Steven H. Leitl
Partner
Steve Leitl’s practice covers a broad range of commercial litigation matters, particularly in the areas of securities, mergers and acquisition, directors and officers’ liability, class actions and insolvency.
Mr. Leitl has conducted proceedings in the courts of Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Canada (Federal Court) and appeals in the Ontario Court of Appeal and Alberta Court of Appeal. He has conducted commercial arbitrations and proceedings before the Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba Securities commissions.
Mr. Leitl is a regular speaker and writer on issues pertaining to securities litigation, insolvency and class actions.
Year of call
Alberta 1997
Ontario 1988
Law school
LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, 1986
Selected client work
Mr. Leitl has acted recently for the following clients:
- A special investigator appointed by the board of a public company in an investigation of alleged corporate governance violations
- A foreign state-owned entity regarding a challenge to the jurisdiction of the Ontario courts
- A foreign government in a challenge to a claim based on sovereign immunity (Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick)
- A public company and several directors/officers in defence to parallel US and Canadian securities class actions
- A public company regarding an internal investigation of possible insider trading
- A public company regarding an internal investigation of possible fraud and environmental exposure
- Defendants in various class actions
- Corporations in various oppression and dissenting shareholder fair value proceedings
- Parties in poison pill hearings
- Various receivers and monitors in insolvency proceedings
Publications
- “Case Comment: The Jurisdiction Motion in Bellefontaine v. Purdue Frederick Inc” (co-author), Class Action, Vol. III, No. 3, 2011.
- Class Action Journal, Federated Press Inc., November 2010.
- “Case Comment: Pro-Sys Consultants Ltd. v. Infineon Technologies AG - The square peg and the round hole,” Commercial Litigation Journal, fall 2008.
- “Alberta’s Class Action Cost Regime” (co-author), paper presented to the Osgoode Hall 4th National Symposium on Class Actions, April 2007.
- “Intersection Between ISDA® Agreements and Recent Bankruptcy Decisions in the U.S. and Canada.”
- “Suspension of Limitation Periods In Class Proceedings: Plaintiffs Beware.”
- “Certification of Class Actions in Alberta.”
- “Certification of Class Actions: The Alberta Perspective” (co-author), Preparing for Class Actions conference, Insight Information Co., 2002.
Speaking engagements
- 7th Annual Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Course, Federated Press, Calgary, Alberta, April 2011.
- 11th Annual National Forum on Class Actions Litigation, The Canadian Institute, September 2010.
- “Shareholder Rights, Disputes and Remedies,” Insight Conference, 2008.
- “Legal update on Poison Pills in Canada,” Insight Conference, 2008.
- “Managing Class Actions,” Federated Press Conference, 2008.
- Chair, Conference on Securities Litigation, 2006.
- IECA Conference, 2005.
- Insolvency Law, Insight Conference, 2005.
Media highlights
- “Clash Actions,” courtesy of National, the magazine of the Canadian Bar Association, May 2005.
Rankings and recognitions
- Benchmark Canada, 2012-2013 - recognized as a local litigation star in Alberta; Litigation star in Canada in Insolvency, Arbitration and Class Action
- Best Lawyers in Canada, 2011-2013 - Class Action Litigation
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2011-2012: recommended in Litigation - Directors’ & Officers’ Liability and Litigation - Securities
- Supporting partner behind the Zenith award winning “Ride for Kids” fundraiser - LEXPERT article
Memberships and activities
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Law Society of Upper Canada
- Law Society of Alberta
- Board of Editors, Commercial Litigation<
- Board of Editors, Class Actions Quarterly Publication, Federated Press
- Alberta Arbitration & Mediation Society
- LESA instructor
- Fundraiser, Child and Youth Friendly Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation
- Organizer, Norton Rose Ride for Kids
Directorships
- Child and Youth Friendly Calgary