Stephen Richard Morrison LL.B., C. Arb, C. Med, FCIArb
Mediator & Arbitrator
Stephen Morrison graduated with honours from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1976 and was called to the Ontario bar in 1978. Following a career in criminal law, in 1982, Stephen co-founded The Rose Corporation, a land development and investment company where he served as president and in-house legal counsel until 1999. The Rose Group, at various times, owned or controlled private and publicly-traded enterprises in automotive parts manufacturing, telecommunications, insurance, oil and gas exploration, retirement living, hotels, film studios, mini-warehousing, and financial services. Stephen has gained valuable practical and legal experience in all facets and dimensions of these activities, including land acquisition, development approvals, financing, residential low-rise, high-rise, and mixed-use condominium development, environmental matters, joint venture arrangements, and public/private partnership structures.
Most recently a partner in a leading Canadian law firm, Stephen was regularly engaged in the resolution of commercial disputes, including matters arising from development and construction projects, financing failures, delay and impact claims, contract tendering issues, environmental problems, insurance coverage disputes, and breach of trust claims. He has a firm grasp of the law in these areas and a detailed understanding of many development, construction, architectural, engineering, and environmental remediation technologies.
Stephen was also a panellist with the Condominium Dispute Resolution Centre and regularly acts as a neutral in the resolution of disputes in this area, including disputes between boards and unit owners, boards and management companies, and shared facilities disputes between condominium corporations. He has also served as a Court-appointed chair of contentious Special and Annual meetings of unit owners.
As a result of his combined business and legal background, Stephen has a unique ability to fashion practical resolutions to complex disputes. He understands that the parties prefer workable solutions to protracted litigation. As a mediator, Stephen brings a facilitative and imaginative approach to the resolution of difficult conflicts. A good listener, he helps each party to identify and rank its needs. A creative thinker, he assists the parties to find inventive ways of meeting those needs. A persistent facilitator, he is unrelenting in his pursuit of an agreement. And, as someone who loves a challenge, Stephen especially enjoys cases involving complex, multi-party disputes.
In his role as an arbitrator, Stephen understands that the parties are entrusting to him the fair resolution of a dispute that they have been unable to settle themselves in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Second only to his determination to render an equitable and legally correct decision is Stephen's commitment to ensuring that, regardless of the outcome, all parties feel confident that they have been heard and understood. He delivers clear, well-reasoned, and timely written decisions.
Stephen's commitment to excellence in practice has been recognized by the ADR Institute of Canada by granting him the designations Chartered Arbitrator and Chartered Mediator. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a founding member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society.
Most recently a partner in a leading Canadian law firm, Stephen was regularly engaged in the resolution of commercial disputes, including matters arising from development and construction projects, financing failures, delay and impact claims, contract tendering issues, environmental problems, insurance coverage disputes, and breach of trust claims. He has a firm grasp of the law in these areas and a detailed understanding of many development, construction, architectural, engineering, and environmental remediation technologies.
Stephen was also a panellist with the Condominium Dispute Resolution Centre and regularly acts as a neutral in the resolution of disputes in this area, including disputes between boards and unit owners, boards and management companies, and shared facilities disputes between condominium corporations. He has also served as a Court-appointed chair of contentious Special and Annual meetings of unit owners.
As a result of his combined business and legal background, Stephen has a unique ability to fashion practical resolutions to complex disputes. He understands that the parties prefer workable solutions to protracted litigation. As a mediator, Stephen brings a facilitative and imaginative approach to the resolution of difficult conflicts. A good listener, he helps each party to identify and rank its needs. A creative thinker, he assists the parties to find inventive ways of meeting those needs. A persistent facilitator, he is unrelenting in his pursuit of an agreement. And, as someone who loves a challenge, Stephen especially enjoys cases involving complex, multi-party disputes.
In his role as an arbitrator, Stephen understands that the parties are entrusting to him the fair resolution of a dispute that they have been unable to settle themselves in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Second only to his determination to render an equitable and legally correct decision is Stephen's commitment to ensuring that, regardless of the outcome, all parties feel confident that they have been heard and understood. He delivers clear, well-reasoned, and timely written decisions.
Stephen's commitment to excellence in practice has been recognized by the ADR Institute of Canada by granting him the designations Chartered Arbitrator and Chartered Mediator. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a founding member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society.