robert s. russell

ROBERT S. RUSSELL
Associé
T 416.367.6256
F 416.361.7060
Toronto
[email protected]
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/robe
rt-russell/15/bb6/199
Appel et révision
Aviation
Actions collectives
Respect de la vie privée et protection des données
Concurrence et examen des investissements
étrangers
Droit des affaires et droit des sociétés
Politique publique et relations gouvernementales
Technologies de l'information
Litige relatif au droit des sociétés et droit commercial
Fusions et acquisitions
Activités professionnelles
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Member, Canadian Bar Association,
American Bar Association and
International Bar Association
Rob Russell is the National Chair of the BLG Competition and Foreign Investment
Review Group. He has led some of the most significant cartel cases, abuse of
dominance proceedings and contested merger cases in Canada both for private sector
companies and for the Competition Bureau.
Member, Ontario Superior Court of
Justice Commercial List Users
Committee; Former Member,
Integrated Justice Steering
Committee
Rob has over 30 years' experience in Competition law. Throughout his career, Rob has
been involved in a large number of complex and contested merger reviews in a wide
variety of industries. In 1989, Rob completed the first ever complex merger review in
Canada after the introduction of merger control into Canada's Competition Act
(Amoco/Dome Petroleum). In 1997, he acted on behalf of the Competition Bureau in
leading one of the first significant contested mergers before the Competition Tribunal,
which established a number of legal precedents in the area that remain in force today
(Director v. Canadian Pacific). In 2007, he acted on behalf of Superior Propane in a
merger review in which the Competition Bureau for the first time accepted the
application of the efficiency defence to recognize offsetting efficiencies, in an acquisition
which resulted in a combined market share of over 80% (the acquisition of the propane
distribution assets of Irving).
Rob is also not a newcomer to the criminal law aspects of Competition law. Rob
obtained a Masters with distinction from King's College, University of London, for his
thesis on comparative cartel practice. He leads the most active and significant cartel
practice in Canada which has been cited as leading more cartel cases than all of the
other firms in Canada combined. He has been involved in over 30 criminal cartel cases
in the last decade, including some of the largest cartel cases in Canada (e.g., Air
Cargo, Air Passenger, Freight Forwarders, Foam, Auto Parts, RAM, CRT, LCD,
Concrete Forming, Gasoline, Ocean Shipping, Paper and Engineering Services), as
well as numerous cartel investigations in non-public matters. Rob has conducted
numerous investigations with a team that he developed of in-house forensic
investigators which is unique among Canadian competition practices, and he has led
the criminal defence for a number of significant corporate clients. In respect of the civil
matters aspects of his practice, Rob has led a number of abuse of dominance matters,
including acting for Reliance in the recent Tribunal proceedings in Water Heaters, and
acting for Loblaw in the ongoing investigation by the Bureau into its procurement
practices and policies.
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S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L.
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Clients for whom Rob has acted in competition matters include: Loblaw Companies (6
significant mergers or acquisitions including leading the $12 B acquisition of Shoppers
Drug Mart in 2014), George Weston (5 significant mergers or divestitures), Hewlett
Packard (a number of acquisitions and mergers including the $25 B acquisition of
Compaq), Marsh & McLennan, Canadian Airlines, British Airways, Deutshe Bahn,
Schenker, Air Products, New Balance, Toys R Us, Roxul, Husky, Institut Mérieux,
Monsanto, Scotts Company, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Oneworld, Reliance,
Scotia McLeod, Spar Aerospace, Hexion, Purdue Pharma, Schering-Plough, Merck,
Vitafoam, Apollo Global Management, Superior Propane, Sumitomo Electric and
Waste Management.
In 2001, Rob was retained by the Commissioner of Competition to provide a report and
legislative framework for amending the cartel provisions of the Competition Act, which
ultimately were reflected in the amendments to the Act in 2009. In 2002, Rob was
appointed as one of the two Canadian non-governmental advisers to the International
Competition Network for its inaugural conference held in Naples, Italy. Rob has also
testified on numerous occasions before Parliamentary and Senate Committees on
issues of competition law and policy.
Rob is active in the CBA, the ABA and is an officer of the IBA. He is known as one of
the low key, but determined and distinguished, competition law practitioners in Canada.
REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Loblaw Companies in respect of class proceedings by minority Class A
shareholders claiming oppression, conspiracy and breach of fiduciary duty for
damages exceeding $72 million, 2003.

Hewlett-Packard in respect of class proceedings regarding alleged defective
printers for damages exceeding $110 million, 2004.

A major technology services provider in respect of alleged negligence and
breach of contract relating to a major SAP implementation for damages
exceeding $20 million, 2004.

Weston Limited in respect of a commercial dispute regarding the divestiture of
E.B. Eddy for damages exceeding $42 million, 2005.

Future Shop in respect of a class action proceeding relating to allegedly
defective disk drives, 2001.

As senior competition law counsel, acted on both civil and criminal matters
under the Canadian Competition Act and appeared before the Canadian
Competition Tribunal on numerous occasions, acting on behalf of the Canadian
Competition Commissioner as well as private sector clients.

Acted for various private sector clients in many significant mergers in Canada,
including: the $4-billion acquisition of Dome Petroleum by Amoco to form
Canada's largest oil producer; the $2.2-billion acquisition of Provigo by
Loblaws to create Canada's largest supermarket chain; and the $40-billion
acquisition of Compaq by Hewlett-Packard.

Acted as Agent of the Attorney-General of Canada and counsel to the
Competition Commissioner in a number of matters including CP
Containers/Cast North America, Abitibi-Consolidated/Donohue Inc. and
Forzani.

Has been retained as a special advisor to the Canadian Commissioner of
Competition concerning proposed amendments to the Competition Act.
Avocats | Agents de brevets et de marques de commerce
© 2016 Borden Ladner Gervais
S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L.
(«BLG»). Tous droits réservés

Has frequently been invited to appear before a number of Canadian
Parliamentary Committees and the Canadian Senate in respect of competition
law reform.

Has appeared before the Competition Commission in the United Kingdom in
respect of the merger of Air Canada and Canadian Airlines.

Advising and representing clients with respect to criminal matters under the
Competition Act, such as conspiracy, bid-rigging, misleading advertising and
price maintenance.

Acted in major technology law transactions for clients including HewlettPackard, NEC, Amoco Canada, Loblaw Companies, Westons, Placer Dome,
British Airways, Barclays Bank, Marsh McLellan, B.C.E., Ryder, Holt Renfrew,
Gainers, Bramalea Limited, Institut Mérieux, Bliss & Laughlin Industries,
Carecor Health Services, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Simcoe & Erie Insurance,
Gerber Foods, Amdahl Canada, Atochem North America, Scepter
Manufacturing and Telecom - Telesat.

Advises clients with respect to advertising, packaging and labelling, tariffs and
trademarks, as well as representing clients with Consumer and Corporate
Affairs, Health Protection Branch and the Liquor Licence Board.
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

Contributing Editor, Corporate Litigation, Federated Press.

Frequent speaker on commercial litigation, cross-border litigation, class action
proceedings and litigation management, competition policy and law, including
for the annual Canadian Bar Association Conference on Competition Law, and
events hosted by the ECN, University of Toronto, Canadian High Commission
in London, England, and the Canadian Embassy in Paris, France.

Presenter, in-house seminars and audits for BLG clients on various topics,
including commercial litigation, class action proceedings, technology law,
advertising law, trademark law, competition and anti-trust law.
RANKINGS & RECOGNITIONS

Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition (and since 2010) of The
Best Lawyers in Canada® (Competition/Antitrust Law).

Recognized in the 2017 edition of Global Competition Review's GCR 100.​

Recognized in the 2016 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Competition Law).

Recognized in the 2016 edition of Who's Who Legal: Canada (Competition
Law).

Recognized in the 2013 edition of Chambers Global — The World’s Leading
Lawyers for Business (Competition/Antitrust: Litigators).

Martindale-Hubbell® BV® Distinguished™ 4.4 out of 5 Peer Review Rated.

Nominated in 2009 and in 2010 as BTI Client Service MVP. This nomination
recognizes “outstanding legal skills, extraordinary attention to client needs and
noteworthy responsiveness to Fortune 1000 organizations with highly
Avocats | Agents de brevets et de marques de commerce
© 2016 Borden Ladner Gervais
S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L.
(«BLG»). Tous droits réservés
personalized strategic advice and a willingness to go above and beyond the
call of duty.”
À PROPOS DE BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L
Borden Ladner Gervais S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L. (BLG) est un grand cabinet juridique canadien
qui offre à ses clients une gamme complète de services, principalement en droit des
affaires, litige commercial et arbitrage ainsi que propriété intellectuelle. BLG est l’un des
premiers cabinets juridiques en importance au pays; il compte plus de 725 avocats,
agents de propriété intellectuelle et autres professionnels dans 5 grandes villes du
Canada. BLG répond aux besoins de ses clients, que ce soit en matière de litige, de
financement ou d’enregistrement de brevets et de marques de commerce.
Avocats | Agents de brevets et de marques de commerce
© 2016 Borden Ladner Gervais
S.E.N.C.R.L., S.R.L.
(«BLG»). Tous droits réservés