Expertise
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Practice Areas:
- Bar Admissions:
- Education:
- Dalhousie University (1993) LLB
- University of Oxford (1992) BA (Honours - Jurisprudence)
- University of Toronto (1990) MA (Philosophy)
- University of Toronto (1989) BA (Honours - Politics and Philosophy)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Associations
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
- Recognition
Lawrence E. Thacker
"Larry provide[s] great, timely advice on strategy and he consider[s] legal and practical issues." — Chambers Canada
One of Canada's leading trial and appellate lawyers, Lawrence has broad experience in mergers and acquisitions, shareholder disputes, complex class actions, infrastructure disputes, procurement matters, securities issues, tax litigation, commercial arbitrations and insolvency restructuring. He has served as lead counsel in several complex international commercial arbitration matters involving large energy infrastructure and power generation projects. He appears regularly at all levels of the Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Lawrence is also deeply involved in legal education. For a decade he was an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Toronto, where he taught international law. Since 1998 he has been an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he teaches trial advocacy and serves as a team leader and instructor in the school's Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop. He also teaches courses in trial advocacy skills for The Advocates' Society.
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12178711 Canada Inc v Wilks Brothers, LLC
Counsel to G2S2 Capital Inc., a significant creditor, in connection with a contested CBCA restructuring of Calfrac Well Services Ltd.
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Galway Gold Inc v Republic of Colombia
Counsel to Galway Gold Inc in an investor-state arbitration against the Republic of Columbia before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
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Paul J. Murphy v Guyana Goldfields Inc
Counsel to the former Chief Financial Officer of the corporate defendant in a case alleging the breach of an employment contract and seeking damages for libel.
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Irving Shipbuilding Inc v Attorney General of Canada and CSMG Inc
Counsel in lengthy judicial review proceedings in Federal Court (Trial Division) and Federal Court of Appeal relating to the procurement process for the contract for refurbishment and ongoing maintenance of Canadian Armed Forces submarines.
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Bernstein v Peoples Trust Company
Counsel to the Defendants in a class proceeding alleging that various brands of network-branded payment cards were subject to activation, dormancy, and other fees that constitute misrepresentations, breach of contract, and breaches of various provincial consumer protection legislation and related regulations.
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Baldwin v Imperial Metals Corporation
Counsel to the defendant Imperial Metals Corporation in a class action relating to alleged breaches of the Securities Act in connection with a breach of the tailings storage facility at the Mount Polley Mine.
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Dennis v Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada
Counsel to the Canadian Wheat Board in a proposed class proceeding in the Federal Court and the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench by former grain producers.
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Counsel to a developer in a dispute relating to the construction and management of two condominium developments. Successfully opposed a motion to compel the transfer of shares to the moving parties pursuant to an alleged trust, and opposed a motion to appoint an Inspector.
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Counsel to a defendant cell phone manufacturer in a proposed class proceeding alleging that cellular phones designed, manufactured, and sold by various defendants emit excessive amounts of radiation that allegedly causes adverse health effects.
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Counsel to a mining company in a commercial arbitration relating to a joint venture.
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University of Toronto - Adjunct Lecturer of International Law (1999-2009)
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Commercial Bar Association (comBAR) - Honourary Member
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The Advocates' Society - Member-at-Large of the Arbitration and Mediation Practice Group
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Canadian Bar Association
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Osgoode Hall Law School - Instructor and Former Adjunct Faculty
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University of Toronto (Faculty of Law) - Instructor and Former Law Faculty
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Ontario Bar Association
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Peter Griffin, Lawrence Thacker and Derek Knoke acted as counsel to G2S2 Capital Inc., a bondholder and lender to Calfrac Well Services Ltd. (“Calfrac”) in a restructuring and recapitalization implemented pursuant to a plan of arrangement (the "Plan of Arrangement") under the Canada Business Corporations Act ("CBCA").
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Creditor Democracy - The Supreme Court’s Reasons in Callidus
In Back to Methuselah, George Bernard Shaw famously wrote that an election was “as bad as a battle except for the blood”. That is perhaps dramatic in the context of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”), but certainly a creditor vote can be a tense and contested affair. Such was the case when Callidus Capital Corp (“Callidus”), an asset-based or “distressed lender” and secured creditor, made a “second kick at the can” to approve a plan of arrangement already rejected by unsecured creditors, and found itself barred from voting on the plan for having acted for an “improper purpose”.
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Enforcing Arbitral Awards on the Commercial List
Lawrence E. Thacker and Sean Lewis co-authored the article Enforcing Arbitral Awards on the Commercial List, which was published on commerciallist.com.
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Copy and Paste: Avoiding Duplicative Procedures in National Class Actions
The proliferation of parallel class proceedings in multiple Canadian provinces often defeats the very purpose of class proceedings: the avoidance of a multiplicity of actions. In order to streamline procedures, ensure consistent results, and encourage judicial economy, judges in several provinces have started demanding greater co-ordination among both class counsel and the courts. In McKay v Air Canada, Chief Justice Hinkson took this trend even farther in approving a settlement distribution plan by simply reproducing the reasons of the Ontario Court in Airia Brands v Air Canada.
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Any action described by the Judge as novelty on steroids provides an opportunity for the Court to balance the opportunity to develop new law, with the importance of rigorously applying existing law. This duality arose in a motion in the class action Fisher v IG Investment Management Ltd (2015 ONSC 3525), recently decided by the Ontario Superior Court.
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Access to Justice a Key Concern in Certification Decisions
The Ontario Divisional Court has recently affirmed the importance of access to justice as a factor in determining whether to certify a proposed class action.
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Court Certifies Sino-Forest Class Action
The Sino-Forest class action has been certified, and leave was granted to bring a claim under the Securities Act for secondary market misrepresentations.
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Benchmark Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght as a “Powerhouse"
Canada’s leading litigation firm continues to be recognized with the top tier ranking of “Highly Recommended in Ontario” for its Dispute Resolution practice.
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The 2021 Lexpert Directory Recognizes 30 Lenczner Slaght Lawyers
An increasing number of our expert litigators are recognized by their peers as the foremost practitioners in their fields.
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Lenczner Slaght Recognized as a Top-Tier Litigation Firm by Chambers Canada
Canada’s leading litigation firm and its expert litigators continue to be recognized by world-renowned directory, Chambers & Partners.
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Litigation Expertise
Lenczner Slaght is proud to announce that 33 of our expert litigators are recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada 2021. Our lawyers received a total of 128 rankings, up from 100 in 2020.
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Lexpert Recognizes Lenczner Slaght’s Leading Litigation Lawyers
Peers and senior members of the legal profession continue to recognize our expert lawyers among the foremost litigators in their fields.
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Chambers Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght as a Top-Tier Litigation Firm
Canada’s leading litigation firm and its expert litigators continue to advance their position in the latest edition of world-renowned directory, Chambers Canada, with nine new rankings.
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Best Lawyers in Canada Recognizes Lenczner Slaght with 100 Rankings
In the latest edition of Best Lawyers in Canada, 28 Lenczner Slaght lawyers earned a total of 100 rankings, up from 86 in 2019.
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The 2019 Lexpert Directory Recognizes Lenczner Slaght with 89 Rankings
An increasing number of our expert litigators are recognized by their peers as the foremost practitioners in their fields.
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Benchmark Canada Highlights Lenczner Slaght’s Litigation Excellence
Benchmark Canada 2019 not only recognizes Canada’s leading litigation firm with the top tier ranking of “Highly Recommended in Ontario”, 17 Lenczner Slaght litigators are also ranked for their expertise.
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Lenczner Slaght Litigators Ranked in Best Lawyers in Canada
Canada’s leading litigation firm is proud to announce that 25 of the firm’s 58 lawyers have been recognized in the Best Lawyers in Canada 2019 publication across multiple categories.
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Intensive Workshop: Negotiation Skills and Strategies for Litigators
Lawrence E. Thacker joined a faculty at The Osgoode Intensive Workshop Negotiation Skills and Strategies for Litigators on April 11, 2017. -
36th Annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop
Peter Osborne, Lawrence Thacker, Risa Kirshblum, Monique Jilesen, Eli Lederman, Matthew Sammon, Rebecca Jones, Jaan Lilles and Dena Varah were among the... -
How ADR and court actions can actually work together
Lawrence Thackers article appears in the April 3, 2015 issue of the Lawyers Weekly published by Lexis Nexis Canada Inc. This article describes the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in combination with, or supplementary to court proceedings.
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Lawrence Thacker and Mark Veneziano co-authored an article in the September, 2014 issue of the Class Actions Defence Quarterly.
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35th Annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop
Peter Osborne, Lawrence Thacker, Risa Kirshblum, Monique Jilesen, Eli Lederman, Matthew Sammon, Rebecca Jones, Jaan Lilles and Dena Varah were among the... -
Advice for Successfully and Cost-effectively Navigating Multi-jurisdictional Litigation
Lawrence E. Thacker presented at the CCCA 2012 World Summit.
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Arbitration (International) Recent Developments of Importance
Thacker, L. and Laxer, J. "Arbitration (International) Recent Developments of Importance". The 2012 Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.
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Achieving Optimal Results in High-Stake Litigation
Lawrence E. Thacker spoke on panel discussion at the 2011 CCCA National Spring Conference.
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Lawrence E. Thacker presented at the University of Toronto Litigation Association's luncheon discussing some of the tactical decisions and strategies he employs in his cases.
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Trial Preparation: A Trial from A to Z
Lawrence Thacker provides individualized feedback to participants at the Advocates' Society Civil Litigation Skills Development Program on April 1, 2009 in Toronto.
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Benchmark Canada (2012-2021)
Litigation Star – Arbitration, Class Action, Commercial, Insolvency, Securities, Tax
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Best Lawyers in Canada (2019-2021)
Alternative Dispute Resolution, Class Action Litigation, Corporate & Commercial Litigation
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Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (2011-2019, 2021)
Litigation - Corporate Commercial; Class Actions - Up and Coming (2016), 25 Cross-Border Litigators to Watch (2006)
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Chambers Canada (2020-2021)
Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (Nationwide – Canada)
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Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada (2014-2017)
Corporate Commercial Litigation
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Lexpert Special Edition: Canada's Leading Litigation Lawyers (2015-2017, 2019)
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The Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada