Canadian COMPETITION & ANTITRUST LAW

STEVE SZENTESI

Steve Szentesi advises domestic and foreign business clients in a wide range of matters involving competition/antitrust law and foreign investment law.  He advises individuals and organizations on how to comply with laws and regulations in these areas and also provides counsel to clients in civil proceedings and regulatory proceedings involving the Competition Bureau of Canada and other such enforcement bodies.  He counsels clients in matters involving allegations such as price fixing, abuse of dominance, and misleading advertising, and he has worked on hundreds of domestic and cross-border competition law matters.

He has practised competition and international trade law at several leading Canadian and international business law firms including Lang Michener (Vancouver), Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg (Toronto) and Linklaters (London, U.K.).  His academic work includes three years as adjunct professor of competition law at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law.  He also served as in-house competition law counsel for The Canadian Real Estate Association in Ottawa, one of Canada’s largest single industry trade associations, during which he provided competition law and compliance advice to CREA and its approximately 100+ member real estate boards and associations across Canada.  He has published widely in the competition law field for the past eleven years and is a frequent guest speaker at conferences and industry events.  He has a particular interest in the application of Canadian competition law to trade and professional associations and is the co-author of The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada (Carswell, 2012).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Hakemi & Company Law Corporation
1500 – 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
V6C 3E8

www.hakemi.com

Steve Szentesi

Tel: 604 601 2020 (main)
Tel: 604 601 2047 (direct)
Tel: 778 867 5558 (mobile)
Tel: 604 648 9170 (fax)
E-mail: sszentesi@hakemi.com

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Agriculture, airlines, architectural woodworking, associations, broadcasting, cat food, cement, computers, computer hardware, construction materials, copper mining, defence procurement, diamonds, digital media, direct marketing, dog food, energy, financial services, float plane airlines, floor plan finance, forestry, gaming, gem polishing, gold mining, grain elevators, hedge funds, insurance, LCD monitors, manufacturing, media, mining, news wire services, online contests, online gaming, pet food, pharmacies, port terminal grain handling facilities, potash, printing, rail, real estate, real estate self-storage, real estate boards, real estate services, retail, retail books, satellite communications, silver mining, social media, software, stock exchange services, telecommunications, telemarketing, theatre exhibition and film distribution, trade associations, trailer leasing, transportation and vitamins.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Representative Matters and Projects

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Presentations and Speaking Engagements

PUBLICATIONS

Publications

RECENT MEDIA

Recent Media

TOM HAKEMI

Tom Hakemi is experienced in advising individuals, public and private companies, and professional organizations in a broad range of commercial civil litigation matters and government investigations.  He has represented clients before courts and regulatory agencies in Canada and in the United States, such as the British Columbia Securities Commission and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He has represented clients in arbitrations before various tribunals, including the American Arbitration Association and the National Association of Securities Dealers. He advises clients before disputes materialize and throughout mediation, litigation and appeals.

He is admitted to practice in British Columbia and in New York. He has served as an adjunct professor of law and lectures at the University of British Columbia.  He is Co-Chair of the Civil Litigation Section of the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch.  Prior to establishing Hakemi & Company, he practiced at firms such as Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York City and Lang Michener LLP in Vancouver.

For more information about Tom Hakemi’s practice and experience see: Professional Biography – Tom Hakemi.  Visit his litigation blog at: Litigation Brief.

JOEL HILL

Joel Hill has represented clients before all levels of court in British Columbia, in matters relating to defamation, wrongful dismissal, bankruptcy, privacy and freedom of information, shareholder and contractual disputes, and the enforcement of judgments and collection of debts.  He also advises clients in mediations and arbitrations, as well as in proceedings involving administrative tribunals including as the BC Securities Commission, Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner, Human Rights Tribunal, and Employment Standards Tribunal.   He drafts and reviews privacy policies and employment and consulting agreements, and has acted for individuals and businesses from across Canada, the United States, and Latin America.

Before being called to the bar of British Columbia, Joel worked for eBay, Statistics Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency.  Prior to joining Hakemi & Company, he articled and practiced law at Lang Michener LLP in Vancouver.

Industry Experience

Aircraft manufacturing, automotive leasing, computer consulting, construction, contests, copper mining, defence procurement, diamonds, film, financial services, forestry, franchisees, gaming, gold mining, horse racing, hospital services, insurance, media, mineral exploration, mining, mutual funds, pet grooming, real estate, stock exchange services, telemarketing, trailer leasing, transportation, trucking, website design and digital media.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Defamation

• Obtaining court orders requiring websites and internet service providers (ISPs) to identify anonymous online authors, remove offensive comments, and restraining individuals from continuing to post.
• Prosecuting and defending claims for libel and slander.

Employment and Wrongful Dismissal

• Drafting and reviewing employment and consulting agreements to minimize a client’s exposure to liability.
• Acting for employers and employees in claims for wrongful dismissal, termination, and layoff.

Bankruptcy:
 Obtaining a bankrupt’s discharge

• Making and resisting applications to set aside fraudulent conveyances, fraudulent preferences, and transactions at undervalue.

Privacy and Freedom of Information

• Drafting and reviewing privacy policies to ensure a business complies with federal and provincial law.
• Making and resisting freedom of information requests.

Shareholder Disputes

• Removing directors and forcing out partners and co-owners.
• Negotiating shotgun sales of a business.

Contract Enforcement and Debt Collection

• Registering and enforcing extra-provincial and foreign judgment in British Columbia.
Conducting and opposing examinations and depositions under letters rogatory and letters of request.
• Obtaining orders garnishing bank account and injunctions freezing assets.
Filing and obtaining the removal of liens and certificates of pending litigation against real estate.
• Supervising the seizure and sale of property.

NICK ELLEGOOD

Nick Ellegood advises individuals and organizations in a variety of commercial litigation and employment law matters. He has advised clients on matters before all levels of court in B.C., and has assisted on matters before courts in jurisdictions throughout Canada. He has also advised clients in arbitrations and mediations, as well as before regulatory agencies, including the British Columbia Securities Commission, Environmental Appeal Board, the B.C. Utilities Commission, and the Passenger Transportation Board.  Prior to joining Hakemi & Company, he practiced at Lawson Lundell LLP in Vancouver.

Education

• University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
• LL.B.
- University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
• B. Comm. (Marketing)

Memberships

• Vancouver Bar Association
• Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch

LISA RIDGEDALE

Lisa Ridgedale, who we work in association with, provides legal services in the areas of securities, corporate, commercial, criminal and financial services litigation for individuals, private and public companies and public authorities.  She regularly acts for clients across Canada, the United States and Europe.

Lisa has proven experience in all levels of court in British Columbia and Washington State, as well as several administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies.

Lisa’s practice specializes in the following areas, serving individuals, companies and organizations in the private and public sectors: securities litigation, regulatory enforcement proceedings, contract disputes, business valuation disputes, cross-border litigation, professional negligence, fraud/breach of fiduciary duty, real estate disputes, commercial crime, defamation, shareholder disputes and arbitration and mediation.

CONSULTANTS

We work with other lawyers, economists and consultants from time-to-time on specific projects, including the consultants listed below.

DR. DEREK IRELAND

Derek Ireland is an Ottawa based economist and consultant, who works on projects with our firm from time-to-time. Derek has a BA in Economics and Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia and an MA in Economics from Carleton University, which he received in the mid-1970s. He returned to university in the Fall of 2003, and received his PhD in Public Policy from Carleton University in Ottawa Canada in February 2009. His PhD research and dissertation focused on the development of competition policy, law and institutions in developing and emerging market economies – with emphasis on the evolution of competition policy and law in India and the role of the country’s business groups and other informal business institutions and arrangements in shaping India’s competition regimes.

Dr. Ireland has worked as an economist, policy analyst and manager in the Canadian public and private sectors for 40 years.  His current research and consulting studies are emphasizing how recent advances in economic theory can be applied in order to better understand public policy issues and challenges in such areas as competition, consumer and innovation policies and regulatory reform, implementation and impact analysis in both advanced and developing countries.

Over the past three years, Dr. Ireland has made a number of presentations to Canadian and international conferences and was joint author of a number of articles that appeared in publications including recent editions of “How Ottawa Spends” of Carleton University.  In October 2009, he presented a paper on “Merger Review and the Dangers of the Two-firm Local Nexus Criterion: Implications for Developing Countries” to the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Law and Economics Association in Toronto.  In November 2009, he presented a related paper on “Merger Regulation in Developing Economies” to the International Conference on Competition Law in New Delhi India.  Manish Agarwal, an economist from India who recently received his PhD in Business and Management from the University of South Australia in Adelaide, was the co-author of the first paper and an important contributor to the second paper, which was published in the Conference proceedings.

In October 2010, Dr. Ireland presented a paper on “Competition Policy and Law in Asia’s Emerging Markets” to the Canadian Asian Studies Association Conference held in Ottawa; and in September 2011 he presented a paper on “Business Groups and Competition Policy and Law” to the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Law and Economics Association Meeting.  An expanded version of the second paper will appear quite soon in the Indian journal “Developing World Review on Trade & Competition”.

The articles that he co-authored for “How Ottawa Spends” were on “The Canadian Escape from the Subprime Crisis” for the 2010-2011 edition; and on “Regulatory Agency Budget Cuts” for the 2011-2012 edition.  A third article on the “Rise and Fall of Regulatory Regimes: Extending the Life-Cycle Approach” will appear in the 2012-2013 edition.  The article on the subprime mortgage crisis provided the basis for a presentation that Dr. Ireland was invited to make, following an international competition, to the second CUTS-CIRC Conference on Economic Regulation held in New Delhi in April 2011.  This paper will appear in a book that will result from the Conference.  In addition, during the summer of 2011, Dr. Ireland was co-author of two research papers on the implementation of regulations prepared for the Red Tape Reduction Commission, which published its final report in January 2012.

From August to December 2011, Dr. Ireland was Team Leader of a consulting team that worked with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat to improve the design and enforcement of competition policy and law across SADC’s 15 member states.  This consulting assignment, which was funded by the European Union, was conducted for the most part at the SADC Secretariat in Gaborone Botswana.  Priority was given to the preparation of short documents on international and SADC best practices to assist the ten member states with operational competition laws to enhance their enforcement practices and analytical methods on the competition law issues and provisions that are most important to them.

Dr. Ireland would be happy to discuss his research with any of the readers of this website. His Email address is djirel@sympatico.ca.