Christopher practises corporate and commercial litigation, with a strong focus on corporate litigation, class action defence and cross-border litigation.
He is a key contact for Osler’s Class Action Defence Group, and he has acted as counsel in a number of the largest and most complex class proceedings across Canada covering a broad range of tort and statutory claims, including allegations of anticompetitive conduct, securities violations, insider trading, oppression and derivative claims, misleading advertising, product liability, economic torts, as well as negligence and fraud.
Christopher has extensive experience litigating complex commercial disputes involving shareholder rights, director and officer liability, auditor’s negligence, valuation proceedings, insurance disputes, privacy and data breaches and professional liability. Christopher has also acted in a number of leading antitrust, securities and disciplinary investigations and enforcement proceedings, and he regularly acts in matters involving the Competition Bureau, the OSC, the RCMP/IMET and the IIROC. Christopher has argued cases before trial and appellate courts across the country, including the Ontario Court of Appeal, the B.C. Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to joining Osler, Christopher served as a law clerk for the Right Honourable Antonio Lamer, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Christopher is currently ranked as a leading litigation lawyer in Canada in Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Business Lawyers 2022, Benchmark Litigation Canada 2022 and The Best Lawyers in Canada 2022. In his younger days, Christopher was recognized by Lexpert as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” lawyers in Canada in 2007.
Areas of Expertise
- Banking and Financial Services
- Capital Markets
- Capital Markets Regulatory Enforcement
- Class Action Defence
- Competition Disputes
- Competition/Antitrust
- Corporate and Securities Disputes
- Cybersecurity and Security Incident Response
- Government Investigations and White-Collar Defence
- Investment Management
- Media and Entertainment
- Privacy and Data Management
- Privacy and Data Security Disputes
- Private Equity
- Private Equity and Investment Fund Disputes
- Professional Services
- Regulatory Investigations
- Retail and Consumer Products
- Risk Management and Crisis Response
- Strategic Antitrust Guidance and Risk Management
- Telecom
- Transportation and Logistics
- Travel and Leisure
Representative Work
- Drax Group plc
Drax Group plc in its acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy
- 3iQ Corp. and The Bitcoin Fund
Successful hearing before the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and subsequent initial public offering of the first publicly-traded bitcoin investment fund in the world
- RSM US LLP
RSM US LLP in the launch of RSM Canada
Drax Group plc in its acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy
Successful hearing before the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and subsequent initial public offering of the first publicly-traded bitcoin investment fund in the world
RSM US LLP in the launch of RSM Canada
- Acting for a leading international manufacturer of chocolate in respect of an ongoing regulatory investigation and parallel antitrust class proceedings throughout Canada
- Acting for one of the world’s largest energy companies in respect of an ongoing securities class action in Alberta relating to allegations of insider trading contrary to the Securities Act
- Acting for a major international airline in a regulatory investigation and parallel class action proceedings in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. relating to allegations of price-fixing in the global and domestic air freight industry
- Acting for a global producer of dynamic access random memory (DRAM) in a regulatory investigation and parallel class action proceedings in Quebec and B.C. relating to allegations of price-fixing in the computer memory business
- Acting for a leading producer of monitor products in a regulatory investigation and parallel class action proceedings in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. relating to allegations of anti-competitive conduct in the distribution of computer monitor components
- Acting for a leading accounting and consulting firm in ongoing regulatory proceedings involving the OSC, SEC and RCMP relating to allegations of accounting and securities fraud at a global technology company, as well as in respect of cross-border class action proceedings and an ongoing derivative action
- Acting for a major U.S. chemical producer in defending a class action relating to the sale and distribution of engineering resins in the automotive sector
- Acting for a leading national retailer in respect of a representative action before the Ontario Superior Court brought on behalf of 1200 former employees who claim an entitlement to surplus assets within the company’s pension plan
- Acting for a leading technology company in oppression proceedings relating to the company’s compliance with its articles and share purchase provisions
Latest Insights
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Report Jun 28, 2024
The amended Canadian Competition Act: what businesses need to know
Following a series of high-profile amendments aimed at strengthening Canada’s competition law regime culminating in royal assent for Bill C-59 on...
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Osler Update May 31, 2024
Updated Ineligibility and Suspension Policy creates significant new compliance challenges for suppliers to Government of Canada
Selling goods and services to the Government of Canada just became more challenging. Effective today (May 31, 2024), participants in most new...
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Webinar Apr 24, 2024
AccessPrivacy Monthly Call: Data litigation roundtable: key themes and takeaways from recent privacy and data litigation decisions
In this month’s webinar, Adam Kardash will be joined by Partners from Osler’s specialized privacy and data litigation team to discuss key...
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Osler Update Mar 1, 2024
Canada’s new Online Harms Act (C-63): what you need to know
The Government of Canada introduced its long-anticipated online harms legislation, Bill C-63, on February 26. We look at the key duties the bill...
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Awards and Recognition
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Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Business Lawyers: Recognized in Competition/Antitrust: Litigators; Dispute Resolution: Class Action (Defence)
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Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business: Recognized in Competition/Antitrust: Litigators
- “Christopher Naudie is commended for the calibre of his litigation practice, and is noted in particular by one source for his capability on “significant cartel cases.” He is well versed in litigating matters before the Competition Tribunal as well as in cartel investigations.”
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The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory: Recognized in Competition Law; Class Actions
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Best Lawyers in Canada: Recognized in Class Action Litigation; Competition/Antitrust Law; Corporate and Commercial Litigation
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Legal 500: Recognized as a Recommended Lawyer in Competition/Antitrust Law
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Who’s Who Legal: Recognized in Competition (Canada)
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Benchmark Litigation Canada: Recognized in Dispute Resolution; Competition/Antitrust; Class Action (Litigation Star)
Media Mentions
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Osler News Nov 23, 2023
23 Osler lawyers recognized in Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation 2023
23 Osler lawyers featured in the Lexpert Special Edition: Litigation 2023.
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Osler News Jan 27, 2020
29 Osler lawyers recognized in Benchmark Litigation 2020
Osler is proud to announce that 29 of our litigation lawyers appear in Benchmark Litigation’s 2020 issue of Benchmark Canada, their annual...
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Osler News Apr 17, 2018
25 Osler lawyers recognized in Benchmark Litigation 2018
Osler is proud to announce that 25 of its lawyers appear in Benchmark Litigation’s 2018 issue of Benchmark Canada, their annual publication...
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Osler News Feb 27, 2017
Benchmark Canada recognizes Osler’s Class Action expertise
Benchmark Canada recently presented its 2017 awards at a gala ceremony in Toronto. We are proud to announce Osler partner Maureen Killoran Q.C. won...
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Speaking and Writing
Published Work
- Professionalism Issues in Class Action Litigation, The Law Society of Upper Canada, Class Actions – A Bootcamp for Litigators, October 2, 2014.
- U.S. Supreme Court holds that “reverse payment” patent litigation settlements are not immune from antitrust review, Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review, vol. 2, no. 3, August 2013 (written with Vincent de Grandpré and Michelle Lally).
- “Obtaining Evidence in Canada for U.S. Litigation” presented at the Cross-Border Litigation Forum in New York City on September 12, 2012 (written with Éric Préfontaine, Kevin O’Brien and Carly Fidler).
- The Certification of Antitrust Class Actions: The Recent Lessons from Canada and The Enduring Appeal of Illinois Brick, American Bar Association, Section of International Law Annual Fall Conference, September 2008.
- Antitrust Class Actions in Canada: The Recurring Obstacles to Certification Under the Shadow of Kingstreet Investments, Canadian Bar Association, Annual Fall Conference on Competition Law, September 2008.
- Cross-Border Investigations and Litigation: How to Protect Your Client in the U.S. and Canada, (Antitrust Law) American Corporate Counsel Association, ACC Webcast, December 2007.
- The OSC Won’t Wait: The Implications of Parallel Criminal and Regulatory Proceedings in Cross-Border Securities Litigation, The Canadian Institute’s 7th Annual Advanced Forum on Securities Litigation, November 2007.
- Regulatory Cooperation with the OSC & SEC: Protecting Your Rights While Minimizing Your Liability, The Canadian Institute’s 6th Annual Advanced Forum on Securities Litigation, November 2007.
Credentials
Education
- Harvard Law School, LL.M.
- McGill University, B.C.L./LL.B. (Gold Medallist)
- McGill University, B.A. (Honours)
Languages
- French
- English
Professional Affiliations
- Canadian Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Section of Antitrust Law
- American Bar Association, Section of International Law
- Advocates Society
- Harvard Law School Association of Toronto, President
