Janet Walker

Janet Walker, CD, JD, DPhil (Oxon), is a chartered arbitrator with chambers at Toronto Arbitration Chambers, Atkin Chambers in London, and Sydney Arbitration Chambers. She is distinguished professor of law and past associate dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, a member of the Ontario Bar, and a licenced legal consultant of the New York State Bar.

Janet has served as sole, presiding, and co-arbitrator in ICC, HKIAC, ICDR, DIAC, PCA, SIAC and in ad hoc arbitrations in a variety of seats. Her matters cover a range of industries including construction, heavy equipment, M&A, shareholder, distribution, intellectual property, environmental, finance and employment. She is a member of the panels of AIAC, ACICA, BVI, CIETAC, HKIAC, ICDR, KCAB, Shanghai, Shenzhen, SIAC and Ukraine, and she has a good working knowledge of Spanish and French.

Janet is currently Chair of ICC Canada and has been a member since 2001. She is an executive editor of the Canadian Journal of Commercial Arbitration and a co-chair of CanArbWeek. Janet is a founding member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society (formerly Arbitration Roundtable of Toronto), the CIArb Canadian Branch (formerly founding chair of the Toronto Chapter), ArbitralWomen, and she was a founding advisor of Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners  and; and she is a member of the LCIA, IBA, ICCA and the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators. She is recipient of the CIArb Canada Award for Distinguished Service.

Janet has authored Canada’s most cited private law work, Canadian Conflict of Laws for nearly 20 years, and she is general editor of works on civil litigation and complex litigation. She was advisor (common law) to Canada’s Federal Courts rules committee (2006-15) and CIArb academic advisor (2014-15).

Janet has served in 50+ mandates as consultant and expert witness in crossborder and complex litigation, and in law reform working groups for the American Law Institute, ABA, IBA and the Uniform Law Conference of Canada, including its international arbitration legislation project. She advocated successfully for the adoption of the 2006 Model Law in Ontario, and was a member of the executive organising committee of ICCA 2018 Sydney.

Janet served four years as co-director of the CIArb Oxford Diploma course, and currently teaches in the Stuttgart Masters in Construction Law program. She is International Association of Procedural Law secretary general, ILA Canada past president, and she coached the Osgoode Vis Team (2001-14), including in the year that they prevailed in Vienna. Janet was Leverhulme professor at University College, Oxford; Hauser global law professor at NYU and NYU/NUS in Singapore; and visiting professor at universities in Tunisia (2001-14) and in Australia, Israel, Italy, Croatia and China. She is a member of the Max Plank Institute Luxembourg Scientific Advisory Committee.

Since 2010, Janet had been recognised in leading indexes, including Who’s Who Legal (Canada, and International), Chambers, and Best Lawyers.  Leading members of the international arbitration community have said

“I know well the talents that mark a first-rate arbitrator. Professor Walker possesses them all”,

“Janet is held in very high regard by the International Arbitration Community as a preeminent arbitration practitioner and scholar,” and

“Professor Walker was responsive to the parties’ queries and submissions at all times, diligently conducted the proceedings through carefully crafted procedural decisions and spearheaded the issuance of an award which ultimately led to an efficient resolution of the parties’ dispute”.