The Hon. Herman J. Wilton-Siegel brings extensive practical experience to arbitration and mediation based on a career that has involved the practice of corporate and commercial law as a partner of Torys, corporate management as a senior executive of Centrica PLC, a public energy corporation, directorships of several entities including a public mining corporation, exposure to provincial and municipal government, and lengthy service on the Superior Court of Ontario. As a judge, he sat principally on the Commercial List where he presided over complex corporate and commercial cases, prominent insolvency and restructuring matters, shareholder disputes, estate litigation involving significant corporate entities, as well as real estate, insurance and international arbitration matters. As a result, Mr. Wilton-Siegel brings not only extensive legal knowledge and expertise in deciding and mediating a wide range of disputes but also practical knowledge of the underlying business context of such disputes.
The Hon. Herman J. Wilton-Siegel brings extensive practical experience to arbitration and mediation based on a career that has included the practice of corporate and commercial law, management in a senior executive position, participation as a director of several entities, and exposure to provincial and municipal government. Most recently, Mr. Wilton-Siegel had a lengthy career on the Superior Court of Ontario, principally on the Commercial List where he presided over complex corporate and commercial cases and estate litigation involving significant corporate entities.
Educated at the University of Toronto, Oxford University (as a Rhodes Scholar), Dalhousie Law School and Harvard Law School, the Hon. Herman J. Wilton-Siegel practiced law at Torys from 1975 to 2001 specializing in securities law, mergers & acquisitions and corporate governance, as well as international trade.
While in private practice, Mr. Wilton-Siegel developed a particular expertise in a number of areas including public and private financings, asset purchases and share purchase transactions, investment banking, private equity transactions, partnerships and business trusts. His clients included, in particular, financial institutions, including investment banks, chartered banks, other commercial lenders and investment managers, national and international mining and oil and gas corporations, as well as real estate, forestry, insurance and re-insurance entities. As a consequence, as an arbitrator and mediator, Mr. Wilton-Siegel brings a deep understanding of complex corporate and commercial transactions in the principal sectors of the Canadian economy.
In addition, Mr. Wilton-Siegel had considerable involvement in the area of corporate governance. In this connection, he acted on behalf of public and private investors in contested situations including takeover bids and proxy contests and advised boards of directors and special board committees. In addition, prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, Mr. Wilton-Siegel also held several board positions in the public and private sectors, including directorships of Dayton Mining Corporation, a public mining corporation, the Toronto Port Authority and the Doctors Hospital.
In 2000, Mr. Wilton-Siegel was appointed Senior Vice-President and General Counsel for North America of Centrica PLC, the public parent corporation of British Gas, a diversified energy company which markets gas and electricity to industrial, commercial and residential customers in unregulated North American markets. In this capacity, Mr. Wilton-Siegel served as a member of the North American Executive Committee of the company alongside his role as the senior lawyer for North America.
In 2002, Mr. Wilton-Siegel was appointed to the Superior Court of Ontario in 2002 on which he served until his retirement in 2024 hearing matters in both English and French. During his time on the Bench, Mr. Wilton-Siegel sat mainly on the Commercial List, the Divisional Court and on several occasions on the Court of Appeal on an ex officio basis. While on the Commercial List, he presided over many significant matters. In particular, this included contractual disputes, prominent insolvency and restructuring matters, public and private corporate and shareholder disputes, insurance matters, estate litigation involving significant corporate entities, pension and employment disputes, and international arbitration matters. In this role, he also actively encouraged and participated in formal and informal mediation as an alternative to formal adjudication. On the Divisional Court, he heard a large number of cases involving decisions of the administrative tribunals within the Province concerning a broad range of substantive issues including matters involving the Charter of Rights.
In addition, during a sabbatical from late 1987 to 1990, Mr. Wilton-Siegel acted as the policy advisor to the Minister of Financial Institutions and Chairman of Management Board of Ontario. In this capacity he oversaw a number of trust company, insurance, restructuring and pension related matters. Also, in 2019, Mr. Wilton-Siegel was appointed the Commissioner of the Red Hill Valley Parkway Inquiry, a judicial inquiry called by the City of Hamilton to inquire into matters relating to the traffic safety experience of the Parkway. The Inquiry Report in 2023 addressed the engineering, design and construction of the municipal Parkway, traffic safety initiatives implemented by City staff, and the oversight of the Parkway by the City administration and Council.
