Frank Walwyn

Frank Walwyn is known for his resourceful approach to litigating some of the most challenging business cases in Canada and the Caribbean.

Frank is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is repeatedly named as one of Canada’s top lawyers in the area of Corporate and Commercial Litigation in The Best Lawyers in Canada, Who’s Who Legal, Benchmark Canada, the Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, among many others. In March 2019, Frank was selected to receive a Law Society Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the Law Society of Ontario. In 2018, he was named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential in the justice system and legal profession in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine. Frank has also received the 2016 Ontario Bar Association Award for Distinguished Service, and a 2016 Lexpert Zenith Award as a champion of diversity and inclusion. Frank was a member of the Standing Strong Task Force struck by the President of Ryerson University to seek an understanding of Egerton Ryerson’s life and legacy in the context of his involvement with Canada’s Residential Schools, and to report on the role of commemoration in the community. The recommendations of this Task Force ultimately led to the renaming of Ryerson University as Toronto Metropolitan University, a change which was adopted in order to create a more inclusive campus culture and environment.

Frank appears as counsel on complex multi-jurisdiction litigation matters. He is licensed to practise law in Canada, and is also a member of the bars of Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. Frank is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. His advocacy covers a wide range of matters including challenges to restraint orders made pursuant to criminal Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, multi-jurisdictional corporate disputes often involving shareholder rights and directors duties, forensic investigations into fraud and corruption, reciprocal registering and recognition of judgments from Canada, the UK, the US and the Caribbean, and complex offshore trusts and estates litigation. Many of the cases in which Frank is involved have led to important or precedent-setting judgments, including decisions in the areas of venue selection, procedural rights for appeals to the Privy Council, constitutional rights and freedoms, the court’s jurisdiction to grant relief involving foreign elements, and electronic discovery.

Frank is an active member of many legal and community boards and initiatives. He is Past President of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers International Committee, Emil Gumpert Award Committee, Teaching Abroad Committee, Task Force on Fellow Engagement and Task Force on Mentoring. Frank is a former member of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee for appointments to the Ontario Court of Justice, and the Judicial Appointments Committee for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Greater Toronto Area. Frank is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Queen’s University Faculty of Law.

Frank is also a sought after speaker in Canada, the US and the Caribbean on legal topics, and is frequently quoted in the legal press and general media.

Frank’s contributions to the legal profession and to the community have been formally acknowledged on many occasions, including: the Diamond Jubilee Medal presented by Command of Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of his contributions to Canada; the Law Society Medal―the highest honour of the Law Society of Ontario―in recognition of his significant contributions to the profession; The Law Society of Upper Canada’s Lincoln Alexander Award in recognition of his commitment to the public and its well-being through community service; the Ontario Bar Association’s Award for Distinguished Service, which recognizes exceptional career contributions and/or career achievements to jurisprudence in Ontario or Canada or to the legal profession, law or development of the law in Ontario or a significant law related benefit to residents of Ontario; the Alumni Achievement Award from Toronto Metropolitan University awarded to Toronto Metropolitan graduates who have excelled in their careers and have made a significant contribution to their profession and community; and the Vice Chancellor’s Achievement Award from The University of the West Indies given to individuals of Caribbean heritage who are “rising stars” in Canada.