Profile: L Yves Fortier CC QC

Commercial Arbitration

Biography: Commercial Arbitration

Mr L Yves Fortier is a senior partner and a leading international jurist in the law firm of Ogilvy Renault, in Montreal, and has been its chairman since January 1992.

Mr Fortier is a graduate of Université de Montreal, where he received a bachelor of arts summa cum laude in 1955; McGill University, where he obtained a bachelor of civil law in 1958; and Oxford University, where he earned a bachelor of letters in 1960 as a Rhodes scholar. Mr Fortier was admitted to practise law by the Bar of the province of Quebec in January 1961. He then joined the predecessor firm of Ogilvy Renault, with which he is still associated today. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1976 and an officer of the Order of Canada in December 1984. In July 1991, he was elevated to the level of companion, the highest in the order. In 2004, Mr Fortier received the degree of Doctor of Commerce honoris causa from Ryerson University.

In July 1988, Mr Fortier was appointed Canada's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. On leave from his law firm, Mr Fortier served as Canada's ambassador until January 1992. From January 1989 until December 1990, Mr Fortier served as Canada's representative to the Security Council of the United Nations, over which he presided in October 1989.

Following his return to Ogilvy Renault, Mr Fortier concentrated his practice in the field of international arbitration. From 1998 to 2001, he served as president of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). His extensive experience as counsel, mediator and arbitrator in Canadian, as well as international mediation and arbitration, has enabled him to plead important cases before all court jurisdictions worldwide, including commercial disputes involving private corporations in diverse business sectors, such as construction, financial services, aerospace and information systems. He has also represented Canada as chief negotiator in the Canada-US 'Pacific Salmon Treaty' negotiations (1993 to 1998) and acted as lead counsel for the government of Canada in the Supreme Court of Canada Reference concerning Quebec (1998).

Mr Fortier is a member of numerous professional organisations, including the Canadian Bar Association, which he headed as national president in 1982 to 1983, the American Bar Association (honorary), the International Bar Association, the ICCA Council and the American college of trial lawyers (first Canadian member of the board of regents, 1992 to 1996).

Among his many responsibilities, Mr Fortier currently serves as chairman or member of international arbitral tribunals constituted under the Rules of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and UNCITRAL as well as ad hoc tribunals. Mr Fortier also served as special representative of the United Nations' secretary general and judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. In 2005, Mr Fortier was recognised as the top arbitrator in the world by The American Lawyer Focus Europe.