The Hon. John D. Ground K.C.,

The Hon. John D. Ground K.C. is Senior Counsel at the Firm. Mr. Ground is a highly respected lawyer and jurist.  He brings to the Firm expertise in commercial and corporate matters, insolvency and restructuring, professional issues, construction, and insurance disputes.

After graduating from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law with an LLB, Mr. Ground was called to the Ontario Bar in 1959. Prior to his appointment to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Mr. Ground practised corporate and commercial law for more than 30 years with Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he also served as a member of the firm’s executive committee.

He was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice in 1991, where he spent a majority of his time presiding over complex commercial, insolvency and restructuring cases and, for a period of several years, was supervising judge of the Commercial List. He was deeply involved in case management and settlement conferences throughout his distinguished judicial career.

Mr. Ground was a Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada from 1975 to 1991 and served as chair of the Finance Committee, Legal Education Committee, Professional Conduct Committee and Admissions Committee, and was president of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada.

Some of his numerous elected and appointed positions include: member of Ontario’s Business Law Advisory Council (2016-present); executive of the Canadian Bar Association – Ontario; member of the Canadian Bar Association National Council; member of the Ontario Law Reform Commission Advisory Board (1989-1994); member of the Commodity Futures Advisory Board of the Ontario Securities Commission (1979-1983); and member of the Enforcement Advisory Committee of the Ontario Securities Commission.

Mr. Ground’s extensive judicial experience allows him to manage complex matters creatively, efficiently and effectively through all levels of the process, from evaluative and interest-based neutral mediation to adjudicative arbitration.

Mr. Ground is recently retired from Amicus Chambers, a group of retired judges whose Superior Court experience brings a unique perspective to arbitration, mediation, and case management.