66 Wellington St W, Suite 5300, TD Bank Twr, Toronto, ON
Year called to bar: 1982 (ON)
Senior counsel in the firm’s Technology Law group. Former leader of the firm’s Intellectual Property group. Recognized as one of Canada’s foremost authorities in information technology, copyright and IP, privacy, AI, and anti-spam law. Acts in connection with complex IT/IP transactions, such as outsourcings, cloud computing, military defense procurements, and in IT/IP litigation. Has argued numerous precedent-setting intellectual property and internet cases at all levels of courts including 10 Supreme Court of Canada cases. Author of numerous books, including the leading 8 volume treatise Computer, Internet and Electronic Commerce Law, Canadian and Copyright: Cases and Commentary on the Canadian and International Law, and Computer, Internet and E-Commerce Definitions. Consistently identified by numerous publications as one of Canada’s top information technology and intellectual property lawyers. Adjunct Professor of intellectual property at Osgoode Law School. Member of the PTIC Copyright Committee and on the advisory boards of IP Osgoode, MacDonald Laurier Institute (MLI) and ethics advisor to Digital Supercluser. Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1982. You can follow his blog at barrysookman.com.
Nortel Networks Corporation (Nortel Canada) is the Canadian parent company of what was one of the largest telecommunications businesses in the world. In early 2009, formal insolvency proceedings were commenced in Canada, the United States and England, among other places. Nortel’s worldwide business was liquidated through a number of Court-approved sales of its business units and a US$4.5-billion sale of its residual patents, resulting in US$7.3 billion of global sale proceeds to be allocated amongst the Nortel debtor companies in Canada, the United States and Europe.
On June 30, 2017, Stelco Inc. (Stelco), formerly U.S. Steel Canada Inc., emerged from Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA) proceedings through the implementation of a CCAA plan. This involved the compromise of more than $2 billion of debt and the restructuring of approximately $2 billion of pension and benefit obligations.
On September 1, 2015, Enbridge Inc. announced the closing of the transfer of its Canadian Liquids Pipelines business, comprised primarily of Enbridge Pipelines Inc. and Enbridge Pipelines Athabasca Inc., and certain Canadian renewable energy assets (the Transaction) to an indirect subsidiary of Enbridge Income Fund (the Fund) for $30.4 billion together with certain Incentive/Performance Rights. A joint special committee (the Special Committee) of the Board of Directors of Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (EIFH) and the Board of Trustees of Enbridge Commercial Trust (ECT) was formed to review and consider the Transaction, conduct due diligence and negotiate the terms of the Transaction on behalf of EIFH, the Fund and ECT.
