As
the senior partner in his firm, Paul is a leading constitutional, labour and
administrative law lawyer, arguing significant cases before the Supreme Court
of Canada, the Courts of Ontario, and labour and administrative tribunals.
Paul
was appointed by Associate Chief Justice
Dennis O'Connor to act as lead
commission counsel to the Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of Canadian
Officials in Relation to Maher Arar. Previously, Paul acted as lead commission
counsel in the Walkerton Inquiry. In this role, Paul was responsible for
ensuring all necessary evidence was brought forward to determine the cause of
the May, 2000 e coli water supply crisis.
Paul
has also recently acted for parties before other public inquiries such as the
Air India Inquiry and the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario.
More
recently, Paul has been appointed by the Federal Minister of Justice to act as
a Special Advocate in security certificate cases. In this regard, Paul acts as counsel
representing the interests of persons alleged to be threats to the national
security of Canada in top
secret hearings before the Federal Court of Canada in Ottawa.
Paul’s role is to ensure that the top secret evidence relied upon by the
government is reliable and that as much information as possible is released to
the named person so that he is given an opportunity to defend against the
allegations. Paul is presently acting in
two security certificate cases which have been ongoing since February 2008.
Although
Paul has been thoroughly engaged in these public interest roles since 2000, he
has continued in his private practice representing his clients in important
cases before the courts. For example, in
the last year he has argued two very significant cases before the Supreme Court
of Canada - one dealing with the liability of crown attorneys prosecuting
criminal cases and the other dealing with the right of farm workers to bargain
collectively under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Both of these cases will have a significant
effect upon the development of the law in Canada.
In
the education law field , Paul has been extensively involved in constitutional
litigation over educational and denominational school rights. This includes
cases such as the extension of full funding to Roman Catholic Separate Schools
and defeating the Ontario Government's 1997 injunction application to force
striking teachers back to work under Bill 160.
As
an advocate and advisor on legal and public policy issues, Paul has provided
advice and representation to trade unions, professional organizations, and
governments concerning law reform issues. In the area of sports law, he has
represented the Major League Baseball Players Association, National Basketball
Players' Association, and the National Basketball Association Referees' Union and the National Hockey League Players Association.
Paul also has extensive experience in mediation and alternative dispute
resolution.
In
the area of International Law, Paul has been an invited expert at international
conferences on labour-management relations in Canada,
the U.S., and Mexico under
NAFTA and the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) as well as
representing clients before the International Labour Organization. Because of his role as lead commission
counsel to the Arar Inquiry, Paul has been asked to appear before American,
British and European legislative committees.
In
addition to lecturing part-time at Osgoode
Hall Law
School on administrative
law and judicial review and authoring legal articles, Paul makes frequent
presentations on legal issues at the provincial, national, and international
level.
Paul
is a member of the American Colleges of Trial Lawyers, the Advocates Society,
the Canadian Bar Association and the Canadian Association of Labour
Lawyers. He has also received the Law
Society Medal from the Law Society of Upper Canada which recognized his
significant contributions to the legal profession and the practice of law.
Paul
is consistently rated as one of the leading lawyers in Canada in guides such as Lexpert/American
Lawyer: Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada;
The Best Lawyers in Canada;
Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers.