Todd J. Burke
Todd Burke practises in the areas of complex commercial litigation, insurance defence, professional liability and crisis management. He also provides clients with risk and crisis management advice.
In 30 years of practice, Todd has represented national and international clients in a number of sectors, including manufacturing, finance, technology, transportation, health and nuclear energy.
In civil and arbitration mandates, he delivers effective representation, proven value and excellent client service. In a 2018 trade secret case, the judge commented that an expert "was largely destroyed" based on Todd's cross-examination. Recent mandates have focused on shareholder disputes, oppression claims, real estate disputes, software implementation, environmental contamination, construction disputes, professional negligence, product liability and disciplinary proceedings before various professional colleges.
Todd also has extensive experience in domestic and international arbitration, cross-border issues and in obtaining injunctions.
In 2021, Todd was the winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award for Litigation in Canada. Comments made by his clients demonstrate Todd's commitment to client service:
- "Todd led a team which provided great service to our clients and partners and his handling of complex matters was superlative, permitting us to achieve excellent results."
- "Todd was a full-fledged partner at all levels, sharing his vast experience and knowledge with my team and myself, thus permitting us to better attain our objectives. No matter how complex or urgent the situation, we could always count on Todd."
- "Todd Burke is one of our most trusted advisors. When we call on Todd for his expertise, we know that, in doing so, we can count on him to provide us with real value."
- "He has a way of helping us to peel away complexity, getting to the heart of the matter and driving results for our team."
- "In the support Todd provides, we know that Todd will not only address our specific question or need but will do so in a way that offers us choices and a practical approach."
- "Todd is always looking for ways to solve problems that don't necessarily fall into the usual process and often will go out of his way to solve problems that at first blush may seem unsolvable."
- "Todd is an effective communicator, and he is deeply aware of the intricacies of our business, for which he makes a point of getting familiar with – this allows him to effectively serve our needs and ultimately obtain the best results for our business."
Todd was also the winner of the Lexology Client Choice Award for Litigation in Ontario in 2018. In addition, Todd has been top ranked in Lexpert, Best Lawyers in Canada and Benchmark Litigation. Most recently, Todd was named a stand-out lawyer by Thomson Reuters.
Given his broad experience, Todd is available to act as an arbitrator on cases in the commercial, insurance and professional liability fields. He has also conducted or responded to investigations in a number of sensitive situations.
As part of his practice, Todd is a frequent lecturer on crisis management. He also has a special interest in the risks created by artificial intelligence (AI) and has given numerous presentations, as well as written articles on this topic.
Todd is co-leader of the firm's Lloyds of London Client Service Team. In the past, Todd has led the firm's national Commercial Litigation Group, the firm's US Initiative and was the lead trustee of the firm's Canadian Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Hnatyshyn Foundation.