Stephen P. Whitehead

Stephen Whitehead practises primarily in the areas of communications and business law. He became a partner of Fasken Martineau when it merged with Johnston & Buchan LLP in April 2007. Stephen had joined Johnston & Buchan in 1983 after practising corporate and securities law at a large firm in Ottawa, and became a partner of Johnston & Buchan in 1985.

Stephen provides a variety of business law services to clients in the communications, financial and high technology industries, including advising on the application of foreign ownership restrictions to communications and media companies in Canada, the outsourcing of telecommunications and software development requirements and the procurement of telecommunications facilities and services.

He practises extensively in the field of satellite communications, including advising on domestic, foreign and international regulation of satellite systems and services and the negotiation of commercial agreements for the interconnection of satellite and other telecommunications systems and for the provision of satellite services.

Stephen also advises frequently on regulatory and commercial issues relating to telecommunications and broadcasting companies.

He has been the corporate secretary, since its inception in 1997, of the industry consortium that supervises the Canadian regulatory regime for subsidizing local telephone service in high cost areas.

Selected Experience

• XM Canada and Sirius Canada complete merger
• Xplornet Communications completes $230 million private financing to expand broadband network across rural Canada

News

• A Reference in Canada: Lexpert recommends 22 Fasken Martineau lawyers to readers in the US
• Best Lawyers in Canada: Over 100 Fasken Martineau lawyers again listed among the best

Publications

• Capital Perspectives
• Recent Developments in the Allocation of Orbital Slots in Canada

Presentations

• Ottawa Fasken Martineau Symposium (1st Edition)
• Obligation to Serve (and Other Matters)

Membership/Affiliations

• Vice-Chairman of the Outer Space Committee of the International Bar Association from 1996 to 2000

Community Involvement

• Stephen is a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society. He is a member of the board of directors of the Ontario Division of the Society as the representative of Eastern Ontario. He is also the Past-Chair of the Ottawa Advisory Board, which is comprised of leadership volunteers of the Ottawa branch of the Society, and a member of the executive committee, with responsibility for sponsorship matters, for the Ottawa-area Relays For Life, the Society's signature fundraising event.  

Honours and Awards

• Stephen is consistently recognized by independent guides as a leading lawyer in telecommunications, media and technology, including in the Chambers Global Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers, Lexpert, Best Lawyers, PLC Which lawyer?, the International Who's Who of Business Lawyers, and Who's Who Legal Canada