He spent nearly 24 years at McCarthy Tetrault as co-chair of international arbitration practice
Commercial trial lawyer Junior Sirivar has joined Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP as a partner in its litigation and dispute resolution group.
He will advise on high-stakes commercial litigation and arbitration matters from the firm’s Toronto office.
“We are thrilled to welcome Junior to Blakes. His exceptional skill as a commercial litigator, combined with his reputation as a leading arbitration counsel, adds significant bench strength to our market-leading Litigation & Dispute Resolution team,” Blakes chair Geoff Belsher said in a statement.
Sirivar has tackled complex disputes for more than 20 years on behalf of domestic and international clients. He has been retained regularly as lead counsel in international arbitrations involving investor-state disputes.
He has handled matters in the financial services, mining, telecommunications and healthcare sectors. Moreover, he has worked on issues in the Canadian, South American and the European Union jurisdictions.
Sirivar has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario. He has also served as a seasonal lecturer on trial advocacy and legal ethics at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Before transitioning to Blakes, Sirivar spent nearly 24 years at McCarthy Tetrault, where he was co-chair of its international arbitration practice. He was a partner at the firm for 15 years, as per LinkedIn.
He is an American College of Trial Lawyers Fellow and is an honorary member of English and Welsh Bar specialist association COMBAR, which brings together commercial barristers assisting the international business community.
At present, Sirivar is vice chair of the Bishop’s University board of governors.
Earlier this month, Blakes also announced the promotion of 18 lawyers to partner across its Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Montréal offices. The promotions bolstered several of the firm’s practice areas, including financial services, business crimes, investigations and compliance, employment and labour, tax, and commercial real estate.
