Expertise
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Practice Areas:
Bar Admissions:
Education:
- University of Toronto (2003) JD (Honours)
- McGill University (2000) BA (First Class Honours)
Details
- Bio
- Cases
- Associations
- Blog Posts
- News & Media
- Publications & Presentations
- Recognition
Shara N. Roy
"She’s very strategic, and really has a good eye on the objectives we have. She’s particularly good at anticipating problems." — Chambers Canada
Recently recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers, Shara is a tough-minded commercial litigator. Shara’s expertise is in complex commercial litigation. Her areas of practice include commercial disputes, securities litigation, professional liability, restructuring & insolvency, and class actions. Shara’s clients include financial institutions, underwriters, accounting firms and publicly-traded companies facing bet-the-company litigation. She also represents individuals facing complex legal issues.
Shara appears before all levels of Court in Canada as well as administrative and regulatory tribunals, including the Ontario Securities Commission. Shara is a member of the Securities Proceedings Advisory Committee, advising the OSC on issues affecting its tribunal proceedings. Shara is a Member-at-Large of the Advocates Society Securities Litigation Practice Group and is an instructor at the Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop through Osgoode Professional Development. Shara is a regular presenter on advocacy, commercial litigation and securities.
In the community, Shara is a member of the Steering Committee for Malachy's Soiree in support of the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit of St. Michael's Hospital and sits on the Engagement Committee of United Way Toronto’s Women United. Shara is a committed advocate for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, leading Lenczner Slaght’s ground-breaking name-anonymization hiring process. Shara co-established and heads the Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee at the Commercial List Users Committee for the Commercial Court in Toronto.
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In the Matter of Benedict Cheng et al
Counsel to the respondent in proceedings alleging tipping in an insider trading matter.
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Counsel to the underwriters in connection with a securities class action and CCAA proceedings relating to Poseidon Concepts. The class proceeding was resolved in the context of the CCAA process.
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Counsel to a series of companies in proceedings involving a receivership over commercial real estate developments and efforts to recover $110 million in funds improperly diverted. The matter involved dozens of contested motions and several appeals on a variety of commercial, real estate issue and construction law issues.
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In The Matter of Katanga Mining Limited
Counsel to Aristotelis Mistakidis in Ontario Securities Commission proceedings in respect of disclosure allegations related to Katanga Mining Limited, a Canadian publicly traded company, with copper assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo Katanga. The proceedings were resolved by way of settlement.
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Counsel to Atos in a dispute respecting the termination of a subcontract for data conversion and software support. The matter was subject to numerous motions and proceeded to a five week trial before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, where Atos was successful in recovering approximately $5.5 million in damages.
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Counsel for the defendant auditors of Sino-Forest Corporation in connection with a shareholder class action claiming damages in order of $9 billion on behalf of primary and secondary market purchasers and debt-holders. Successfully resolved proceeding and coordinated precedent setting settlement approval of a Canadian class action within the context of an ongoing CCAA proceeding. Counsel in appeals from settlement approval to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada, both of which were dismissed.
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Zaniewicz and Clarke v Zungui Haixi Corporation
Counsel for one of the defendants in a shareholder class action alleging that the defendant company's public offering prospectus and other disclosure documents contained untrue representations on a motion for an order certifying the action as a class proceeding for settlement purposes.
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Re Ernst &Young LLP (Sino-Forest and Zungui Haixi)
Counsel to the respondent auditor in two proceedings brought by the Ontario Securities Commission under the Securities Act resulting in the first no contest settlement under OSC Staff Notice 15-702: Revised Credit for Cooperation Program.
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Campaign for the Inclusion of People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Counsel for the applicant against CHS for oppression, relating to alleged lack of transparency and governance abuses.
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Staines v Royal Bank of Canada
Counsel to the defendant Société Générale in a proposed class action alleging conspiracy and price fixing in connection with the international foreign exchange market. The plaintiffs seek billions of dollars in damages.
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The Advocates' Society - Member-at-Large of the Securities Litigation Practice Group
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Canadian Bar Association
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Ontario Bar Association
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Toronto Lawyers Association
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OSC Securities Proceedings Advisory Committee - Member
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United Way's Women United - Member
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Women in Capital Markets
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Turnaround Management Association
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International Women's Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
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AGO Next - Founding Member
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Women's White Collar Defense Association
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In Third Eye v Dianor, the Court of Appeal for Ontario revitalized the law of vesting orders, confirming that a motion judge of the Superior Court of Justice has jurisdiction to extinguish interests in land in a receivership, and setting a new test for when that power should be exercised. The Court also clarified the precedence between the 10-day appeal period set out in the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”) Rules, and the 30-day period prescribed through the Courts of Justice Act (“CJA”).
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It’s about time: Limitation Periods under the Ontario Securities Act
The past year has seen a flurry of interesting cases dealing with limitation periods. My colleagues and I have commented on them previously, including here and here. In Pennyfeather v Timminco Limited, the Court of Appeal for Ontario had the chance to weigh in on limitation periods under the Ontario Securities Act (“OSA”).
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Ontario Updates International Commercial Arbitration Act
Ontario’s new legislation governing international commercial arbitration, the International Commercial Arbitration Act, 2017, came into force on March 22, 2017, replacing the International Commercial Arbitration Act previously in place.
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Contracting Out: Court finds contract applies over Limitations Act
A recent decision of the Ontario Divisional Court upheld a contractually agreed-upon limitation period and enforced it against a third party, even in circumstances where it appeared to be at odds with the statutory provisions of the Limitations Act, 2002.
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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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Shara Roy Amongst the Top 25 Most Influential of 2019
Congratulations to Shara Roy, recognized by Canadian Lawyer and voted for by the public as one of the Top 25 Most Influential of 2019!
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Lenczner Slaght to help students access advocacy internships
Shara N. Roy was quoted in the Law Times article "Lenczner Slaght to help students access advocacy internships" on July 26, 2019.
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Lexpert Honours Sarah Millar and Shara Roy as Change Agents in Law
Lenczner Slaght is proud to announce that Sarah Millar and Shara Roy were presented with 2019 Lexpert Zenith Awards on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at the Lexpert Zenith Gala at Arcadian Court in Toronto.
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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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Are screening biases costing your company top talent?
Shara N. Roy was interviewed by Hadiya Roderique in her recent Globe and Mail article “Are screening biases costing your company top talent?” about Lenczner Slaght’s anonymized screening process for student recruitment.
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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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Scrubbing resumés of gender, race could help prevent bias in law firm hiring, lawyers say
Shara N. Roy was mentioned in The Lawyer's Daily article Scrubbing resumés of gender, race could help prevent bias in law firm hiring, lawyers say. Shara discusses how law firms can make a significant change with relatively small steps, such as resumé anonymization.
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Forum Highlights Perspectives of Women in Litigation
Monique Jilesen and Shara Roy were mentioned in the Lawyer's Daily article "Forum Highlights Perspectives of Women in Litigation" on December 5, 2018. The article revisits a Benchmark Women in Litigation panel, led by Monique Jilesen, and highlights the perspectives of the women panelists and their opinion on what can be done to bring more female voices to the table.
- Shara N. Roy was interviewed in a Candian Underwriter article examining what it would mean if Canada developed current legislation and introduced a...
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Litigators
Shara N. Roy will be speaking at The Advocates' Society's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for Litigators program. She will share her expert insight on the panel "Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: Scenarios for Discussion."
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Inclusive Leader Series: Diversity and Inclusion in Law Firms: Opportunities for Young Lawyers
As a leader in student recruitment and advancing D&I in the legal profession, Shara N. Roy has been asked to speak at the Canadian Bar Association's sold out Inclusive Leader Series event called “Diversity and Inclusion in Law Firms: Opportunities for Young Lawyers”.
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Diversity and Inclusion in Law: Has Anything Changed a Year After "Black on Bay Street"?
Shara N. Roy spoke on the Young Women in Law panel Diversity & Inclusion in Law: Has Anything Changed a Year After "Black on Bay Street"? on November 28, 2018 at 6:00 PM. Discussions included what, if anything, has changed on Bay Street in regards to hiring trends and practices, workplace culture, and best practices in the law firm.
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Successfully Managing Complex Litigation
Monique Jilesen and Shara Roy co-authored the Lawyer's Daily article Successfully Managing Complex Litigation which was published on November 29, 2018.
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Shara N. Roy was a guest speaker at an OsgoodePD course on Corporate Governance. She shared her expertise on Securities Class Actions.
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Successfully Managing Complex Litigation
Monique Jilesen and Shara N. Roy spoke at the Benchmark Women in Litigation Toronto Forum. They participated on the panel “Successfully managing complex litigation” with in-house counsel from Fengate Capital Management, Telus and PwC.
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Leading By Example
Shara N. Roy spoke on The Advocates' Society's program Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Leading By Example. This program uncovered the unconscious biases that might be holding you back without your knowledge, and gave you the tools to overcome them both in your workplace and in the courtroom.
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Eighth Annual Securities Symposium
Shara Roy was a co-chair and Brian Kolenda presented at the 8th Annual Securities Symposium. Discussions included emerging issues in the securities industry such as Class Actions, Cryptocurrencies, Corruption, and Cannabis.
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The anonymous resumé: What’s in a name?
Shara Roy authored the article The anonymous resumé: What’s in a name? that appeared on The Lawyer's Daily website. In this article, Shara speaks about the firm's decision to move towards a diverse and inclusive hiring process to help minimize hiring bias and exclusion.
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39th Annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop
Monique Jilesen, Risa Kirshblum, Shara Roy, and Dena Varah taught at Osgoode Professional Development's 39th Annual Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop on July 8-14, 2018.
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Canadian Lawyer (2019)
Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers
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Lexpert Rising Stars (2017)
Leading Lawyers Under 40
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Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada (2017)
Litigation Lawyer to Watch
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Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (2016-2019)
Litigation - Corporate Commercial, Litigation - Securities
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Best Lawyers in Canada (2016-2020)
Corporate & Commercial Litigation, Securities
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Benchmark Canada (2018-2019)
Future Star
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Benchmark Litigation (2017)
Under 40 Hotlist
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Lexpert Zenith Award (2019)
Change Agent in Law
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The Legal 500 Canada (2018)
Dispute Resolution (Next Generation Lawyer)
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Who's Who Legal: Litigation (2018)
Future Leader