Ilan Ishai is an experienced litigator, with a practice focusing on class actions, commercial disputes and appellate advocacy. He has acted on behalf of clients in various complex and multi-party commercial, product liability, competition, fraud, director/officer liability and oppression matters. Ilan has appeared as lead counsel before all levels of court in Ontario, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. He provides strategic advice to companies and individuals at all stages of complex litigation.
Ilan has defended clients across a broad variety of industries in claims involving automotive parts, consumer products, misrepresentation claims, contractual disputes, insurance and anti-competitive conduct. He has recently acted for:
As part of his pro bono activities, Ilan represented the National Self-Represented Litigants Project in an intervention at the Supreme Court of Canada in Pintea v. Johns, in which the Court ultimately endorsed the CJC's Statement of Principles on Self-represented Litigants and Accused Persons. Ilan has also served as duty counsel to self-represented parties appearing in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
Ilan joined Bennett Jones after summering and articling with the firm. He is a member of the Advocates' Society, the Canadian Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the International Association of Defence Counsel (an invitation-only, peer-reviewed association). Ilan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, a not-for-profit dedicated to the enhancement and promotion of Canadian design. Ilan also sits on Practical Law Canada's Corporate & Commercial Litigation Advisory Board.