Academic Qualifications:

The Honourable Dennis O’Connor, Q.C., is counsel to the Toronto Office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. He sat on the Court of Appeal for Ontario from 1998 to 2012. He was the Associate Chief Justice from 2001 until his retirement. While on the bench he wrote numerous reported judgments dealing with a wide variety of issues including commercial, securities and insurance law. He also conducted two successful public inquiries: The Walkerton Inquiry (2000-02) and the Maher Arar Inquiry (2004-06).

For the 18 years before his appointment to the Court of Appeal, Dennis was a senior counsel with the law firm of Borden & Elliot (a predecessor firm of Borden Ladner Gervais).His practice focused on commercial and public law litigation.He appeared as lead counsel on many major cases in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada during that time.

Professional Memberships:

Dennis attended Osgoode Hall Law School (LLB 1964). He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1966. He served as Magistrate in Yukon Territory from 1973 to 1976. He was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Western Ontario from 1976 to 1980 and a part time faculty member of Osgoode Hall Law School from 1982 to 1986.

Dennis was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1980. He acted as Chief Negotiator for the Yukon Indian Land Claim from 1980 to 1984. He was an elected bencher at the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1987 to 1995.

Dennis was elected a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1991. He has been awarded six honourary degrees.

Arbitration Experience:

Since his retirement from the Bench, Dennis has conducted several arbitrations and mediations primarily relating to commercial disputes.