Lawson A.W. Hunter, QC Suite 1600, 50 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, Canada, K1P 6L2 Direct: +1 613 566 0527 lhunter@stikeman.com 5300 Commerce Court West, 199 Bay Street, Toronto, Canada, M5L 1B9 Direct: +1 416 869 5500 Lawson Hunter is one of Canada s renowned regulatory and government relations counsel, drawing on a wide range of experience in business, government and private practice. Most recently, Lawson was recognized as the 2016 recipient of the Chambers Canada Lifetime Achievement award for his prominent practice and global reputation as a leading life-time practitioner and influential member of the Canadian bar. Formerly Canada s senior civil servant in charge of competition policy and enforcement, Lawson was primarily responsible for the drafting of the federal Competition Act. From 1993 to 2003, he was a partner of Stikeman Elliott and head of the firm s Competition/Antitrust Group. From 2003 to 2008, he served as executive vice-president and chief corporate officer of Bell Canada and BCE Inc., where he was responsible for overseeing regulatory, governmental relations and corporate affairs. In September 2008, he rejoined the Ottawa office of Stikeman Elliott as counsel. From April 2010 May 2012, Lawson assumed the role of head of the Competition and Foreign Investment Group and recently returned to his role as counsel. Lawson advises a wide variety of Canadian and multinational corporations on all aspects of federal regulatory law and policy. This includes foreign investment legislation, anti-dumping and international trade, telecommunications law and Heritage Canada issues, in addition to competition/antitrust matters. He is particularly noted for his experience as an advisor on the regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions. Lawson is a graduate of the Directors Education Program of the Institute of Corporate Directors and is highly experienced in matters of corporate governance. He has served as a director of major telecommunications and IT companies such as CGI Group and Bell Aliant and is a former chair and trustee of Bell Aliant Regional Communications Income Fund. Lawson was appointed by C.D. Howe Institute as a Senior Fellow specializing in regulatory and competition policy, and has been appointed to their National Council which advises the Institute s research program. He was honoured with Lexpert s Zenith Award: Celebrating Leadership Through Change, recognizing lawyers who have been change-agents in their profession for forty or more years. While in private practice, Lawson has consistently been ranked in national and international surveys as one of Canada s and the world s leading counsel on regulatory matters. Accolades Chambers Canada 2019 as a Senior Statesman in Competition/Antitrust. Chambers Global 2018 as a Senior Statesman in Competition/Antitrust, with clients noting he is "a dean of the Canadian competition Bar" and the pre-eminent competition lawyer in Canada and one of the best in Canada - he gives tremendous advice". Also deemed the first choice for competition law in Canada, noting his important political connections. Global Competition Review s GCR 100 2018 as a recognized lawyer in Stikeman Elliott s elite Competition Group. Global Competition Review s Country Survey: Canada as among the most talented and well-regarded in the country and also as one of the pre-eminent names on the Canadian antitrust scene". Stikeman Elliott LLP www.stikeman.com
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2018 as a leading lawyer in Competition, and Telecommunications Law. The Legal 500 Canada 2018 as a recommended lawyer in Competition and Antitrust. The 2019 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada in Competition Law. The Best Lawyers in Canada 2019 in Communications and Competition/Antitrust Law. The Best Lawyers in Canada 2018 as "Lawyer of the Year" in Competition/Antitrust Law. Who's Who Legal: Thought Leaders Competition 2019. Who s Who Legal: Canada 2017 in Competition Law. Who's Who Legal: Competition 2017. 2016 Expert Guides: Competition and Antitrust. Lexpert 2017 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada in the area of Competition Law. Lexpert 2017 Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada in the area of Competition Law. Lexpert/ROB Special Edition: Canada s Leading Litigation Lawyers, November 2017. Best of the Best as one of the World s Top 20 competition and antitrust lawyers. Representative Work Empire Co. Ltd., the parent company of grocery chain Sobeys Inc., as Competition counsel, in Empire s C$800M acquisition of Farm Boy Inc. Allergan plc., as Canadian competition counsel, in connection with its US$160B merger with Pfizer Inc. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. in its US$36B merger of equals by way of a plan of arrangement with Agrium Inc. Allergan plc, as Canadian competition counsel, in its sale of Allergan Generics to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for US$40.5B. Danone S.A. and WhiteWave Foods Company, as Canadian competition counsel, in connection with Danone's US$12.5B offer to acquire all the shares of WhiteWave. FGL Sports Limited, as Competition counsel, in its acquisition of Pro Hockey Life Sporting Goods Inc. for C$85M. PTTEP Canada Limited in its acquisition of the remaining 60% ownership interest in the Thornbury, Hangingstone and South Leismer oil sands areas from Statoil Canada Ltd., in exchange for its 40% stake in the Leismer and Corner projects and C$200M in cash. Stikeman Elliott LLP 2
Nordion Inc. in its US$727M acquisition by Sterigenics, a global leader in sterilization services and a portfolio company of GTCR LLC, a leading private equity firm based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. China National Offshore Oil Company in its US$19.5B cash acquisition of Calgary-based Nexen Inc., including the assumption of debt. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan in its C$1.3B sale of a majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to Rogers Communications and BCE Inc. Johnson & Johnson, as Canadian counsel, in its US$21.3B acquisition of Synthes Inc. Canadian Tire Corporation Limited, Competition counsel, in its C$771M acquisition of Forzani Group Ltd. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. in its defence of BHP Billiton's US$38.6B unsolicited take-over bid, with the bid being subsequently withdrawn after the key decision of Investment Canada to reject the proposal. Experience in Investment Canada review matters and government relations was integral in securing the decision. Publications How to boost Canadian content in a digital world, The Globe and Mail, December 2017, (co-author). Strengthening Canadian Television Content: Creation, Discovery and Export in a Digital World C.D. Howe Institute, December 2017, (co-author). The Competition Act of 1986: A Land of Hope And Promise, Canadian Competition Law Review Vol. 25, No. 2, 203-214, 2012. A Guide to Navigating Canada s Foreign Ownership Laws for New Investors, North American Free Trade & Investment Report, October 2011, and Competition Law International, International Bar Association, January 2012, (co-author). An Innovation Agenda for the Public Sector, The Canada We Want in 2020: Towards a strategic policy roadmap for the federal government, November 2011, (co-author). Foreign Investment Review in Canada: Be Careful What You Wish For, Business Law Today, ABA Business Law Section, May 2011, (co-author). Scrambled Signals: Canadian Content Policies in a World of Technological Abundance, C. D. Howe Institute, January 2010, (co-author). Legal Posts The following posts are available on Stikeman.com: Investment Canada Act approval for oil sands investment by State-Owned Enterprise Speaking Engagements Keynote Event, International Institute of Communications Annual Conference, Canadian Communications Policy and Legislation: Time for a Review, November 2018 (moderator). Stikeman Elliott LLP 3
Mega Mergers and Developing Countries, Concurrences Review + NYU School of Law, Antitrust and Developing and Emerging Economies, New York, October 2018 (panellist). Senior Capstone Lecture, Ryerson University RTA School of Media, Toronto, October 31, 2016. Competition Enforcement and Policy: The Next 30 YEARS, Canadian Bar Association, 2016 Annual Competition Law Fall Conference, Ottawa, October 6-7, 2016, (panellist). Canadian Content in a Digital World, Public Policy Forum Roundtable Discussion, June 21, 2016. Canada s Conundrum Five Years after the Jenkins Report, IRPP Working Lunch, June 2016. The Future of Canadian Telecommunications and Broadcasting, CD Howe Institute, November 30, 2015. 2015 Annual Competition Law Fall Conference, Canadian Bar Association, October 1-2, 2015. Mergers and Acquisitions Workshop, Calgary, June 24, 2015. BHP-Potash Corp proposed transaction, Tony Frost MBA class at Richard Ivey School of Business, London, ON, March 17, 2015, (speaker/teacher). 2014 Annual Competition Law Fall Conference, Canadian Bar Association, September 18-19, 2014. Adapting Canadian Trade and Commerce Policies to new Global Remedies, IRPP Symposium, June 16-17, 2014. To Regulate or Not to Regulate Is that the Question?, The Canadian Bar Association s 2014 Competition Law Spring Forum, Toronto, May 2014, (panellist). The Net Benefits Debate, 4th Annual National Forum on Chinese Investment in Canada, Calgary, May 2014, (panellist). "Shareholder Activism - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", Institute of Corporate Directors, Calgary, October 2013, (panellist). Is Canada Open for Business? The Past, Present, and Future of the Investment Canada Act, C.D. Howe Institute Roundtable, Calgary, June 2013, (panellist). The State of Play of the ICA: What We ve Learned and Where We re Going with the Investment Canada Act, C.D. Howe Institute roundtable, Toronto, May 2013, (panellist). M&A Insights on CNOOC s Acquisition of Nexen, Stikeman Elliot client seminar, Calgary, May 2013. Government Relations & Effective Lobbying Conference, The Canadian Institute, Toronto, April 2013. Stikeman Elliott LLP 4
Professional Activities Lawson is a current director of Nexen Energy ULC. He has served as a director of ITAC (the Information Technology Association of Canada). He is a past chair of the Trade and Customs Law Subcommittee of the Antitrust and Trade Law Section of the International Bar Association (IBA) and of the National Competition Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, as well as of the CBA s National Sections Council. Lawson is also a frequent panellist at conferences on federal regulatory law. Background Lawson s community and charitable activities include: Member, Carleton University Leadership Council, 2009-present; Chair, Ottawa Art Gallery, 2009-2018; Chair, Ottawa Art Gallery, 2003-2006 and Director, Ottawa Art Gallery, 1997-2003; Member, re:vitalize Toronto Reference Library Campaign, 2009-present; Member, Black and White Opera Soiree Fundraising Committee for the National Arts Centre and Opera Lyra Ottawa, 2008-present and Chair, 2006-2007; and Member, University of New Brunswick Lord Beaverbrook Law Scholarship Selection Committee, 1999-present. In 2017, Lawson was invested with the Order of Ottawa for his various notable contributions to the city of Ottawa. Education University of New Brunswick, Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree (L.L.D.) University of Toronto, Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, Institute of Corporate Directors, Directors Education Program, 2008 Harvard (LL.M., 1971) University of New Brunswick (LL.B., 1970; B.Sc., 1967) Bar Admission New Brunswick, 1971 Ontario, 1986 Stikeman Elliott LLP 5