldman has acted as counsel in several major competition law and foreign investment review cases in Canada. He is a former commissioner for the Canadian Competition Bureau and current co-chair of the Future of Competition Law Standards Task Force of the ABA Antitrust Law Section, where he also served as co-chair of the National Interest and Competition Law Task Force.

Jason L. Gudofsky

Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1998
City: Toronto

Jason L. Gudofsky is the chair at the competition, antitrust and foreign investment group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, where he also serves as partner. He advises domestic and international clients on transactions and investigations under the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act, including some of the highest profile, complex and industry transformational matters. His practice covers all aspects of competition law, including mergers, strategic alliances, joint ventures, unilateral conduct, cartel investigations and compliance. In addition to competition, Gudofsky advises foreign purchasers and Canadian vendors under the Investment Canada Act, including obtaining net benefit approvals and navigating the national security review process. He is considered one of the top competition lawyers in Canada and regularly speaks at conferences. Gudofsky has worked on various cartel and conduct investigations undertaken by the Competition Bureau and has appeared before the Competition Tribunal.

Donald B. Houston

Law firm: McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1981
City: Toronto

Donald B. Houston is a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto office. His competition law and litigation practice includes defending criminal prosecutions, competition tribunal proceedings and private actions, including class actions. Houston has frequently represented the Commissioner of Competition. He also counsels clients on mergers and other business practices. Houston boasts significant cartel and merger practice, both domestic and international. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law and has lectured on several legal conferences.

Randal T. Hughes

Law firm: Bennett Jones LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1982
City: Toronto

Randy T. Hughes is a partner and co-chair at the competition and antitrust practice group at Bennett Jones LLP. He is widely acknowledged as one of Canada's leading competition lawyers. Hughes has successfully handled the competition law and Investment Canada aspects of domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. He has represented clients before the courts in criminal proceedings under the Competition Act and before the Competition Tribunal in reviewable matters. Hughes represents clients in domestic and international conspiracy investigations and prosecutions involving the Competition Bureau in Canada and other competition authorities around the world. He also represents clients in substantial civil and class actions in competition matters. Hughes has acted as counsel for the Commissioner of Competition and for private sector clients in leading merger and abuse of dominance cases before the Competition Tribunal. He is currently an officer of the IBA's antitrust committee.

Lawson A.W. Hunter

Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1971 (NB); 1986 (ON)
City: Ottawa

Lawson A.W. Hunter serves as senior counsel at Stikeman Elliott LLP. He is recognized as one of Canada’s best competition lawyers. Hunter is a renowned regulatory and government relations counsel, drawing on a wide range of experience in business, government and private practice. Formerly Canada’s senior civil servant in charge of competition policy and enforcement, Hunter was primarily responsible for the drafting of the federal Competition Act. From 1993 to 2003, he was a partner at Stikeman Elliott and head of the firm’s competition and antitrust group. He also served as executive vice-president and chief corporate officer of Bell Canada and BCE Inc., where he was responsible for overseeing regulatory, governmental relations and corporate affairs from 2003 to 2008. Hunter joined Stikeman Elliott in September 2008. From April 2010 to May 2012, he assumed the role of head of the competition and foreign investment group and recently returned to his role as counsel. Hunter advises a wide variety of Canadian and multinational corporations on all aspects of federal regulatory law and policy.

Katherine L. Kay

Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1988
City: Toronto

Katherine L. Kay is a litigation partner and head of Stikeman Elliott LLP’s competition litigation practice. She is also a past member of the firm’s partnership board, executive committee and Toronto management committee. She devotes her practice to complex commercial litigation, often involving the interplay between regulatory, civil class actions and criminal law regimes across multiple jurisdictions. Her areas of focus include competition, product liability, securities, corruption and other white-collar cases. Kay is considered one of the top competition lawyers in Canada. She is known for highly effective advocacy before courts and tribunals across the country and is a first call for “bet the farm” situations, including conducting internal investigations and advising management and boards of directors.

David W. Kent

Law firm: McMillan LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1983
City: Toronto

David W. Kent is a senior partner at McMillan LLP’s litigation, competition and antitrust and intellectual property groups. He also serves as national co-chair of the firm's dispute resolution and class action practices. Kent specializes in complex litigation involving competition, IP, commercial, regulatory and securities and governance disputes in a range of industries. He boasts extensive experience in international, cross-border and domestic cartels, conspiracies and class actions. Kent has been defence counsel in some of the largest Canadian criminal cartel prosecutions and in many of the major Canadian civil cartel cases.

Eliot N. Kolers

Law firm: Stikeman Elliott LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1996
City: Toronto

Eliot N. Kolers is a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP. He also heads the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution group and is a member of the management committee at its Toronto office. Kolers specializes in corporate and commercial, competition and securities litigation. He is considered as one of the leading competition lawyers in Canada. Kolers has represented clients in a wide range of complex cases, including many real time litigation matters in relation to contested corporate transactions. He has defended class actions involving competition law, securities and privacy issues. Kolers has also represented clients in a broad range of commercial cases involving oppression remedies, proxy contests, takeover bids, shareholder disputes, plans of arrangement and corporate governance matters. He regularly appears before the commercial list of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. His competition litigation experience relates to class actions, criminal matters and contested proceedings before the Competition Tribunal.

Robert E. Kwinter

Law firm: Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1986
City: Toronto

Robert E. Kwinter is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP. He has extensive experience in all areas of competition law. Kwinter regularly advises clients on conspiracy, bid-rigging, trade association activities, misleading advertising, mergers and other reviewable trade practices, criminal and non-criminal matters and the misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act. He also advises clients on regulatory approval under the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act. Kwinter has acted as litigation counsel in cases under various provisions of the Competition Act and has extensive experience in class actions, including DRAM, air cargo, hydrogen peroxide, EPDM, chocolate, LCD, auto parts and credit cards. He has developed a recognized proficiency in the misleading advertising field and has frequently appeared successfully before the Competition Tribunal and various trial and appellate courts. Kwinter has been an active contributor to the work of the International Competition Network as a non-governmental adviser.

James B. Musgrove

Law firm: McMillan LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1986
City: Toronto

James B. Musgrove is partner and serves as co-chair at McMillan LLP’s competition and antitrust practice group. He is also active in the firm’s advertising and consumer protection practice. Musgrove also serves in the leadership of the ABA Section of Antitrust Law. Musgrove devotes his practice to competition, antitrust, foreign investment and marketing law. He is recognized as among the country’s leading competition and advertising lawyers. Musgrove advises on cartel, merger, distribution, investment review, foreign corrupt practices and misleading advertising. He also makes regular representations and submissions to the Competition Bureau. Musgrove boasts extensive experience in a range of industries, including financial institutions, oil and gas, electricity, telecommunications, broadcasting, consumer products, retail and automotive.

Linda M. Plumpton

Law firm: Torys LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1996
City: Toronto

Linda M. Plumpton is partner and chair of the litigation and dispute resolution and competition and antitrust practices at Torys LLP. She is considered one of Canada’s best competition lawyers. Plumpton focuses on competition litigation, class action defence, corporate and commercial disputes and securities litigation. She also practises public, constitutional and employment law. Plumpton has appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada, all levels of court in Ontario, the Federal Court, the Competition Tribunal and the Ontario Securities Commission. She has taught advocacy and lectured on class actions and competition law issues at several prominent universities.

John F. Rook

Law firm: Bennett Jones LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1973
City: Toronto

John F. Rook is a partner at Bennett Jones LLP. He specializes in commercial, administrative and competition law litigation. Rook is recognized as among the top competition litigators in Canada. He appears at all levels of the federal and provincial trial and appellate courts throughout Canada. Rook also appears before the Competition Tribunal and in the courts in matters relating to price fixing, mergers and reviewable practices, including claims for abuse of dominance. He acts for the Commissioner of Competition and numerous private sector clients in various competition, commercial and administrative law matters. Rook writes extensively and is a frequent speaker in his areas of expertise.

Kent E. Thomson

Law firm: Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1984
City: Toronto

Kent E. Thomson is the head of litigation at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP’s Toronto office, where he also serves as a partner. He has extensive experience in complex and high-stakes litigation. Thomson has acted as lead counsel in numerous precedent-setting cases in the areas of oppression, plans of arrangement, class actions, securities, defamation, tort, competition, tax, intellectual property and elections. He has also conducted many trials and appeals, and appeared in courts throughout Canada, as well as in complex domestic and international arbitrations in Canada, the US, Europe and Africa.

Omar K. Wakil

Law firm: Torys LLP

Year called to the Bar: 1996
City: Toronto

Omar K. Wakil is a partner at Torys LLP. He advises domestic and international clients on all aspects of competition law. Wakil provides strategic advice to firms involved in mergers, cartel and abuse of dominance investigations under the Competition Act. He also advises clients on net benefit and national security reviews under the Investment Canada Act. Wakil has represented numerous foreign investors, including state-owned enterprises and domestic targets in acquisition transactions. He has authored the Annotated Competition Act and the Annotated Investment Canada Act. Wakil is a member of executive committee of Canadian Bar Association’s National Competition Law Section.