Thought Leaders

Duncan W Glaholt is the founding partner of Glaholt LLP. In 2014 he won the OBA Award of Excellence in Construction Law, and he has been consistently named one of Canada’s leading construction lawyers by Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. He is an experienced arbitrator and mediator, and a fellow of CIArb. Mr Glaholt is a founding fellow and past president of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers; a fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers; and a founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers. He has authored several books on his areas of expertise, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

Describe your career to date?

Engaged, relevant, fortunate. My career maps on to a period of tremendous growth in the construction industry globally; the establishment of sophisticated institutional resources for dispute resolution in the industry; and the advent of technology that has reshaped my practice, and that of many, many others.

What qualities make for an effective construction lawyer?

To quote the present Chief Justice of Canada, there are two primary qualities: “courage and creativity”. To that I would add relentless hard work and frequent cross-disciplinary experiences throughout my career.

What are some potential growth areas for the Canadian construction market and why?

We are just beginning to address an infrastructure deficit that is 50 years in the making, as well as an outright and long-overdue infrastructure debt to Canadians who live in remote communities, without the clean water or reliable utilities that the rest of the country simply takes for granted.

What are the benefits of implementing collaborative dispute resolution in the construction industry?

I will go out on a limb and claim that collaboration is the only sensible, merits-based dispute resolution process in an active market with repeat, high-value interactions, such as resource extraction and energy markets. The next decade will see the adoption of this methodology and a growing market for collaboratively trained advocates. I have written on this point and spoken about it publicly here and abroad on several occasions.

The Supreme Court of Canada addressed the organising principle of good faith in contracting in 2014. How has this impacted construction matters?

The Quebec Court of Appeal is way ahead of the rest of the country in accepting the distinction between transactional and relational contracts, particularly in the construction sector, and in recognising the socioeconomic benefits of ethical contract performance. Common law Canada should heed the decisions of that court. Justice Cromwell courageously set us on the path with Bhasin.

Where, in your opinion, does the future of the practice area lie?

In serial limited scope retainers, real-time interim binding statutory adjudication, and collaborative methods of merits-based dispute resolution. The hierarchical partnership model of law firm organisation must adapt or die.

What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own firm?

It’s just like planting trees: the best time to have done it is 20 years ago, the second best time is right now, today.

You have enjoyed a very distinguished career so far. What would you like to achieve that you have not yet accomplished?

Having just read Dean Harry Arthurs’ remarkable wee book Connecting the Dots: The Life of an Academic Lawyer, I almost despair of hoping to achieve anything lasting – but I dream that I might. The introduction of statutory adjudication to Canada is certainly a start. If I could see collaborative dispute resolution establish itself in the resource and energy sectors, I would die happy (professionally speaking of course).

Duncan W Glaholt, CArb, is the founder and a partner of the leading and nationally recognised construction law firm, Glaholt LLP. He has been consistently named one of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada in the field of construction law. Mr Glaholt is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in construction law. He is a fellow of both the American and Canadian Colleges of construction lawyers and founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers.

Mr Glaholt is author and co-author of several standard reference books on construction law and alternative dispute resolution topics, including the Halsbury’s Laws of Canada Construction and Alternative Dispute Resolution titles (LexisNexis, 2008 and 2009; reissues 2017 and 2018), The Law of ADR in Canada: An Introductory Guide (second edition, LexisNexis, 2018), Construction Builders’ and Mechanics Liens in Canada (seventh edition, Carswell, 2005), Conduct of a Lien Action 2018 (Carswell, 2017) and The 2018 Annotated Ontario Construction Lien Act (Carswell, 2017). He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Mr Glaholt is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has mediated and arbitrated a wide range of complex, multiparty construction industry disputes with particular focus on mining, energy and infrastructure, co-generation, nuclear power, power distribution systems and conventional infrastructure and environmental projects.

Mr Glaholt has worked to bring adjudication rules and collaborative settlement practices into the Canadian legal mainstream.

Duncan W Glaholt, CArb, is the founder and a partner of the leading and nationally recognised construction law firm, Glaholt LLP. He has been consistently named in the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada guide, in the field of construction law. Mr Glaholt is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in construction law. He is a fellow of both the American and Canadian Colleges of Construction Lawyers, and a founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers.

Mr Glaholt is author and co-author of several standard reference books on construction law and alternative dispute resolution topics, including the Halsbury's Laws of Canada Construction and Alternative Dispute Resolution titles (LexisNexis, reissues 2017 and 2018), The Law of ADR in Canada: An Introductory Guide (LexisNexis, second edition 2018), Construction Builders' and Mechanics Liens in Canada (seventh edition, Carswell, 2005), Conduct of Lien, Trust and Adjudication Proceedings 2019 (Carswell, 2019) and The 2019 Annotated Construction Act (Carswell, 2019). He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Mr Glaholt is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has mediated and arbitrated a wide range of complex, multiparty construction industry disputes with particular focus on mining, energy and infrastructure, co-generation, nuclear power, power distribution systems and conventional infrastructure and environmental projects.

Mr Glaholt is the recipient of the 2014 OBA Award of Excellence in Construction Law and the 2018 Toronto Construction Association Donald Griffin Jr Award for lifetime contribution to the industry.

Mr Glaholt has worked to bring adjudication rules and collaborative settlement practices into the Canadian legal mainstream.

Duncan W Glaholt, CArb, is the founder and a partner of the leading and nationally recognised construction law firm of Glaholt LLP, consistently peer rated as one of Canada’s most highly recommended mid-sized construction law practices. He is the recipient of the 2014 OBA Award of Excellence in Construction Law and the 2018 TCA Donald Griffin Jr Award, and has been named one of Canada’s leading lawyers in the construction law category in the Lexpert/American Lawyer‘s “leading 500 lawyers in Canada” every year that category appeared in publication. Mr Glaholt maintains Martindale-Hubble’s highest possible AV rating and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in construction law. 

Mr Glaholt is a chartered arbitrator and mediator. He is a founding fellow and past president of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, a fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, and a founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers and the North American branch of the Society of Construction Law. He is author and co-author of standard reference books on lien legislation, construction law, and alternative dispute resolution, such as The Law of ADR in Canada: An Introductory Guide, second edition (Markham, LexisNexis, 2018) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada - Alternative Dispute Resolution (Markham, LexisNexis, 2009, Reissue 2014, Reissue 2018), as well as an adjunct professor at the faculty of law at the University of Toronto.

As one of Canada’s foremost mediators and arbitrators of complex construction disputes, with a specialty in complex multi-party infrastructure disputes,  Mr Glaholt has been a member of arbitration panels in energy industry, wind power, cogeneration, nuclear power, nuclear new build and retrofit, solar power and related BOP and distribution systems as well as conventional infrastructure, environmental and housing development projects, both under institutional (ICC, JAMS, UNCITRAL) and ad hoc rules. In addition, he has had court appointments as a claims officer in major infrastructure insolvencies and as a referee of complex construction disputes.

Duncan W Glaholt, CArb, is the founder and a partner of the leading and nationally recognised construction law firm, Glaholt LLP. He has been consistently named one of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada in the field of construction law. Mr Glaholt is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in construction law. He is a fellow of both the American and Canadian Colleges of construction lawyers and founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers.

Mr Glaholt is author and co-author of several standard reference books on construction law and alternative dispute resolution topics, including the Halsbury’s Laws of Canada Construction and Alternative Dispute Resolution titles (LexisNexis, 2008 and 2009; reissues 2017 and 2018), The Law of ADR in Canada: An Introductory Guide (second edition, LexisNexis, 2018), Construction Builders’ and Mechanics Liens in Canada (seventh edition, Carswell, 2005), Conduct of a Lien Action 2018 (Carswell, 2017) and The 2018 Annotated Ontario Construction Lien Act (Carswell, 2017). He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Mr Glaholt is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has mediated and arbitrated a wide range of complex, multiparty construction industry disputes with particular focus on mining, energy and infrastructure, co-generation, nuclear power, power distribution systems and conventional infrastructure and environmental projects.

Mr Glaholt has worked to bring adjudication rules and collaborative settlement practices into the Canadian legal mainstream.

Duncan W Glaholt, CArb, is the founder and a partner of the leading and nationally recognised construction law firm, Glaholt LLP. He has been consistently named in the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada guide, in the field of construction law. Mr Glaholt is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a specialist in construction law. He is a fellow of both the American and Canadian Colleges of Construction Lawyers, and a founding fellow of the International Academy of Construction Lawyers.

Mr Glaholt is author and co-author of several standard reference books on construction law and alternative dispute resolution topics, including the Halsbury's Laws of Canada Construction and Alternative Dispute Resolution titles (LexisNexis, reissues 2017 and 2018), The Law of ADR in Canada: An Introductory Guide (LexisNexis, second edition 2018), Construction Builders' and Mechanics Liens in Canada (seventh edition, Carswell, 2005), Conduct of Lien, Trust and Adjudication Proceedings 2019 (Carswell, 2019) and The 2019 Annotated Construction Act (Carswell, 2019). He is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.

Mr Glaholt is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has mediated and arbitrated a wide range of complex, multiparty construction industry disputes with particular focus on mining, energy and infrastructure, co-generation, nuclear power, power distribution systems and conventional infrastructure and environmental projects.

Mr Glaholt is the recipient of the 2014 OBA Award of Excellence in Construction Law and the 2018 Toronto Construction Association Donald Griffin Jr Award for lifetime contribution to the industry.

Mr Glaholt has worked to bring adjudication rules and collaborative settlement practices into the Canadian legal mainstream.