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Michael
is the firm’s
Managing Partner and also leads our Civil Litigation/Class Actions
practice. He is well known for his work in bringing a number of
innovative and class action proceedings on behalf of employees,
retirees and pension plans. Michael has been recognized by his peers
as one of the "Best Lawyers in Canada" in the area of labour and
employment law.
Michael has a large practice which involves advising
and representing executives and professionals in a range of industries
on employment matters. He has acted for individuals in financial
services, telecommunications, manufacturing and a variety of other
sectors of the economy. His employment law practice focuses on providing
advice and advocacy to employees concerning wrongful dismissal,
competition issues and compensation matters. While he frequently appears
on behalf of his clients in the Superior Court of Justice and the Court
of Appeal, he brings a practical and solution focused approach to
employment related disputes.
Michael also has extensive experience providing
advice and advocacy to unions and professional organizations in a
variety of sectors including industrial workers, professional engineers,
symphony musicians, pilots and employees in technology fields. He has
successfully negotiated dozens of collective agreements in the symphonic
and television industries, including the Canadian Opera Company,
National Ballet of Canada and Tafelmusik. He has acted both as counsel
and as a nominee on arbitration boards in the final arbitration of
numerous collective agreements in the power generation and university
sectors.
As counsel, Michael has represented unions and
professional organizations and their pension and benefit plans in the
courts on pension matters, injunctions, judicial review applications and
shareholder actions.
Michael
obtained a doctorate from Stanford Law School where he focused on
labour law issues arising from public sector
privatization. He has published numerous articles on labour law and
legal theory in journals. Michael has also taught advanced seminars in
labour law at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School,
including the Masters Program in Labour Law offered by Osgoode Hall Law
School. He is a frequent speaker on labour and employment law issues,
and has recently presented at the Canadian Bar Association, the Law
Society of Upper Canada's Special Lectures on Employment Law, the Centre
for Labour Management Relations and the Lancaster House Annual Labour
Arbitration
Conference.
Michael is a member of the Canadian Association of
Labour Lawyers and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Axis
Investment Fund, a labour sponsored investment fund. |
