Our Team

Patrick D. Flaherty

Partner

	Direct: 416.865.8113 Office: Toronto Fax: 416.865.7380 Email: pflaherty@torys.com

	Pat has extensive trial experience, both in court and as counsel in domestic and international arbitrations.

Practice

Pat Flaherty's practice focuses on civil litigation, with an emphasis on corporate/commercial, product liability, intellectual property, information technology, and privacy. Pat has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario and in the Federal Court of Canada, and he has extensive trial experience, both in court and as counsel in domestic and international arbitrations in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. Pat has also acted as an arbitrator, including regularly as a panelist in domain name disputes under the auspices of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority Dispute Resolution Rules.

Recognitions

Lexpert/Thomson Reuters' Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2012—Repeatedly recommended practitioner in litigation – securities

Legal Media Group's Benchmark Canada, 2013—Leading litigator for commercial, intellectual property and product liability

Legal Media Group's Benchmark Canada, 2012—Leading litigator for class actions, commercial, intellectual property and professional liability

Lexpert’s Guide to the U.S./Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada 2007—One of Canada’s litigators to watch

Cases

Pat has represented

a multi-national tobacco company in class proceedings
multi-national pharmaceutical companies defending class proceedings and product liability claims
an international franchisor in its claims of defamation and trade libel against former franchisees
a public company in defending allegations by its competitors of conspiracy and breach of confidence
an individual and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in proceedings before the Federal Court regarding the unauthorized disclosure of personal information to a foreign government
an outdoor advertising company in a dispute regarding the taxability of advertising displays
a multi-national finance corporation and its senior executives in defending claims by a municipality of fraud, negligence and conspiracy
a Canadian ethanol producer in disputes with a petroleum company under a long-terms supply arrangement
a Nova Scotia company in a claims for specific performance of an agreement to purchase a control block of shares in a public company
an analyst firm in defending claims by a public company alleging defamation, unlawful interference and negligence
a professional services firm in respect of claims and complaints arising out of security breaches and access to personal information
a multinational corporation in disputes under a software licensing agreement arbitrated under the Ontario International Commercial Arbitration Act
a multinational corporation in claims of patent and trademark infringement, breach of confidence and breach of fiduciary duty arising out of the misappropriation of industrial designs
an ISP in resisting access to its customers' identities in claims brought by the Canadian Record Industry Association relating to music downloading and copyright infringement
an international corporation in class action claims concerning conspiracy to price-fix and the Competition Act
major newspapers, broadcast and Internet media in defending defamation and other media claims, and in challenging publication bans and closures of court
a former NHL hockey player in his successful action against Alan Eagleson, his agent and former director of the NHLPA

Professional Involvement

Pat has taught in the trial advocacy programs in several Canadian law schools, and he has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of legal subjects. He lectures at Osgoode Hall Law School , having most recently taught in its LLM program on Protection of Intangible Business Interests.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Privacy Breach Guidelines: Post-Breach Best Practices
Federated Press 7th Managing Privacy Compliance | March 7, 2013

Stormy Weather: Jurisdiction Over Privacy and Data Protection in the Cloud – Part 2
Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada, vol. 13, no. 10 | February 2013

Stormy Weather: Jurisdiction Over Privacy and Data Protection in the Cloud – Part 1
Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada, vol. 13, no. 9 | January 2013

Stormy Weather: Jurisdiction over Privacy and Data Protection in the Cloud
World Library and Information Congress, International Federation of Library Associations Conference and Assembly | August 13, 2012

Ontario Medical Device Product Liability Case Shows Class Action Trial's Immense Scope
Westlaw Journal: Medical Devices, vol. 19, issue 11 | July 16, 2012

Privacy Protection in the Digital Workplace
Canadian Privacy Law Review, vol. 9, no. 8 | July 2012

Do You Want to Know A Secret: Protecting Confidential Business Information
UniversiTorys | June 2012

Customer Data: Opportunity or Minefield
Canadian Telecom Summit | June 5, 2012

Libel Law
Osgoode Hall Law School, Part-time LLM Program, Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution | May 31, 2012

Privacy Class Actions: Once More into the Breach?
Class Action Defence Quarterly, vol. 6, no. 3 | March 2012

Critical Privacy Law Update
Canadian Institute 7th Annual Forum on Payments Compliance in Canada | February 15, 2012

The Twelve Minute Civil Litigator: Privacy Law Pitfalls in Civil Litigation
Law Society of Upper Canada | 2011

Ontario Companies Doing Business with Hospitals May Become Subject to Access-to-Information Requests
Westlaw Journal: Medical Devices, vol. 18, issue 8 | June 2011
Also published in Electronic Healthcare Law Review, vol. 1, no. 1

Privacy Class Actions Are Here, But Do We Need Them?
Canadian Privacy Law Review, vol. 8, no. 3 | January 2011

Seize the Day and a Bunch of Important Evidence: Anton Piller Orders
Osgoode Professional Development Injunctions Conference | April 2010

To Notify or Not to Notify
OBA Privacy Law Review, Eye on Privacy, vol. 8, no. 3 | May 2008

Critical Tips for Effectively Managing a Privacy Investigation to Minimize Reputational Fallout
Privacy Compliance: Meeting Your Obligations and Challenges, Canadian Institute, Toronto | May 2006

Freedom of Expression: The Growing Implications for Commercial Enterprise
AIPPI Canada Annual Meeting, Mont Tremblant, Quebec | October 2005

Complaints Handling Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
Canadian Institute conference, Toronto | June 2005

Patent Damages
University of Toronto Centre for Innovation Policy Technology Symposium | 2004

Requests to Admit and Admissions: Unpolished Gems
Law Society of Upper Canada Civil Litigation Forum, Toronto | 2004

Patent Damages in the United States and Canada
Licensing Executives Society International Fall Convention, Toronto | 2003

Liability of Corporate Directors, Officers
Ontario Bar Association Annual Institute, Toronto | 2002

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act: A Comprehensive Guide
Co-author, Canada Law Book | 2001

Selected Media Highlights

May 1, 2013: Patrick Flaherty comments on internet privacy issues around apps and cloud computing, in Lexpert

January 21, 2013: Patrick Flaherty comments on how PIPEDA can affect the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in litigation, in Law Times

November 21, 2012: Patrick Flaherty comments on issues of privacy and legal jurisdiction with regards to cloud computing, in Financial Post

October 29, 2012: Patrick Flaherty comments on the CRTC’s approach to Canada’s anti-spam guidelines, in Law Times

October 24, 2012: Patrick Flaherty comments on Supreme Court decision on employee privacy, in Lexpert

October 11, 2012: Patrick Flaherty and Molly Reynolds comment on the CRTC’s first information bulletin on Canada’s anti-spam legislation, in Financial Post

September 25, 2012: Patrick Flaherty comments on the Privacy Commissioner’s report on online privacy in Financial Post

August 14, 2012: Patrick Flaherty weighs the legal risks and benefits of cloud computing for libraries, in American Libraries, The Magazine of the American Library Association

June 6, 2012: Risk of class-action litigation against collectors of personal details especially palpable, says Patrick Flaherty in Financial Post

January 30, 2012: New privacy ruling should not be a major worry to business, says Patrick Flaherty in Law Times

October 1, 2004: Patrick Flaherty catalyzed the opening of the Airbus scandal proceedings, says William Kaplan in A Secret Trial

Memberships

The Advocates' Society
The Osgoode Society
London Court of International Arbitration

Practice Areas and Industry Groups

Arbitration Class Actions Competition and Antitrust Intellectual Property Intellectual Property Litigation Life Sciences Litigation and Dispute Resolution Media and Defamation Privacy Product Liability Professional Liability Recall and Crisis Litigation Technology Litigation

Bar Admissions

Ontario, 1993

Education

JD, 1991
Queen's University

BA, 1988
University of Toronto

Conferences and Events

June 19, 2013–June 21, 2013

2013 Northwind Class Actions Invitational Forum: The Future of Class Actions in Canada, Langdon Hall, Cambridge, ON