Peter Downard is a senior litigator and leading practitioner in the area of defamation. With extensive experience acting as defamation counsel throughout litigation proceedings, he has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada, Ontario Court of Appeal for Ontario, trials and numerous mediations and advisory matters. Peter also has comprehensive experience in commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
Peter is the author of The Law of Libel in Canada, referred to as an authority on libel law in numerous court decisions, and of the volume Defamation in Halsbury’s Laws of Canada.
Peter was one of three appointed members of the Attorney General of Ontario’s Advisory Panel on Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP), whose work resulted in the enactment of the Ontario Protection of Public Participation Act 2015
Peter has been repeatedly recognized as a leading practitioner in defamation litigation in Lexpert, the Lexpert Guide to the Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Litigation Lawyers in Canada, Best Lawyers in Canada, and by Benchmark Canada as a ‘Litigation Star’
Peter also has extensive experience as counsel in a wide range of civil litigation, administrative proceedings and public inquiries
