Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall Lawyer Given Prestigious International Diversity Award

OTTAWA, February 24, 2014 – Ottawa law firm Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. is pleased to announce that Barry Leon, Partner and Head of the firm’s International Arbitration Group, has been awarded the CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Diversity in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

This prestigious award recognizes a person who has contributed significantly to diversity in the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) field by providing access to or creating opportunities to people who have historically been excluded from active and meaningful participation in ADR, including, but not limited to, women, minorities and/or people of color.

In 2009, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP committed to developing a globally competitive international arbitration practice based in Ottawa and established its International Arbitration Group at that time.  Barry Leon joined the Group and has been an integral part of the Group’s success, helping to establish it as one of the top international arbitration practices in the world in each of the past three years (Global Arbitration Review’s GAR 100).

Barry has more than 30 years of experience as counsel acting on many complex and significant cases for a wide variety of clients and involving many different industries. He also serves frequently as an arbitrator and mediator. Barry is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and an International Mediation Institute (IMI) Certified Mediator. He is the Chair of ICC Canada, the Canadian National Committee of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Co-Chair of The Advocates’ Society’s Arbitration and Mediation Practice Group.

In recognizing ‎Barry, CPR highlighted his contributions through CPR’s Diversity Task Force and ArbitralWomen, in special programs with the Association of Corporate Counsel and Arbitration Place, his work in advancing diverse arbitrator candidates by ICC Canada, and his extensive one-one-one mentoring and coaching of diverse arbitrators and mediators, as well as his work on the Advisory Board of the Association of progressive Muslims of Canada.

« While many corporations and professional firms ‎have made diversity commitments internally, and often with suppliers, too little attention has been paid to giving full and fair consideration to engaging diverse arbitrators and mediators' », said Leon. « The business case for diversity is known, and what is required now is consciousness raising among corporate counsel and their outside counsel. »

In 1979, CPR started its legacy by being the first to bring together Corporate Counsel and their firms to find ways to lower the cost of litigation. Since that time, CPR has changed the way the world resolves conflict by being the first to develop an ADR Pledge^©. Today, this Pledge obliges over 4,000 operating companies and 1,500 law firms to explore alternative dispute resolution options before pursuing litigation.

(Left to right: Barry Leon, Partner and Head of the PRHM’s International Arbitration Group; Charles Morgan of The Morgan Group.)

– 30 –

 About Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.
Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. was established in Ottawa in 1971 as a full-service law firm. The firm’s knowledge of Canadian law and strong alliance with an international business and legal network, has made it one of the largest firms in Canada’s National Capital Region with more than 50 legal experts on staff. Practice areas include business law, international arbitration, intellectual property, immigration, commercial litigation and arbitration, commercial real estate development, tax, and personal legal needs. For more information, visit the firm’s website at www.perlaw.ca.