52 | LEXPERT December 2015 | www.lexpert.ca
Known for her strategic counsel and trial skills, Sandra Barton is a leading civil and
commercial litigation lawyer based in the Toronto office of Gowlings. She is recognized as
one of the top corporate commercial litigators in Canada by e Canadian Legal Lexpert®
Directory, and was featured among the country's leading class-action lawyers in the 2015
edition of e Best Lawyers in Canada. Working seamlessly with clients and counsel
across Canada and the US, Barton brings extensive expertise in complex commercial
litigation matters, class-action defense, professional liability defense, and — as a regis-
tered trade-mark agent — intellectual property disputes. A sought-aer trial advocacy
instructor, Barton is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and a visiting
instructor at the University of Notre Dame. She also serves on the board of directors
of the Homes First Foundation, which provides affordable housing to the homeless in
Toronto, and the Touching Tiny Lives Foundation, which supports children and families
in Lesotho who are struggling with the ravages of HIV/AIDS.
Michael Barrack is recognized as one of Canada's top litigators. He has led dozens of
cases, ranging from criminal jury trials to civil and constitutional appeals before the
Supreme Court of Canada. His work in Canadian courts and internationally caused
one reviewer to write, "He's as good as it gets, first-rate counsel, among the top five in
Canada." He has been described as an assertive litigator who is very strategic and creative,
with effective examination skills and persuasive advocacy techniques. Some of the
major clients who have retained Michael include former Justice Jack Ground as Litiga-
tion Trustee of Hollinger Inc., U. S. Steel, the Toronto Stock Exchange, TransCanada,
Canadian Pacific Railway, the Ontario Securities Commission, OMERS, major banks
and multinational law firms. He is a Past President of e Advocates' Society, a found-
ing director of Pro Bono Law Ontario and currently Vice Chair of the Heart and Stroke
Foundation – Ontario.
Derek Bell's practice focuses on commercial list litigation, including merger and acqui-
sition litigation, insolvency matters, and competition litigation. He represents a wide
variety of industries and business sectors, including public issuers, individual directors
and officers, banks, securities dealers, manufacturers, and private and public investment
funds. Recent mandates include Sino-Forest Corporation (Re.) (insolvency), Timminco
Ltd. (Re) (securities class actions), and Boughner v. Greyhawk Equity Partners (fraud).
Bell has acted for the Commissioner of Competition on several occasions, most recently
in obtaining the largest administrative monetary penalty ever issued in a contested
proceeding to date in Canada, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in February
2013 (Commissioner of Competition v. Yellow Page Marketing). Prior to joining the firm
from another leading national law firm, Bell clerked with the Honorable Justice Charles
D. Gonthier at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Brad Berg's trial and appellate practice includes both complex commercial cases and
precedent-setting public interest litigation. He has appeared as lead counsel at all levels of
court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and in international commercial arbitra-
tions. He is the practice group leader for Blakes Litigation in Toronto. Berg serves on
the executive and board of directors of e Advocates' Society, the principal association
of litigation counsel in Ontario. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
(FCIArb) and a member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society. Berg taught
trial advocacy at Osgoode Hall Law School for six years and is contributing editor to
Canadian Legal Practice (LexisNexis). He clerked for the Court of Appeal for Saskatch-
ewan. Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1996; Saskatchewan Bar, 1994; LLM, University
of Toronto, 1995; LLB, University of Saskatchewan, 1992; BComm, University of
Saskatchewan – 1991.
Sandra L.
Barton
Gowling Lafleur
Henderson LLP
Tel: (416) 814-5674
Fax: (416) 862-7661
Toronto
Michael E.
Barrack
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
Tel: (416) 863-5280
Toronto
Derek J. Bell
Bennett
Jones LLP
Tel: (416) 777-4638
Fax: (416) 863-1716
Toronto
Brad Berg
Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP
Tel: (416) 863-4316
Toronto
sandra.barton@gowlings.com
michael.barrack@blakes.com
belld@bennettjones.com
brad.berg@blakes.com
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