Stephen Cavanagh

Founding Partner

Steve is an innovator, a leader, and a mentor, but above all, an advocate.

Steve’s practice focuses on professional liability, insurance and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience in advising both insurers and insureds about coverage issues and has had several reported cases in that field. He has also acted as a mediator and as an arbitrator in various types of civil disputes, principally in the areas of insurance and commercial law.  From 2007 until 2021, Steve was a member of the Ontario Civil Rules Committee, which deals with making and reforming the Rules of Civil Procedure. He chaired the 2013 and 2021 subcommittees that addressed the discount rate, provided for in rule 53.09.

In 2020, in the wake of changes to civil practice made necessary by COVID-19, Steve was invited to serve as a member of the “Civil Working Group”, made up of judges and practitioners from across the province. The group is chaired by the Regional Senior Justices in Toronto and Ottawa and looks at ways to reform the civil litigation process in Ontario.  Steve is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has been selected for inclusion among The Best Lawyers in Canada in Insurance Law and Malpractice Law (2014, 2017, 2019 and 2025) and has been “Repeatedly Recommended” as a Leading Practitioner in the field of “Litigation-Commercial Insurance” by LEXPERT.

Practice Areas

Professional Liability
Insurance
Commercial LItigation

Biography

Steve is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of Litigation Counsel of America. He is certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has been selected for inclusion among The Best Lawyers in Canada in Insurance Law and Professional Malpractice Law has been “Repeatedly Recommended” as a Leading Practitioner in the field of “Litigation-Commercial Insurance” by LEXPERT.

In 2014, 2017 and 2019, Best Lawyers in Canada named Steve “Lawyer of the Year” in the area of Insurance Law.

In 2020, the County of Carleton Law Association awarded Steve the Carleton Medal. It is given to a lawyer who is most deserving of recognition for great diligence, high ideals and outstanding leadership in the practice of law throughout their career.

From 2007 to 2021, Steve was a member of the Ontario Civil Rules Committee, which is responsible for the Rules of Civil Procedure. In 2013 and again in 2021, he was a member of a subcommittee which undertook the required quadrennial review of rules regarding the discount rate, gross-up and prejudgment interest on non-pecuniary damages. (Rules 53.09 and 53.10).

For five years, Steve was the Ottawa Senior Instructor of Civil Litigation for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course. He also taught Insurance Law and Trial Advocacy at uOttawa’s law school for several years.