Alex Cameron practises civil litigation with a focus on corporate/commercial disputes, privacy, freedom of information and access to information, and software and internet litigation. He has experience at the trial and appellate level, before administrative tribunals, and in mediation and arbitration, including disputes involving: privacy, contracts, licenses, software, intellectual property (copyright, trade-marks, domain names and confidential information), misrepresentation, fiduciary duties, injunctions, and summary judgment.
In the privacy field, Alex assists clients in privacy compliance and in identifying, evaluating and managing risks associated with privacy and information security. He has experience advising on a wide range of privacy matters, including: data breaches and breach notification, the application of Canadian privacy law to companies based outside of Canada, privacy policies and procedures, social media, privacy aspects of outsourcing and service provider agreements, records management, investigations, surveillance and litigation, cross-border issues, responding to requests for access to personal information, and the privacy aspects of marketing activities, including email marketing. Alex works with clients from a wide range of industry sectors where privacy issues arise, including in the financial, insurance, retail, web/technology and health sectors. He regularly assists clients in responding to complaints and investigations by privacy authorities, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
In the freedom of information and access to information field, Alex assists clients in making strategic access to information requests under municipal, provincial and federal access to information laws (e.g. MFIPPA, FIPPA, and ATIA). Using these requests, he assists clients in obtaining information that is valuable to their business, including information about competitors, government policy making and procurement, and information that may assist in a dispute or potential dispute with government institutions or other parties. Alex also assists clients in resisting disclosure of their sensitive business information in circumstances where such information is the subject of a request under freedom of information laws, including information submitted for regulatory approvals, as part of a mandatory reporting obligation , or in a bid responding to a request for proposal (RFP).
Alex is the Chair of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) National Privacy & Access Law Section. He has played a leading role in a a number of CBA submissions to government, including in relation to privacy legislation and anti-spam legislation and regulations. Alex is also co-author of Electronic Evidence and E-Discovery, an accessible guide to e-discovery published by LexisNexis in 2010.
Alex has received two prestigious commissions from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC). In 2011, he was commissioned by the OPC to author drafts a privacy handbook for the legal profession, titled PIPEDA and Your Practice — A Privacy Handbook for Lawyers. The handbook addresses privacy issues that arise in the course of running a law practice, managing a law firm and conducting litigation. The OPC also commissioned Alex to author a landmark privacy law report titled Leading by Example: Key Developments in the First Seven Years of PIPEDA. Leading by Example reviews leading findings and cases under Canada's national data protection law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Alex has regularly published papers, taught upper year and graduate law courses and delivered presentations at conferences in his areas of practice. Select examples of Alex's recent Representative Experience, Presentations, and Publications are listed below.
Community Involvement
- Intern, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Washington, D.C. (2004)
- Guest Instructor, Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design (2006)
- Director, UBC Law Alumni Association (2000-2003)
- Former Executive, Corporate Counsel Section, Canadian Bar Association
- Former Supervising Lawyer, UBC Law Students' Legal Advice Program
- Security Manager, Tissot/ UCI Mountain Bike World Cup (2001)
- Former Vice President, Board of Directors, Little Mountain Neighbourhood House Society
Membership/Affiliations
- Chair, Canadian Bar Association, National Privacy & Access Law Section
- Member, The Sedona Conference WG7: Sedona Canada
- Member, Canadian IT Law Association
- Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)
- Member, Ontario Bar Association/The Advocates Society, E-Discovery Implementation Committee
- Member, St. Andrew's Society of Toronto
- Member, Scottish Studies Foundation
- Member, Advocates' Society