Mediator Profile


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Bernard Morrow

MORROW MEDIATION
1376 Bathurst Street
Toronto, Ontario   M5R 3J1

416-924-7400
416-652-7405 (fax)
bernard@morrowmediation.ca
www.morrowmediation.ca
Degrees/Designations - B.A., LL.B., LL.M., C. Med
Practice Areas - Business/Commercial, Construction, Employment, Estate, Human Rights, Insurance and Personal Injury
Practice Description - I am a Toronto-based mediator with 25 years of hands-on mediation experience. I have conducted more than 1500 mediations.

No dispute is too small; no problem too complex. I bring the same energy, enthusiasm, passion, balance and creativity to every dispute I mediate.

I use a facilitative approach, but I am comfortable expressing my views on the issues and likely outcomes at the parties' request. I am tireless in my pursuit of a resolution and will not give up unless the parties insist that the mediation is over.

I take the necessary time to prepare for my mediations, to ensure that I can lead the parties in meaningful and thoughtful discussions right from the start of every session.

I use a combination of joint sessions and caucuses; I am flexible with my approach to suit the parties' needs and comfort level. I take a balanced approach to my work, ensuring that each side has been fully heard.

With close to 10 years of experience as an adjudicator at the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario (IPC) as well as experience conducting commercial arbitrations, I am also available to conduct commercial and employment arbitrations.
Background - I am the principal of Morrow Mediation, a Toronto area based full-service alternative dispute resolution (ADR) firm that is focused on delivering timely, fair and balanced mediation and arbitration services, and responsive consulting solutions at a sensible price. I have been successfully providing dispute resolution services since 1994.

In addition to conducting my ADR practice, I was appointed the Complaints Resolution Commissioner for the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) (formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada) for a two-year term commencing April 1, 2014. I was re-appointed for a second two-year term commencing April 1, 2016. The Commissioner performs an ombuds role, independently reviewing complaints against lawyers and paralegals that have been closed by the LSO to ensure they were handled appropriately and the results were reasonable. Having completed my time as Commissioner, I now offer coaching and training to lawyers and paralegals who have an interest in avoiding professional conduct complaints.

Practicing as a litigator in the early 1990s, I was initially drawn to the ADR field by a desire to achieve more efficient client-centred resolutions to disputes. While I appreciated the role of the courts, I believed that many disputes were languishing in the court system and not providing litigants with an opportunity to achieve resolution in a timely and cost effective way. This led me to take considerable training in mediation and ADR consulting both in Canada and the U.S., making me a more complete advocate and awakening a passion for the field of dispute resolution.

Since 1994, I have been developing and refining my skills and credentials as a mediator, arbitrator and ADR consultant in many different arenas, industry sectors and jurisdictions.

My mediation experience includes providing services to the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the IPC, as well conducting a variety of mediations as a private practitioner and as an active roster member with the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program (Toronto and Ottawa) between 1999 through 2014.

My arbitration skills have been built on a strong foundation of adjudication work. Between February 2002 and July 2013, I served as an adjudicator with the IPC, adjudicating more than 300 appeals over that time. In my role at the IPC, I adjudicated complex access to information appeals and issued binding written decisions.

Prior to joining the IPC, I worked for two years as Legal Counsel and Senior Facilitator with Ontario's Dispute Resolution Office (DRO) where I developed and delivered ADR-focused training programs, facilitated complex workplace investigations and workplace restorations, and designed and convened large-scale consulting projects involving public and private sector stakeholders. I have also designed and delivered several of my own training programs, including an advanced negotiation course for the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies and a certificate program in ADR for the Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology.

I obtained my B.A. (political science) in 1982 and my LL.B. in 1985 from the Western University. In 1988, I was awarded my LL.M. by the London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England, in the areas of labour, employment law and human rights. I was called to the Ontario Bar in 1988. I have completed extensive skill and theory based training in both Canada and the United States in mediation practice and process, decision making and writing, and ADR systems design.

I am an active member of the Ontario Bar Association's (OBA) ADR Section Executive, serving as its Chair in 2008-2009 and currently sitting as a member-at-large. I am also an active member of the ADR Institute of Ontario (ADRIO) and the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO).

For more information about my practice or to obtain a downloadable version of my profile, please visit my website at www.morrowmediation.ca.