Bruce is a partner in the firm's Restructuring and Insolvency Group. Bruce is a veteran in the field of international insolvency and has been prominently involved in a number of international associations. He is Immediate Past Chair of the International Bar Association's Committee on Insolvency and Creditors' Rights (comprising 1,200 lawyers from 80 countries); Founding Member, Chair and Director of The Insolvency Institute of Canada, a limited membership invitational organization of senior insolvency professionals in Canada established in 1990; Past Chair of the Insolvency Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association; and Past Vice-Chair of the International Bankruptcy Subcommittee of the American Bar Association's Business Bankruptcy Committee.
Bruce is a Member of the American Law Institute, where he is the Chair for Canada and Co-Reporter for Canada for the Institute's Transnational Insolvency Project. He is a Life Patron Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and an international participant in the United States National Bankruptcy Conference. Bruce is also a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and a Director of the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is Co-Director of the LL.M. Program in Insolvency Law at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Canada's only graduate program in insolvency law. Bruce is a frequent writer and speaker on international insolvency and reorganizations and has authored or edited the following works: Co-Editor,Current Developments in International Insolvencies and Reorganization (Graham and Trotman, London, 1994); Co-Editor, Multinational Commercial Insolvency (American Bar Association: Chicago, 1993); Author,Guide to Commercial Insolvency in Canada (Butterworths 1988). In addition, he is a Contributing Editor ofNorton Bankruptcy Law and Practice, a Contributing Editor to the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal and a member of the Editorial Board of Tolley's Insolvency Law and Practice (London). As a practitioner, Bruce has been involved in many of the most significant reorganization cases in Canada and internationally, including, among others: Olympia & York, Confederation Life Insurance, Johns-Manville, Cadillac-Fairview, Dome Petroleum, Massey-Ferguson, Bramalea Inc., Everfresh Beverages, Standard Trustco, Eaton's of Canada, Canadian Airlines International, Stelco Inc., Air Canada, Nortel Networks and AbitibiBowater. Bruce also acted as lead agent for the Federal Government of Canada in connection with the court-supervised sale of both General Motors and Chrysler. The transaction involved over US$12.5 billion of new Canadian Government financing and included a host of extremely time-sensitive issues, including cross-border bankruptcy, M&A, financing and litigation.
Bruce is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, teaching the International Insolvency segment of the University of Toronto's Global Professional Master of Laws Program.
Achievements
· Chambers Global 2012 (Restructuring/Insolvency)
· Who's Who Legal: Canada 2010-2011 (Insolvency & Restructuring)
· Euromoney Expert Guide's "The Best of the Best 2008"
· Martindale-Hubbell, AV PreeminentTM rating
· Euromoney Expert Guide's "The Best of the Best 2006"
· The International Who's Who of Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers (Most Highly Regarded - Global)
· Euromoney Expert Guide to the World's Leading Insolvency & Restructuring Lawyers, 2005
· Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2004
· Euromoney Expert Guide's "The Best of the Best 2004"
· Euromoney Expert Guide's leading lawyers 2003
· Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2003
Associations
· American Bankruptcy Institute
· American Bar Foundation (Life Patron Fellow)
· American College of Bankruptcy (Fellow and first Canadian elected to the Board of Directors)
· American Law Institute
· Canadian Bar Association
· Insolvency Institute of Canada (Past Chair)
· International Committee of the United States National Bankruptcy Conference (Chair)
· International Insolvency Institute (Chair)
· Ontario Bar Association
· United States National Bankruptcy Conference
Publications and Resources
Bruce Leonard Participates in Financier Worldwide Roundtable on Bankruptcy Litigation
In The News
03/23/2012, Cassels Brock Recognized In Chambers Global 2012
09/29/2011, 15 Cassels Brock Lawyers Recognized by Who's Who Legal: Canada 2011
03/23/2011, Bruce Leonard Chairs American College of Bankruptcy Panel
01/27/2011, Bruce Leonard and David Ward to Teach International Insolvency Law for New Global Professional Master of Laws Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law
12/21/2010, Bruce Leonard Again Elected to Who's Who Legal in Canada for Insolvency and Restructuring
10/26/2010, Bruce Leonard Chairs National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Program
07/27/2010, 14 Cassels Brock Lawyers Recognized by Who's Who Legal: Canada 2010
06/22/2010, International Insolvency Institute Rome Conference
Presentations
Bruce Leonard to Present at Annual Meeting of the American Law Institute
Bruce Leonard to Present to the Council of the American Law Institute
Articles
Bruce Leonard Participates in Financier Worldwide Roundtable on Bankruptcy Litigation, 07/05/2011
Newsletter Articles
Professional Notes - December 2010, 12/20/2010
Professional Notes - October 2010, 10/14/2010
Professional Notes - September 2010, 09/02/2010
International Insolvency Institute Rome Conference, 08/03/2010
International Insolvencies, 09/17/2009
Newsletters
International Insolvency Institute 12th Annual Conference: Paris, France June 21 - 22, 2012, 05/18/2012
Insolvency Watch: Arctic Glacier Obtains Court Protection to Conduct Search for New Investors, 02/28/2012
Insolvency Watch: Union of Canada Life to Be Wound Up Due to Inadequate Capital and Deteriorating Finances, 02/06/2012
Insolvency Watch: Catalyst Paper Secures CCAA Protection After Negotiations with Note-Holders and Unions Fail, 02/02/2012
Insolvency Watch: Catalyst Paper Seeks US Court Protection But Will Continue Normal Operations, 01/23/2012
Insolvency Watch: Timminco Granted Court Protection in Wake of Liquidity Crisis, 01/11/2012
Insolvency Watch: Cell for Obtains Court Protection in Canada and US, 01/09/2012
Insolvency Watch: National Clothing Chain to Be Sold Under CCAA Protection, 01/05/2012
Insolvency Watch: Renin Group Granted CCAA Protection to Resolve Impasse, 12/19/2011
Insolvency Watch: Oilsands Quest Granted CCAA Protection by Alberta Court, 12/08/2011
The Top Ten United States Bankruptcies, 12/05/2011
Insolvency Watch: Norgate Metals is Granted CCAA Protection by Québec Superior Court, 12/01/2011
Restructuring and Insolvency Group e-COMMUNIQUÉ - June 2011, 06/09/2011
Restructuring and Insolvency Group e-COMMUNIQUÉ - December 2010, 12/22/2010
Restructuring and Insolvency Group e-COMMUNIQUÉ - October 2010, 10/21/2010
Restructuring and Insolvency Group e-COMMUNIQUÉ - September 2010, 08/30/2010
Restructuring and Insolvency Group e-COMMUNIQUE - October 2009, 11/09/2009
Canadian Insolvency Law Amendments in force September 18, 2009, 09/17/2009