Our Litigation group represents the firm’s clients in all areas of the law, including labour, employment and human resources matters, pension matters, class action proceedings, administrative law and appellate advocacy. Our reputation as effective advocates for our clients has been earned from numerous representations before labour arbitration boards and other administrative tribunals such as the Human Rights Commission, Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal, Pay Equity Tribunal and Financial Services Tribunal, and regular appearances as counsel before the Ontario Divisional Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Federal Court in civil actions, injunctions, judicial review and appellate proceedings.

The Hicks Morley advantage

The labour and employment field has traditionally required a range of advocacy, from labour relations board and arbitration hearings, to wrongful dismissal proceedings, to pension and benefits class actions.  We have used the skills and expertise developed as Canada’s leading human resources law firm to become an advocacy group capable of meeting all of our litigation clients’ needs. Our litigation clients benefit from the full depth of our firm’s experience, knowledge and expertise.

In addition, through our work in specialized sectors – such as healthcare, police services and education – we are able to apply our 360-degree knowledge of these sectors to any litigation we undertake.

Notables

• Range:  The range of matters that we have appeared on is as diverse as our practice areas and includes human rights and Charter litigation, employment litigation, pension and benefits disputes, health and safety prosecutions, special education hearings, insolvency proceedings, class actions, disciplinary proceedings, privacy and access to information issues and appellate advocacy.
• Resolutions:  Our experience within the labour and employment field has honed our skills in terms of dispute resolution. We are well placed to apply these resolution skills within our litigation practice to resolve issues in a cost- effective manner, without incurring the costs of trials and appeals unless truly necessary.
• Representation:  When necessary, the members of our Litigation group have the skills and experience to effectively represent clients before all levels of court and a wide variety of administrative boards and tribunals.  Another advantage of our labour and employment roots – our lawyers are experienced and effective on their feet.
• Results:  We have achieved many successful outcomes for our litigation clients with many resulting in precedent-setting decisions:
  • Acted as lead pension counsel on the two-and-a-half-year Stelco restructuring under the federal Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).
  • Represented the University of Toronto in its mediation for a renewed Memorandum of Agreement with the University of Toronto Faculty Association.
  • Successfully negotiated a settlement in one of the largest retiree benefits class action lawsuits in Canada – involving over 50,000 former government employees.
  • Acted for Seneca College against OPSEU in its successful litigation (Ontario Public Service Employees Union v. Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology (2006), 80 O.R. (3d) 1) on the scope of an arbitrator’s authority to award aggravated and punitive damages under a collective agreement.
  • Acted as counsel for Royal Bank of Canada in the dismissal of a human rights complaint brought on behalf of approximately 800 long-service female employees alleging discrimination under the Bank’s pension plan.  (Sugimoto v. Royal Bank of Canada, [2007] C.H.R.D. No. 5.)