ian j. houston

IAN J. HOUSTON
Associé
T 416.367.6111
F 416.361.2742
Toronto
[email protected]
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/ianhouston/6/a2/10a
Infrastructures
Construction
Approvisionnement
Énergie
Droit minier
Droit de la santé
Réaménagement des immobilisations, financement et approvisionnement
Droit municipal et autres services gouvernementaux
Formation / Admission au Barreau
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
LLB, Queen's University, 1988
Ian Houston is the Former National Practice Group Leader and a partner in our BLG's Construction Group. He is also a member of the Public-Private Infrastructure Projects
Group, the Health Sector Services Focus Group and the International Construction
Projects Group. Ian is a Certified Specialist in Construction Law by the Law Society of
Upper Canada.
Ontario, 1990
Activités professionnelles
Fellow, Canadian College of
Construction Lawyers
Executive Committee Member:
Canadian Bar Association,
Construction Section, Ontario Bar
Association, Construction Section
Member, American Bar Association,
Construction Law Forum
Ian has specialized in construction, procurement and surety from the beginning of his
career, and devotes his entire practice to those areas. His practice ranges from
providing commercial law advice on contractual and procurement issues to assisting
clients in resolving disputes through litigation or alternative dispute resolution methods.
REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Representing developers, owners, LDCs contractors, engineering firms and
others in respect of all forms of renewable and non-renewable energy projects
including, without limitation, natural gas, CHP, hydro, wind, solar, landfill gas,
coal, energy from waste, biomass, nuclear, oil and orimulsion, in respect of
construction and procurement law issues.

Providing procurement law advice to public and private entities, including
drafting RFPs, RFQs and other forms of tender documents, and providing
ongoing advice throughout the procurement process and with respect to the
resolution of procurement disputes.

Representing broader public sector entities such as hospitals and educational institutions in respect of major construction and infrastructure projects,
including providing advice in respect of construction agreements, OHSA
issues, claims avoidance, and resolution of construction claims.

Representing owners, lenders, design-builders and other entities in respect of
public-private partnerships (P3) and Alternate Finance and Procurement (AFP)
projects across Canada.

Negotiating, drafting and reviewing of various forms of commercial agreements
such as construction contracts, project agreements, P3 agreements,
architectural services agreements, engineering agreements, lending
Member, The Advocates' Society and
Toronto Construction Association
Affiliate Member, Canadian Surety
Association, Canadian Council on
Public-Private Partnerships and
Canadian Nuclear Law Organization
Member, Canadian Nuclear Law
Organization
Member, International Nuclear Law
Organization
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agreements, and operation and maintenance agreements.

Representing owners, developers, engineering firms and others in respect of
major mining projects including drafting procurement documents, EPC, EPCM
and all other form of constructions documents.

Representing owners, contractors, subcontractors and engineers in relation to
prosecuting or defending a wide variety of construction related claims.

Providing legal advice for banks and other lending institutions with respect to
construction projects, including mortgage liability and trust liability under The
Construction Lien Act.

Advising surety companies with respect to a wide variety of issues arising out
of surety bonding, including defence of surety bond claims, negotiating and
drafting commercial agreements such as completion agreements, mitigation
agreements and forbearance agreements, providing opinions regarding
coverage issues, and participating in alternate dispute resolution.
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Publications

Author, "Contract administration liability," Electrical Business, July 2014.

Author, "Key considerations in equipment supply agreements," Electrical
Business, March 2014.

Author, "Whose Design Is It Anyways?," Electrical Business, January 2014.

Author, "Termination Clauses De-Mystified," Electrical Business, September
2013.

Author, "Weasel Clauses for the Non-Weasel," Electrical Business, July 2013.

Author, "The Evolution of the Procurement Process for Public and Private
Companies," Public Sector Digest, June 2013.

Author, "Integ​rated Project Delivery (IPD) and Building Information Modeling
(BIM): Legal Implications," Building & Construction Canada, 2013.

Author, "Key Considerations in the Procurement of Hospital Design Services,"
The Lawyers Weekly, 2012.

Author, "Construct Consultant Contracts Carefully," The Lawyers Weekly, April
2012 (with Richard Shaban).

Author, "Performance Security," chapter in Deskbook to be published by the
Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, 2013.

Author, "An Overview of Procurement Law in Canada" (with G. Stobo and M.R.
Alter for Chambers and Partners, London), 2013. 
Author, "Use of Subcontractor Default Insurance During the Global Financial
Crisis – A Practitioner's Perspective," Journal of the Canadian College of
Construction Lawyers, 2011.

Author, "Securing Payment and Performance on International Projects,"
International Construction Law, American Bar Association, 2009; Also
published in Journal of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers (with
M.R. Alter).
Presentations
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
Co-chair and Course Leader, "New Procurement: Critical Developments from
Process to Practice," Lexpert®, October, 2015 
Speaker, "Inclusion/Piggyback Clauses," Ontario Procurement Management
Association Spring Conference, June 2015.

Speaker, “New Procurement: Critical Developments from Process to Practice"
Lexpert®, October 2014.

​Speaker, "Bonds and Default Insurance," Lexpert®: Latest Developments in Canadian Construction Insurance Law: New Ways to Manage Risk and Avoid
Liability, June 2014.

Speaker, "Project Delivery Methods and Pricing Models," Osgoode
Construction Law Certificate Course, November 2013.

Speaker, "An Introduction to Construction Insurance and Surety Bonding,"
Centre for Construction and Engineering Technologies, George Brown
College, September 2013.

Speaker, "Procurement in Practice: Avoiding the Pitfalls," Lexpert®, June 2013.

Speaker, "Canadian Construction Insurance Law: A Roadmap to Risk
Management," Lexpert®, June 2013.

Speaker, "Project Delivery Methods and Pricing Options," Construction Best
Practices conference, Informa Canada, November 2012.

Speaker, "Alternative Procurement Approaches to Finalizing Contract B,"
Canadian Bar Association 2012 Construction Law Conference, September
2012.

Co-Chair and Speaker, "Procurement Document Drafting Took Kit," Lexpert®: Tendering and Procurement Conference Series, June 2012.

Speaker, "Risk Management for Major Projects," Commercial and Legal
Developments in Construction Conference, Informex, January 2012.

Speaker, "Project Delivery Methods and Pricing Models," Osgoode Certificate
in Construction Program, November 2012, and "CCDC 5A and 5B, An
Overview," November 2011.

Speaker, "Claims Management," Presentation to SNC-Lavalin Inc., September
2011.

Speaker, "Advanced Bonding and Sureties Issues," Best Practices, Managing
Risk, Emerging Trends 4th Annual Conference Construction Law, Osgoode
Hall Law School, February 2011.

Speaker, "Risk Management in Public Procurement," 8th Annual Canadian
Institute Legal & Business Guide to Public Procurement, January 2011.

Speaker, "Surety Bonds," Osgoode Hall Law School, September 2010.

Speaker, "Tercon: Changing the Face of Tendering in Canada" and Panel
Chair, "Managing Tender Risks," The Canadian Institute, June 2010.

Speaker, "Key Considerations in EPC and Major Equipment Supply
Agreements," Lexpert/BLG Course: Developing Renewable Generation
Projects, May 2010.

Co-Chair, "Construction Law Dinner Program – Practical and Creative
Approaches to Construction ADR," Ontario Bar Association, May 2010.
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
Speaker, "Drafting Key Provisions in Procurement Documents," Lexpert®/BLG Course: Tendering and Procurement, May 2010.
Lectures

"Surety Bonds," Annual lecture to University of Toronto Law School and
University of Toronto School of Architecture.

"Surety Bonds," Lecture to Osgoode Hall Law School Real Estate LLM
Program.

"Introduction to Bonding and Introduction to Insurance, Annual lecture to
George Brown College.
RANKINGS & RECOGNITIONS

Recognized in the 2017 edition of Chambers Canada – Canada’s Leading
Lawyers for Business (Construction)

Recognized in the 2016 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Construction Law).

Recognized in the 2016 edition of Benchmark Canada - The Definitive Guide to
Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as a "Local Litigation Star:
Ontario and a "Litigation Star: Construction".

Recognized in the 2016 edition of Chambers Canada – Canada's Leading
Lawyers for Business (Construction (Band 3) and Public Procurement (Band 3)).

Recognized in the 2015 edition of Chambers Global – The World's Leading
Lawyers for Business (Public Procurement).

"Sources praise Ian Houston for being "very sensible and good to
work with." He advises a range of different procurement participants
on issues ranging from disputes through to document drafting and
related transactions."

Recognized as a leading lawyer in energy: power, and public procurement in
the 2016 and 2015 editions of The Legal 500 Canada.

Recognized as a leading Canadian lawyer in global mining in the 2016, 2015,
2014 and 2013 editions of the Lexpert® Special Edition on Global Mining.

Recommended in the 2015 editions of the Lexpert®/Report on Business Special Edition on Energy.

Recognized as a leading infrastructure lawyer in the 2016, 2015 and 2013 editions of the Lexpert® Special Edition on Infrastructure.

Recognized in the 2016 edition of Who's Who Legal: Canada (Government
Contracts and Construction).

Recognized in the 2017 edition of Who's Who Legal - Compendium Edition
(Government Contracts and Construction).

Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2016, 2015 and 2014 editions of The
Best Lawyers in Canada® (Construction Law, Public Procurement).

Recognized in the 2015, 2014 and 2013 editions of The Canadian Legal
Lexpert® Directory (Construction Law).

Designated as a Certified Specialist in Construction Law by the Law Society of
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Upper Canada.
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