Shawn has been helping clients resolve commercial disputes and employment issues since 1985.

Shawn O'Connor practices commercial,
employment and insurance litigation, and has
appeared in all levels of Ontario Courts as well
as the Federal Court of Appeal. Shawn has
extensive experience with the Workplace Safety
and Appeals Tribunal and he regularly advises
insurers on Statutory Accident Benefits matters.
He advises builders and home owners on
construction lien claims and building deficiency
claims brought before the Courts and at
arbitration hearings.

Examples of some of the unique challenges Shawn has been able to assist clients with include:

• Representing an employer facing suits by family members of employee
  Shawn successfully represented the Federal Government before the Workers' Safety Insurance Appeals Tribunal in what has become the leading case on the issue of whether family members of the injured worker could commence proceedings against the employer (Wright V Bradley Air Services – Ontario Superior Court).
• Transferring cost of claims to another employer
  Shawn has successfully represented many employers in loss transfer disputes. In a recent case the cost of claim was removed from his client's record and transferred to another employer.
• Refusal to close a commercial real estate transaction
  Shawn successfully represented the purchaser of $.5M commercial real estate property when the vendor refused to complete the transaction due to a technicality. In this case, now known as the '5:01pm closing case', the Land Registry office was unable to register the transfer of property ownership on the agreed day due to office closing time. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice agreed that the registration of the sale was simply the machinery of the sale and did not represent the substance of the transaction and ordered the vendor to complete the sale. (888394 Ontario Inc. v. Cornwall Centre Road Properties Inc.)
• Recouping funds for estate beneficiaries
  Shawn acted on behalf of a group of estate beneficiaries when the estate executor was using the funds inappropriately and making prohibited investments. Shawn obtained an interim injunction to trace and freeze the assets which led to recovery of $490,000 for the legitimate estate beneficiaries.

From 1993 to 1998, Shawn was an instructor for the Civil Litigation section of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Bar Admission Course in Ottawa and he continues to be a regular speaker on continuing education programs.

Shawn is recognised for both his Legal Ability and Ethical Standards, in the 2011 Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review.