Wayne has 44 years of experience as a business lawyer. His current areas of focus include corporate law, not-for-profit (NFP) law, directors’ and officers’ duties and liabilities, corporate governance matters, private mergers and acquisitions and related expert evidence.

He has had leadership roles at all stages of corporate law reform federally (culminating in the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA)) and in Ontario (culminating in the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010).

Wayne advises several of the largest and most successful domestic and international industry associations, professional associations, self-governing professional colleges, trade organizations, registered charities registered Canadian amateur athletic associations, private schools and healthcare organizations on a wide range of issues. He also consults with the federal government on corporate law and policy matters.

For the Law Society of Ontario, Wayne has written or co-written three chapters in the Lawyer Licensing Materials (c. 23 “Corporate Changes”; c. 30 “Domestic and International Sale of Goods”; and c. 34 “The Purchase and Sale of a Business”).

Wayne was also the delegate of the Canadian Bar Association to the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) from 2006 to 2013. He was the chair of the Corporate Law Subcommittee of the Ontario Bar Association from 2004 to 2012, chair of the OBA Business Law Section (2012-13) and a member of the executive of the CBA Business Law Section (2012-13).

Wayne was the Practice Lead, Corporate and M&A, Practical Law, Thomson Reuters, from 2013 to 2021.

Areas of Practice

• Not for Profit Corporations
• Corporate Commercial

Bar Admissions

• British Columbia, 1978
• Ontario, 1989

Education

• Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • LL.B. - 1977
• London School of Economics Law School, London, England
  • LL.M. - 1979
• University of British Columbia
  • B.A. - 1974

Published Works (current books only)

• Ontario Corporate Law & Practice, Carswell
• Gray's Commentaries on Ontario Corporate Laws, Carswell (formerly Annotated Ontario Business Corporations Act)
• Gray's Commentaries on Federal Corporate Laws, Carswell (formerly Annotated Canada Business Corporations Act)
• Quebec Business Corporations Act: Commentary and Analysis, Editions Yvon Blais (with Charles Chevrette)

Honours and Awards

• Award for Distinguished Service, Ontario Bar Association, 2006 - Present
• Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, Lexpert/American Lawyer, 2011
• Leading Corporate-Commercial Lawyers, Lexpert, 2012 - Present

Legal Community Involvement

• CBA Business Law Section Executive 2012-13
• Uniform Law Conference Delegate 2008-13
• Founder and member of the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act working group 2008-10
• Testified on CBA's behalf before the Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology
• Chair, CBA Corporate Law Sub-Committee 2004-2012
• Founder and Co-Chair of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations working group 2007-11
• Author, Law Society of Ontario Licensing Process Examination Study Materials, Business Law (three chapters), 2012 - Present