DAVIT AKMAN Partner T 416.367.6329 F 416.361.2790 Toronto DAkman@blg.com https://ca.linkedin.com/in/davit -akman-86526739 Competition and Foreign Investment Review Class Actions Corporate Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Securities Litigation Privacy and Data Security Appeal and Review Education / Bar Admissions LLB (with Honours), University of Toronto, 1999 BA (with Honours) in Political Studies/Economics (First Class Standing), 1995 Ontario, 2001 Professional Involvement Member, Law Society of Upper Canada Member, Canadian Bar Association Member, American Bar Association (Sections of Antitrust Law, Litigation, Business Law and Intellectual Property Law) Member, The Advocates' Society Member, Ontario Bar Association EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Davit Akman is a Partner in our Toronto office and a member of the Competition and Foreign Investment Review and Class Action groups. Davit advises domestic and international clients, including leading pharmaceutical, software, manufacturing and technology sector companies, on all aspects of Canadian competition law, including cartel investigations, private actions, intellectual property/antitrust matters, advertising and marketing practices, abuse of dominance and other reviewable trade practices. He has also served as counsel in a number of Canada's most important competition litigation cases, including matters before the Supreme Court of Canada and the Canadian Competition Tribunal. A significant portion of his practice involves defending national and cross-border class actions alleging anticompetitive conduct. Davit is frequently recognized for his expertise, including in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and in Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys. He was also recognized by Lexpert as one of Canada's leading lawyers under 40. Davit is the vice-chair of the Antitrust Law Committee of the ABA Business Law Section and a vice-chair of the Legislation & Competition Policy Committee of the CBA National Competition Law Section. He is also a member of the Executives of the OBA Class Actions and Civil Litigation Sections. Davit clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Louise Arbour. REPRESENTATIVE WORK Acting for defendants in multiple class actions commenced across Canada alleging price fixing in respect of sales of capacitors, including with respect to cross-border issues arising out of parallel U.S. class actions and international antitrust investigations. Acting for a respondent in contested proceedings before the Canadian Competition Tribunal involving an alleged refusal to deal. Acted for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce before the Supreme Court of Canada in the leading antitrust class action appeal in Sun-Rype
v Archer Daniels Midland. Acted for the Commissioner of Competition before the Competition Tribunal in the price maintenance case brought against Visa and MasterCard. Acted for BCE Inc. and Bell Canada in the landmark case in the Supreme Court of Canada involving the proposed $51.7 billion privatization of BCE the largest leveraged buyout in history (BCE Inc v 1976 Debentureholders). Acted for Mars Canada and Mars, Incorporated in multiple class actions commenced across Canada alleging price-fixing in respect of sales of chocolate confectionery products, including with respect to cross-border issues arising out of parallel U.S. class actions, and in a related criminal investigation by the Canadian Competition Bureau. Acted for Whirlpool and Embraco in multiple class actions commenced across Canada alleging price fixing in respect of sales of compressors, including with respect to cross-border issues arising out of parallel U.S. class actions, and in a related criminal investigation by the Competition Bureau. Acted for Beijing Matsushita Color CRT Company, Ltd. in multiple class actions commenced across Canada alleging price fixing in respect of sales of cathode ray tubes, including with respect to cross-border issues arising out of parallel U.S. class actions. Acted for Rogers and Microcell in defending a series of class actions throughout Canada concerning so-called "system access fees" charged by Rogers, Microcell and many other telecommunications companies. These include some of the largest class actions in Canadian history. Acted for the Special Committee of Patheon Inc. in its response to a hostile bid made by JLL Partners Inc., valued at US$600 million, including in proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission and in an action by Patheon for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of confidence, breach of contract, conspiracy and oppression. Acted for DIRECTV, Inc. in the Supreme Court of Canada in Bell Express Vu Limited Partnership v. Rex, a leading decision on the interpretation of the federal Radiocommunication Act and, more generally, the principles governing the interpretation of statutes. Acted for Canada Pipe Company Ltd. before the Competition Tribunal, Federal Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the leading abuse of dominance case in Canada. Acted for Barrick Gold Corporation in defending successfully claims asserted against Barrick by Newmont Mining Corporation and St. Andrew Goldfields Ltd. in respect of royalty and other agreements entered into in connection with the sale of a sizeable operating mine in Northern Ontario. Acted for a target in the criminal investigation by the Commissioner of Competition into an alleged conspiracy in the Canadian carbonless paper industry. Acted for Agricore United in proceedings before the Competition Tribunal to rescind a consent agreement filed in connection with the merger of United Grain Growers Ltd. and Agricore Cooperative Limited, to form Agricore United.
Acted for the Commissioner of Competition as special counsel in respect of contested proceedings relating to a Consent Order. Acted as special advisor to the Commissioner of Competition concerning proposed amendments to the Competition Act (including the criminal conspiracy provision in section 45). Acted pro bono for the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils in the Supreme Court of Canada in a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge to the federal Immigration Act in Suresh v. Canada. PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS Publications Author, Private Competition Law Actions (Canada), Practical Law Canada Thomson Reuters, October 2015. Author, GCR Know how-antimonopoly & Unilateral Conduct in Canada, Global Competition Review, September 2015. Author, Recent Ontario Decision Confirms that Proposed Secondary Market Securities Class Action Claims Will be Subject to Rigorous Scrutiny, Lexology, August 2015. Author, Canadian Competition Bureau Issues Draft Update of Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines, Lexology, June 2015. Author, Canadian Competition Tribunal Issues First Contested Hold Separate Order in a Merger Case, Lexology, June 2015. Author, "Canadian Competition Tribunal Issues Important Guidance on the Interpretation of Consent Agreements," Lexology, May 2015. Author, "Potential Changes to the Canadian Competition Bureau's Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines may be a Game-Changer for Technology Companies and Firms in Patent-Intensive Industries," Lexology, April 2015. Author, "Tiny Merger Will Have Major Implications for Merger Review in Canada, Lexology, January 2015. Author, International Suppliers and Retailers Get Two Lumps of Canadian Competition Law Coal for the Holidays, Lexology, December 2014. Author, "Legitimate Businesses Should Be At Least As Concerned As Fraudsters About the Competition Act-Related Amendments Under Canada's New Anti-Spam Legislation," CPI Antitrust Chronicle 7:2, July 2014. Author, "Recent Decisions Highlight the Importance of Dealing with Attorney-Client Privilege Ownership in Corporate Transactions in Canada and the U.S.," Lexology, May 2014. Author, "Illinois Brick Rejected in Canada, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, International Antitrust Bulletin, May 2014. Author Privilege Ownership Should be on Every Corporate Transaction Checklist," Lexology, September 2014. Author, "The Usual Suspects?: The Scope of Corporate Criminal Liability
under Canadian Antitrust Law, ABA Section of Antitrust Law, International Antitrust Bulletin, October 2013. Author, Northern Exposure?: Recent Developments in Antitrust Enforcement in the Canadian Pharmaceutical Industry, The Patent Lawyer, March/April 2013. Author, The Long Arm of US Antitrust Law Gets Longer, Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, 2012. Author, The Mouse that Roared: Challenge of Small Merger has Significant Implications for Canadian Competition Enforcement, Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada, 2012. Author, "The Pendulum Swings? Recent Developments in Canadian Competition Class Actions," Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Litigation Lawyers in Canada, 2011. Author, "Tips for Retaining and Instructing Experts: The New Expert Witness Rule," Paper Delivered at The Twelve-Minute Civil Litigator, December 2011. Author, "One Hand Taketh Away: Recent Developments in Indirect Purchaser Class Actions in Canada," 38 Advoc Q. 266, 2011. Author, "Using Mareva Injunctions and Anton Piller Orders to Leverage Your Client's Position," Commercial Litigation, Ontario Bar Association, October 2010. Author, "Competition Class Actions in Canada Has the Bar Been Lowered for Certification of Indirect Purchaser Class Actions?" 11:2 Corporate Litigation 658, 2010. Author, "Private Competition Litigation in Canada," CPI Antitrust Chronicle 8:2, August 2010. Author, "Class Action First in Canada: Contested Price-Fixing Class Actions Including Indirect Purchasers Certified for First Time by Canadian Courts," Antitrust Trial Practice Newsletter (The Section of Antitrust Law of the American Bar Association), Winter 2010. Presentations Speaker, Pepper Hamilton's Annual Antitrust Development Update CLE Event, Philadelphia, PA, December 2015. Program Co-Chair and Moderator, Antitrust Issues in the Internet Age, Annual Meeting of the ABA Business Law Section, Chicago IL, September 2015. Webinar Chair and Moderator, PLSAs, SEPs, and PAEs: The Antitrust/IP Acronyms You Should Know and Understand, Antitrust Law Committee of the ABA Business Law Section, June 2015. Program Co-Chair and Speaker, Things are Heating Up: The Facts and Myths Businesses Need to Understand about the Global Climate Change in IP/Antitrust, Spring Meeting of the ABA Business Law Section, San Francisco CA, April 2015. Speaker, Roundtable on the Competition Bureau's White Paper on Patent Litigation Settlements, CBA National Competition Law Section,
Toronto ON, November 2014. Program Chair, Class Actions: A Bootcamp for Litigators, Law Society of Upper Canada, Toronto ON, October 2014. Program Chair and Moderator, When Compliance Programs Fail, Annual Meeting of the ABA Business Law Section, Chicago IL, September 2014. Speaker, Hot Issues in Intellectual Property, Annual Fall Competition Law Conference of the CBA National Competition Law Section, Ottawa ON, September 2014. Speaker, Antitrust and Monopolization Developments, Spring Meeting of the ABA Business Law Section, Los Angeles CA, April 2014. Speaker, Understanding National Class Actions, The Advocates' Society Class Actions Advocacy Program, Toronto ON, March 2014. Speaker, Life-Cycle Management Strategies, Competition Bureau (Invitation Only) Workshop on Antitrust Issues in the Pharmaceutical Sector, Ottawa ON, November 2013. Program Chair and Moderator, When Compliance Programs Fail: Best Practices for Investigating Potential Wrongdoing and Managing the Fallout, Annual Meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Los Angeles CA, October 2013. Speaker, Privacy Class Actions in the US and Canada, Law Seminars International, Washington DC, May 2013. Speaker, Protecting Your Company from Northern Exposure, All Hands Meeting International, Santa Clara CA, May 2013. Moderator, Class Actions and Private Enforcement in Canada, Competition Law Spring Forum of the CBA National Competition Law Section, Toronto ON, May 2013. RANKINGS & RECOGNITIONS Recognized in the 2015 edition of The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Competition Law). Recognized in the 2015 edition of Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys. Recognized in the 2014 edition of Benchmark Canada: The Definitive Guide to Canada's Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys. Recognized as a "Litigation Lawyer to Watch" in the 2011 Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigators. Recognized as one of Lexpert 's Rising Stars Leading Lawyers Under 40 (2010). ABOUT BORDEN LADNER GERVAIS LLP Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) is a leading, national, full-service Canadian law firm focusing on business law, commercial litigation and arbitration, and intellectual property solutions for our clients.
BLG is one of the country s largest law firms with more than 725 lawyers, intellectual property agents and other professionals in five cities across Canada. We assist clients with their legal needs, from major litigation to financing to trademark and patent registration.