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gshaw@casselsbrock.com

Telephone: 416 869 5982
Fax: 416 350 6916

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
2100 Scotia Plaza
40 King Street West
Toronto, ON M5H 3C2
Canada

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Geoffrey B. Shaw

Geoff is a partner in the commercial litigation department where the main focus of his practice is the resolution of business disputes through trial, appeal, mediation or arbitration. Geoff has several specialties including: franchise litigation, professional liability for accountants and financial advisors, securities regulatory work, and income tax litigation. Geoff has over 40 reported decisions and rulings in these areas. A few of his notable cases include:

  • Clearing chartered accountants of liability to numerous clients for the failure to file.
  • Successfully acting for brokers and traders on investigations and hearings before the Ontario Securities Commission regarding alleged insider trading and non-registered trading in securities.
  • Acting for a number of franchisors to successfully restrict departing franchisees from doing franchise business in a restricted geographical region contrary to their non-competition covenants.
  • Defending franchisors in class proceedings.

Geoff is a past instructor at the Bar Admission Course - Civil Procedures Section and Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop - Osgoode Hall Law School in the area of expert testimony and cross-examinations. He is a guest lecturer at the Franchise Law Course of the University of Western Ontario Law School. Geoff is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) Legal Symposium Task Force, and regularly speaks and contributes articles in the area of franchise law.

Geoff is an entirely “home grown” product having articled and practised at Cassels since his call to the bar in 1986. He completed three years of commerce and finance with distinction at the University of Toronto before graduating from law school at Queen’s University in 1984. Geoff graduated from the LL.M. program at Osgoode in 2011, with a focus on alternative dispute resolution.

Education

LL.B., Queen's University, 1984
LL.M., Osgoode Hall Law School, 2011

Achievements

  • Who's Who Legal: Canada 2011 (Franchise)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Franchise Law)
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2011 (Franchising Law)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2011 (Franchise Law)
  • Who's Who Legal: Canada 2010 (Franchise)
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2010 (Franchising Law)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2010 (Franchise Law)
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2009 (Franchising Law)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2009 (Franchise Law)
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2008 (Franchising Law)
  • The Best Lawyers in Canada 2008 (Franchise Law)
  • Martindale-Hubbell, BV DistinguishedTM rating
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2007 (Franchising Law)
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2006 (Franchising Law)

Call to the bar

Ontario, 1986

Associations

  • The Advocates' Society
  • American Bar Association/Forum on Franchising
  • American Trial Lawyers Association
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Canadian Franchise Association
  • Canadian Tax Foundation
  • Ontario Bar Association (Taxation Section Executive Committee Member 1995-1996)
  • Toronto Lawyers Association

Practice Areas


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Newsletters


Franchise Law e-COMMUNIQUÉ – February 2012
  1. Existing Franchisees With A Right of First Refusal Must Actually Exercise That Right In Order To Trigger Franchise Disclosure Obligations
  2. Federal Court Holds That Intellectual Property Rights Do Not Automatically Transfer In An Asset Sale
  3. Recent Ontario Court Decision Outlines The Limitation Period For Rescission Claims Under Ontario’s Franchise Legislation
  4. The New Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act: What It Might Mean for Your Franchise System’s Ad Fund
  5. Saskatchewan Court Finds Franchisor Waived Arbitral Termination Decision By Its Post-Termination Conduct
  6. A Discrepancy Between Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement Causes Alberta Court to Deny Enforcement of Non-Competition Clause
  7. What We're Up To (Winter And Spring 2012)

Franchise Law e-COMMUNIQUÉ – October 2011
  1. Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissal of a Proposed Class Action Involving Franchise Disclosure
  2. Recent Decision of the Manitoba Appeal Commission Is a Disturbing Precedent for Franchisors Being Viewed as Employers for the Purposes of Worker’s Compensation
  3. Cassels Brock at the Forefront of Franchise Education – Restaurant Finance & Development Conference (Las Vegas) and Franchising for Dummies Seminars at Cassels Brock (Toronto)
  4. Ontario Superior Court of Justice Balances Franchisor and Franchisee Interests in Denying an Injunction
  5. Are You Ready? Customer Service Accessibility Standards Become Effective on January 1, 2012
  6. What We're Up To (Fall 2011)

Know When to Hold ‘em, Know When to Fold ‘em: Client Information You Can Be Required to Disclose to the CRA

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