A tenacious and skilled courtroom lawyer, Adam represents clients in high-stakes disputes.
Adam Goldenberg is a partner in our Litigation Group. His trial, appellate, and arbitration practice focuses on commercial and public law disputes. Adam has litigated before judges and arbitrators across the country, including in the courts of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and the federal courts. He has been counsel in 24 appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Clients value Adam’s focused advice on complex business problems, his agility in handling urgent issues, and his prowess in the courtroom. In interviews with Chambers and Partners, clients praise Adam’s “commercial awareness and vision” and describe him as a “standout”, “very effective”, “very strong for client service”, and “an absolute pleasure to work with”. Clients also report that Adam “provides highly practical advice”, which he delivers “succinctly, with confidence and at record speeds”.
Among Adam’s notable representations are leading cases on the duty of honest contractual performance (C.M. Callow Inc. v. Zollinger), the enforceability of arbitration agreements and awards (TELUS Communications Inc. v. Wellman; International Air Transport Association v. Instrubel, N.V; Wardrop v. Ericsson Canada Inc.), judicial review of administrative decisions (Yatar v. TD Insurance Meloche Monnex; Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov; Bell Canada v. Canada (Attorney General)), wrongful dismissal (Matthews v. Ocean Nutrition Canada Ltd.), defamation (Hansman v. Neufeld; Bent v. Platnick; 1704604 Ontario Ltd. v. Pointes Protection Association; Rainbow Alliance Dryden v. Webster), judicial independence, discipline, and remuneration (Lauzon v. Justices of the Peace Review Council; British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Provincial Court Judges’ Association of British Columbia; Nova Scotia (Attorney General) v. Judges of the Provincial Court and Family Court of Nova Scotia), privacy (R. v. Jarvis), confidentiality in court proceedings (Canadian Broadcasting Corp. v. Named Person; Sherman Estate v. Donovan), equality rights and constitutional remedies (Ontario (Attorney General) v. G), federalism (Murray-Hall v. Quebec (Attorney General)), constitutional interpretation (Toronto (City) v. Ontario (Attorney General); Quebec (Attorney General) v. 9147-0732 Québec inc.), police powers (Fleming v. Ontario), and the regulation of political speech (Canadian Constitution Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General)).
Adam also regularly acts pro bono for individuals and public interest organizations, particularly in matters affecting the LGBTQ2S+ community. He has been honoured as a “Leader To Be Proud Of” by Start Proud and with a Visibility Award by the International Day of Pink. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor General of Canada in 2017.
Adam is an Honorary Overseas Member of the Commercial Bar Association of England and Wales (Combar) and serves on the Leadership Council of the World Justice Project. He is also a co-founder and a member of the board of directors of Teach For Canada—Gakinaamaage and a former chair of the board of directors of Action Canada.
Early in his legal career, Adam was a law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin at the Supreme Court of Canada and to the judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. He has taught appellate practice and procedure as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Toronto and has lectured at law schools across Canada on constitutional and administrative law.
Publications
Emergency Law in Canada: Commentary & Legislation (with Eric S. Block) (LexisNexis Canada, 2021)
Podcast: Law in the Time of COVID-19
“Controversies in the Common Law of Judicial Review”, in Vanessa Gruben et al., eds., Controversies in the Common Law: Tracing the Contributions of Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin (University of Toronto Press, 2022).
Awards & Rankings
Chambers Canada
Leading Lawyer: Litigation: Administrative & Public Law - Ontario
Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada
Human Rights, Advocacy, and Criminal
The Legal 500 - Canada
Next Generation Partner: Dispute Resolution - Ontario
Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation
Leading Lawyer
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory
Leading Lawyers to Watch: Litigation - Regulatory & Public Law
Precedent Innovation Award
2020 Recipient
Best Lawyers in Canada
Ones to Watch: Corporate and Commercial Litigation
Cronkite Memorial Lecturer in Public Law
University of Saskatchewan College of Law