John B. West
Senior Partner
John West practises exclusively employment and labour law. He advises and represents employers in both federal and provincial jurisdictions. He regularly represents clients in connection with collective bargaining, union certification matters, labour board proceedings, grievance arbitration, wrongful dismissal claims, human rights issues, and occupational health and safety matters. He also advises employers in executive employment matters.
Mr. West represents large public and private sector clients across Canada before various labour tribunals. He is also a frequent speaker in employment and labour matters in both Canada and the United States. Mr. West has contributed frequently to major publications in both Canada and the US on employment and labour law issues.
Mr. West is past national chair of our Canadian employment and labour law group.
Year of call
Ontario 1978
Law school
LL.B., University of Manitoba, 1976
Education
B.A. (Hons.), Glendon College, York University, 1973
Speaking engagements
- Frequent speaker on employment and labour matters in both Canada and the United States
- Has spoken on several occasions before the Conference Board of Canada on issues such as attendance management and the duty of accommodation in the workplace
- Regular speaker before the Electricity Distributors Association of Ontario on employment and labour law matters in the broader public sector
- Has spoken at the Annual Conference on Labour Arbitration sponsored by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations.
- Regular speaker at the U.S. National Retail Federation, the New York-based Labor/Industrial Relations Advisory Group and the National Academy of Arbitrators
Rankings and recognitions
- Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2012: recommended in Labour Relations and Employment Law
- Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2012: Employment & Labour
- Best Lawyers in Canada, 2012-2013 - Labour and Employment Law
- Guide to the World’s Leading Labour & Employment Lawyers, 2011
- PLC Which lawyer? 2011 - Labour and employment
- The International Who’s Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers, 2011-2012
- Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2011- Employment, Labour & Pensions: Employment
- Lexpert / American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada - Most frequently recommended for Labour Law
- Certified specialist in labour law by the Law Society of Upper Canada
Memberships and activities
- Law Society of Upper Canada
- Labour Law Specialty Committee (former member)
- Canadian Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- The Advocates’ Society
- Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario
- U.S. Labor Policy Association
- U.S. and Canada Labour Employee Relations Networks (LERN)
- Toronto Board of Trade
- Retail Council of Canada