Kevin Wright is a partner of the firm, Chair of its Competition & Antitrust Law Practice Group and member of the firm's Intellectual Property Law, Franchise and Distribution and Litigation Practice Groups. He practises in the areas of civil and commercial litigation, with particular emphasis on competition and intellectual property law. His competition practice includes current engagements as lead counsel for certain electronics and semiconductor companies in defence of proceedings brought as intended class actions in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec in respect of alleged international price-fixing.
Mr. Wright has devoted his entire career to Davis except for a leave of absence in 2000, when he worked with a prominent Washington, D.C.-based firm devoting his time exclusively to matters involving U.S. and European antitrust and competition laws.
Mr. Wright appeared before the Competition Tribunal, Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada as one of the counsel for the Competition Bureau in its application under the Competition Act challenging the acquisitions by Southam Inc. of community and specialty newspapers in British Columbia. This was the first contested merger case under the 1986 amendments to the merger provisions of the Competition Act. He has advised and represented public institutions, businesses and trade-associations with respect to competition law issues involving acquisitions, pre-notification filings, compliance, commercial agreements, marketing and trade practices and criminal conspiracy (price-fixing) investigations by the Competition Bureau.
Mr. Wright is an active member of the Canadian Bar Association National Competition Law Section. Presently, he is the Chair of its Mergers Committee; he is a past chair of its Criminal Matters Committee. He has had the opportunity to speak and present papers about competition law and intellectual property law to professional and business audiences on various occasions. He has also acted as a guest instructor for the British Columbia Professional Legal Training Course. Lexpert identifies Mr. Wright as a "consistently recommended" competition lawyer in Vancouver. He is also recognized in the Practical Law Company's Guide to Canadian Competition/Antitrust lawyers.
Mr. Wright received a bachelor of arts (Honours) degree from the University of Western Ontario in 1990, obtaining the gold medal in honours economics. He then studied law at the University of Toronto, where he graduated with honours in 1993. He received numerous awards and scholarships in the course of his studies.
Recognition
Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Competition Law) Practical Law Company's Guide to Canadian Competition/Antitrust lawyers
Directorships, Memberships & Professional Activities
Lecturer, British Columbia Institute of Technology, New Media Course (2010)
Lecturer, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law (2011)
Publications & Seminars
· Chapter Editor, "Exclusive Dealing, Tied Selling, Market Restriction and Other Reviewable Practices", Fundamentals of Canadian Competition Law Second Edition (2010)
· Co-Author (with Jonathan Gilhen), "American Needle and the Implications for Canadian Competition Law", Canadian Competition Record, Vol. 23, No. 3, Winter 2010
· "A Brief Note on Merger Review under the Competition Act", Canada's New Competition and Foreign Investment Law, Vancouver, BC, The Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia (March 18, 2010)
· "Some Implications of the 2009 Amendments for the Canadian Pharmaceutical Industry", 2009 Competition Law Fall Conference, Gatineau, QC, Canadian Bar Association (2009)
· Co-Author of Chapter, "Intellectual Property and Damage Qualification" in Taxation & Valuation of Technology - Theory, Practice and the Law (2008)
· "Confidentiality and Trade Secrets", The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., Intellectual Property for Litigators Session, 2007
· "Reality Check: Abuse of Dominance in Canada" from Competition Law, The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., 2006
· "Effective Retention Policies: A Sustained Legal Defence", Acuity Forums, BC Records Management Summit 2006, Effective Strategies for Implementation & Regulatory Compliance, 2006
· Contributor, Fundamentals of Franchising-Canada, Forum on Franchising, American Bar Association, 2004
· "Decriminalizing the Pricing Provisions: What Are We Trying to Achieve?" presented at the CBA's Annual Conference on Competition Law, Gatineau, Quebec, 2004
· Co-Author (with Brian Radnoff), "The Whistleblower Amendments to the Competition Act", Competition Law, Vol. IV, No. 4, 1998
· Co-Author (with Stanley Wong), "Curial Deference and the Application of Pezim", from Judicial Review - 1997 Update, The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., 1997
Media Commentary
· Globe and Mail/TSN, Why Not Canada? - Part 4 - Why not Toronto?, and Would a Second NHL Team in Toronto Work?, July 8, 2010
· Business in Vancouver, "Market impact no longer relevant in competition considerations", Issue 1067, April 6-12, 2010 (Interview)
· Legal Post, Franchise class actions on the rise, 02/10/10
· Canadian Business Magazine, Competition: A new playground, 03/26/09
· XM Radio 204 NHL Home Ice, The Business of Hockey, May 2009 (Interviewed regarding Competition and Antitrust implications for sports franchise relocation)
Other Activities
· Member, Law Society of British Columbia
· Member, Canadian Bar Association (Competition Law, Administrative Law and Civil Litigation Subsections)
· Chair, Mergers Committee, Canadian Bar Association National Competition Law Section (2009-present)
· Past Chair, Criminal Matters Committee, Canadian Bar Association National Competition Law Section
Publications
Infrastructure Law 2010 - The Rules of the Game
Getting the Deal Through - Project Finance Canada Chapter 2011
Canada Enacts Significant Changes to its Foreign Investment Laws
Canadian Competition Record "A Note on U.S. Antitrust Law and Professional Sport: American Needle And the Implication for Canadian Competition Law"
CLE Course - A Brief Note on Merger Review Under the Competition Act
Competition Bulletin - Canada Set to Implement Stringent New Conspiracy Law: Some Words Of Caution For Anyone Doing Business In Canada
Recent Competition Bureau Bid-Rigging Charges Serve as a Reminder to Businesses when Preparing and Submitting Bids - Competition Bulletin Special Edition Feb 2009
Government of Canada Proposes Extraordinary Changes to the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act - Bulletin - Issue 1 - Feb 2009
Franchise Connection Summer 2008
Davis Franchise Connection No.4
Confidentiality & Trade Secrets 2007
Reality Check: Abuse of Dominance in Canada
intelligence February 2006
Decriminalizing the Pricing Provisions: What Are We Trying to Achieve?
Curial Deference and the Application of Pezim