John P. Beardwood

John Beardwood is a partner of the firm, engaged in a corporate/commercial practice, with an emphasis on outsourcing and procurement, technology and privacy law related matters. John is regularly listed among the world's preeminent internet and e-commerce lawyers in Who's Who Legal - The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers where, in addition to being referred to as "an authority on outsourcing" in the guide to Internet and E-Commerce Lawyers, he is identified as being both one of the two most highly nominated Canadian lawyers in the guide, and one of the ten "most highly regarded individuals" globally; and is also included as a leading lawyer in the Internet & e-Commerce chapter of Who's Who Legal: Canada 2010. He is listed in Chambers Global – The World's Leading Lawyers for Business 2010, for Information Technology. He is consistently recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada for information technology law, and highly recommended as an outsourcing practitioner in the PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook and in the PLC Outsourcing Handbook. His biography is included in the Canadian Who's Who.

John works closely with clients in advising on and negotiating various technology-related transactions, including outsourcing/procurement, licensing, implementation, distribution, technology transfer, strategic alliance and e-commerce related transactions, including in the airline, health care, financial/insurance institution and public sector contexts. John often advises clients on privacy law and access to information matters, and has been developing and implementing privacy compliance programs for more than ten years. He is a frequent speaker and publisher on various IT law and privacy law-related topics and has been interviewed for CBC Metro Morning, The Globe and Mail, ITBusiness.ca, Computing Canada, CBC Marketplace, Canadian Business Magazine and 1010 CFRB, and was featured on the cover of CBA National Magazine for the article "The Outsourcing Lawyers". John is the co-editor and a contributing author of the industry-leading text Outsourcing Transactions: A Practical Guide, now in its 6th Edition.

John is Co-Chair of the National Technology and Intellectual Property Practice Group; Co-Chair of the National Outsourcing Practice Group; and Vice-Chair of the Privacy and Information Protection Practice Group.

Selected Experience

• MDS completes divestiture of instrument division to Danaher for US$650 million
• Western Financial Group and Bank West acquire AgriFinancial Canada

News

• Radio-Canada mentions John Beardwood's comments on the new restrictions regulating online advertising
• Canada's Top Internet Lawyer: Who's Who Legal ranks John Beardwood in top 10 worldwide

Publications

• Going Global: How Canadian Companies View Intellectual Property
• Anti-Spam Legislation: A Comparative Review

Presentations

• Recent Developments in Privacy: A Comparative View
• Annual Meeting and World Conference

Membership/Affiliations

• Member of the Board of Editors for e-Commerce Law & Strategy
• Member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors and Program Chair of ITechLaw (formerly Computer Law Association)
• Founder and Past-Chair, Canadian Bar Association National Privacy and Access Law Section
• Co-founder and Past-Executive Committee Member, Ontario Bar Association, Privacy Law Section
• Co-founder, ex-Director and ex-Treasurer Canadian IT Law Association ("IT.Can")
• Co-Chair of the 2005 Computer Law Association Conference in Washington, D.C., May 5-6, 2005
• Member of the organizing committee for the 2004 Computer Law Association Conference in Washington, D.C., May 6-7, 2004
• Macro Area Representative (MAR) for North America (excluding U.S.A.), ITechLaw
• Canadian editor for Computer und Recht International (CRI)

Honours and Awards

• Chambers 2011 Global Guide: Information Technology
• Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2010, 2011: Computer & IT Law
• Listed in Who's Who Legal Guide to Internet & e-Commerce Lawyers as being one of the ten "most highly regarded individuals" globally
• Listed as "Highly Recommended" for Outsourcing (Canada) in the PLC Cross-border Outsourcing Handbook 2010, and in Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2008 and 2009 
• Listed in the International Who's Who of Internet and e-Commerce Lawyers in 2008 and 2009
• Recognized in the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada in the specialty of Information Technology Law
• Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada for IT law in the National Post Business magazine annual list of Best lawyers in Canada for 2007-2008