Peter Ruby acts as a sole and panel-member arbitrator and mediator with a focus on the technology and energy sectors, as well as corporate/commercial domestic and international disputes. In his over 25-year counsel practice, Peter has been balanced between representing multinational and entrepreneurial vendors of technology and services, and many end-users of information technology. With respect to energy, Peter has represented in disputes developers and operators of renewable power projects, electricity utilities, investors, resource companies, industry associations and provincial government bodies. More generally, Peter deals with a wide variety of commercial and corporate business disputes. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a member of the Canadian roster of the AAA’s International Center for Dispute Resolution, and co-leads the North America committee of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center.
Peter’s technology dispute resolution work includes dealing with disputes about software, cloud services, hardware, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, telecommunications, film, television, privacy and data protection, intellectual property, ecommerce and the internet litigation – in both the Canadian and international spheres. In addition to his busy counsel practice, Peter is often called upon to assist parties to resolve their disputes without adjudication, by way of mediation or providing second opinion guidance about creative ways to avoid formal dispute resolution. With respect to privacy and data protection, Peter has handled business-related privacy disputes and regulatory matters and has considerable experience assisting clients with data breach incidents and cybersecurity. In the technology law field, Peter is a well know figure, among other things being a member of the Executive Committee of the International Technology Law Association, a former director of the Canadian Technology Law Association and the founder of Canada’s popular Technology Law Discussion Forum. Peter was a law clerk to the Federal Court of Canada and for over a dozen years was a Professor of Law (adj.) at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School teaching internet law.
With respect to the energy sector, Peter has handled matters related to electricity generation (including renewable power), transmission, mergers and acquisitions, rates adjudication, access matters, joint venture disputes, leases, real estate development and distribution issues, and regulatory issues.
Peter also has extensive experience with respect to a variety of corporate, commercial and restructuring disputes, including shareholder matters, contract-based issues and acquisition-related disputes. He has appeared as counsel at all levels of the courts of Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as on many arbitration proceedings. Peter also successfully argued a leading international arbitration-related appeal in Dancap Productions Inc. v. Key Brand Entertainment Inc. [2009] O.J. No. 1500. In 2021 one of Peter’s clients endowed a Dispute Resolution Award in his name at Osgoode Hall Law School.
