Stephen J. Maddex is one of very few lawyers in Canada with considerable litigation experience in the U.S.  Stephen joined the firm in October 2011.  His practice is focused on complex commercial litigation and U.S./Canada cross-border litigation, where he is typically engaged in complex, multi-million-dollar disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, beginning in 1999, Stephen practiced commercial litigation at two U.S.-based law firms in Houston, Texas, where he gained significant trial experience. During this time, Stephen appeared in courts all over Texas, conducted approximately 25 trials, including approximately 20 jury trials, and appeared before the Texas Court of Appeals.  He was lead counsel in a wide-variety of matters, including a US$10 million dollar wrongful death suit, complex, multi-party contract disputes, and several other multi-million-dollar lawsuits. In 2008, Stephen returned to Canada and joined the Ottawa office of a national law firm.

Stephen is licensed to appear before and has appeared before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Stephen's Ontario commercial litigation practice includes handling cases involving breach of contract, tort, construction, partnership disputes, oppression remedies, and disputes involving governmental entities.

Stephen also has expertise handling cases involving oil-and-gas, securities, employment, real estate, landlord-tenant, premises liability, environmental damage, toxic torts, employment benefits and ERISA, and disputes involving constitutional rights and eminent domain. Stephen also advises clients with respect to litigation preparedness, document management, and e-discovery.

In addition, because of Stephen's extensive litigation experience in the U.S., he is uniquely situated to advise U.S.-based clients with respect to their litigation needs in Ontario and Canada-based clients with respect to their litigation needs in the U.S. More specifically, Stephen's cross-border litigation practice involves:

• Representing U.S. litigants in litigation in Ontario; 
• Representing Canadian litigants in litigation in the U.S.; 
• Representing litigants in Canada where the claims are governed by the law of a U.S. jurisdiction; 
• Conducting cross-border discovery – including obtaining evidence in Ontario for use in a U.S. proceeding and obtaining evidence in the U.S. for use in a domestic proceeding; 
• Advising Canadian clients with respect to cross-border personal jurisdiction; and 
• Advising Canadian and U.S. clients with respect to matters relating to parallel legal proceedings.

Stephen is a frequent writer and speaker at conferences and seminars on topics relating to litigation preparedness, electronic discovery, and matters unique to cross-border litigation. Stephen also has been a frequent contributor to CFRA Radio discussing the U.S. legal aspects of the proceedings in the U.S. involving Canadian media mogul Conrad Black.

 

Bar Admissions
Texas 1999
Ontario 2008

Education
B.A., University of Victoria (1992)
J.D. (summa cum laude), University of Arkansas (1999)

Special Recognition
• Texas Rising Stars 2006

Memberships
• Chair, New York State Bar Association's International Law Section, Ottawa Chapter
• Executive Committee, Ontario Bar Association, International Law Section
• State Bar of Texas
• New York State Bar Association
• Sedona Canada Working Group 7

Languages 
• Conversant in spoken and written Japanese
 

Assistant - Donna McKay
T. 613-237-4000 ext. 202
[email protected]