Heading to trial and feeling the nerves mount? Never fear, this episode of Disputed is here.

Hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown sit down with commercial litigators, Stephen Taylor and Tiffany O’Hearn Davies from our Toronto office, to share their top ten tips for winning civil trials in Canadian courts.

Drawing on years of experience navigating complex disputes, Tiffany and Stephen discuss what true preparedness looks like, from organizing evidence and supporting your witnesses to managing tone and reading the courtroom. They explore how to balance fact with impact and explain why success in the courtroom depends on focus, strategy, and civility. Together, they highlight why winning a trial is not only about theatrics but about meticulous preparation, calculated judgment, and unwavering professionalism.

This episode is accredited 0.8 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.8 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Guests:

• Tiffany O’Hearn Davies
• Stephen Taylor

Complying with a court order is a serious undertaking. Do it wrong and you may find yourself facing contempt of court.

In this episode, hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown unpack an intriguing case involving a rare finding of contempt against an Ontario regulator. Joining them in the conversation are guests Chris Muir, a litigation partner in the Toronto office, and David Litwin, Senior Counsel at the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority. Together, they take a detailed look at the case, the key players and the contested conduct that triggered the contempt motion, breaking down the legal standard for civil contempt and debating whether the circumstances of this case warranted the severe result. Finally, they share broader takeaways for regulatory lawyers and regulators, including the importance of clarity in court orders, consistency in regulatory decision-making, and strategies for avoiding worst-case scenarios such as a contempt proceeding.

This episode is accredited 0.67 substantive hours in Ontario, 0.67 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Guests:

• Chris Muir
• David Litwin

Tariffs are a polarizing topic in today’s economic landscape. In this episode, host Erin Brown takes on the role of guest alongside Martin Masse, Senior Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Ottawa office, as they join Ted to dive deep into the world of tariffs and trade disputes. Together, they demystify tariffs—explaining how they function and why they matter.

In this conversation, Erin and Martin provide the historical context around Canada-US trade relations and share how imported goods are classified, and how tariffs are calculated and applied to goods. With businesses facing financial and contractual risks in the year ahead, Erin and Martin highlight the importance of reviewing supply agreements, updating legal clauses, and reassessing trade strategies to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Beyond individual business concerns, the conversation broadens to the larger economic implications—including the push for trade diversification and the evolving role of inter-provincial trade within Canada. Finally, Erin and Martin share practical steps businesses can take to navigate trade uncertainty and prepare for the future.

This episode is accredited 0.58 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.58 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Guests:

• Martin Masse

It’s that exciting time of year again, the release of the Norton Rose Fulbright Annual Litigation Trends Survey! Join hosts Ted and Erin as they dive into this year’s findings and what they mean for corporate counsel in 2025. In this episode, they break down some of the most pressing issues uncovered in the survey, including greenwashing risks, evolving cybersecurity regulations, and shifts in class action litigation. Helping to unpack these insights are three guests each bringing their expertise to the discussion.

Ray Chartier, Senior Partner in the Calgary office and Canadian Co-Head of Responsible Business & Sustainability, examines the growing risks of greenwashing and its impact on Canadian and U.S. markets. John Cassell, Partner in the Calgary office and Canadian Co-Head of Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, explores how the survey reflects major legislative changes ahead for cybersecurity law in Canada. Finally, François-David Paré, Partner in the Montreal office and Co-Chair of the National Class Actions Team, highlights the increasing focus on consumer protection class actions, a key concern in this year’s findings.

For more information on our Litigation Trends Survey and access to the 2025 summit recording, visit our 2025 Annual Litigation Trends Survey webpage here.

This episode is accredited 0.5 substantive hours in Ontario, and 0.5 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Guests:

• François-David Paré
• John Cassell
• Ray Chartier

How much deference do the courts owe regulators? Should courts review regulations differently than other forms of administrative action? In a landmark pair of rulings released late last year, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the standard of review for challenging regulations in Canada. The SCC’s new guidance in Auer and TransAlta is already impacting businesses in industries and sectors across the country. In this episode of Disputed, Ted and Erin take a deep dive into the SCC’s twin decisions in order to uncover the key takeaways for regulators and regulated businesses in this new legal landscape.  

To help guide them through the nuances of Auer and TransAlta, and the cases leading up to them, Ted and Erin are joined by Jean-Simon Schoenholz and Christopher Guerreiro of our firm’s Public Strategy Group – two lawyers with considerable experience litigating these questions. Jean-Simon is a partner based in Ottawa whose practice focuses on public law, appellate advocacy and commercial litigation. Chris is Of Counsel with the firm, based in Toronto. His practice focuses on high-stakes litigation with an emphasis on cases involving intellectual property, administrative law, life sciences and high-technology industries. 

This episode is accredited 0.82 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.82 substantive hours in British Columbia.  

 Guests: 

• Jean-Simon Schoenholz 
• Chris Guerreiro 

Understanding what can lead to post-closing disputes is crucial as no one likes to see a deal go sour after months of hard work. In this episode of Disputed, hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown dive into the complexities of post-closing disputes, uncovering how and why deals can go awry even after months of preparation. 

Joining them are Vanessa Grant, a senior partner and M&A lawyer from our Toronto office, and Andrea Brewer, a corporate and commercial law expert with a focus on public mergers and acquisitions. Together, they examine the most common sources of disputes and critical areas to address to minimize the risk of litigation, including tax due diligence, earnout provisions, and other key considerations. This episode provides valuable insights into safeguarding the deal lifecycle and ensuring a seamless post-closing process.

This episode is accredited to 0.5 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.5 substantive hours in British Columbia. 

Guests:

• Vanessa Grant 
• Andrea Brewer

Hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown are joined by fellow partners, Maya Angenot, from Norton Rose Fulbright’s Montreal office, and Jeremy Devereux, from Norton Rose Fulbright’s Toronto office, to discuss the intricacies of class actions in Canada.

In addition to comparing and contrasting how these types of cases differ between Ontario and Quebec, this episode takes a closer look at the burgeoning trend of employment class actions, Ontario's amendments to its Class Proceedings Act, the rise of privacy breach class actions in Quebec, and the emerging challenge of fraudulent claims in settlement processes.

This episode is accredited 0.75  substantive hours in Ontario, 0.75 substantive hours in British Columbia  and 0.75 substantive hours in Quebec.

Guests:

• Maya Angenot - Partner, Montreal (12:34, 47:02)
• Jeremy Devereux - Partner, Toronto  (34:20)

What makes a great litigator? When it comes to mastering the art of litigation, some lessons are best learned outside the classroom.

In this episode of Disputed, hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown go back to school and delve into what it takes to become a successful litigator, drawing from the experience of 11 seasoned professionals across all six of Norton Rose Fulbright's Canadian offices.

They’ll discuss how preparedness, above all else, is a major key to success, gain insights into how far to push a witness, talk about dealing with clients, and reflect on hard lessons learned early on by some of our top litigators. From unexpected twists in trials, to the evolving dynamics between junior and senior litigators, this episode is all about the lessons that litigators learn that allow them to turn courtroom challenges into victories.

This episode is accredited 0.92 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.92 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Guests:

• Dan Bennett - Partner, Vancouver (12:34, 47:02)
• Jenna Anne de Jong - Partner, Ottawa (34:20)
• Steven Leitl - Senior Partner, Calgary (10:08)
• Kaitlin Long - Partner, Calgary (17:49)
• Jamie Macdonald - Partner, Ottawa (37:32)
• Sarah McCalla - Partner, Vancouver (15:13)
• Kelly Moffet-Burima - Partner, Calgary (27:14)
• Élif Oral - Of Counsel, Quebec City (3:03)
• Orestes Pasparakis - Partner, Toronto (22:26)
• Frédéric Plamondon - Partner, Montreal (44:01)
• David Yi - Partner, Toronto (6:07)

Transformative changes to the Competition Act are here. How will they affect the competition disputes landscape? 

To kick off season 5 of Disputed, hosts Ted Brook and Erin Brown sit down to discuss the changes with guests Chris Hersh, Partner and Canadian Head of Antitrust and Competition based in Toronto, and Eric Lefebvre, Partner and litigator based in Montreal.  

In addition to the changes to the Competition Act, this episode covers the current status of bills C-59 and C-56 and their compounding effects on the potential for expanded competition litigation; environmental performance claims; and why there’s still so much uncertainty in this area. Ted, Erin, Chris and Eric discuss why the changes could result in a significant uptick in litigation on competition issues, particularly where NGOs are eager to bring complaints.

Note: This podcast was recorded on June 5, 2024. Bill C-59 has received Royal Assent and has now been passed into law.

This episode is accredited 0.75 substantive hours in Ontario and 0.75 substantive hours in British Columbia.

Disputed is back for another season, continuing to bring you an inside look on the trends, issues and developments across Canada’s evolving legal landscape through a litigator’s lens, and how to prepare for them.

Fresh from our special miniseries, Undisputed: Litigation Trends Explored, our hosts Ted Brook, Partner, and Erin Brown, Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright are here to bring you comprehensive coverage of emerging trends in Canadian law and answer the burning questions on the minds of Canada’s legal industry.

Subscribe now to get the latest insights.