Bill Hearn

Partner


Toronto

Tel : 416.865.7240
Fax : 416.865.7048

Email : bill.hearn@mcmillan.ca
VCard : vcard

Professional Experience

Bill acts for businesses, governments, Crown agencies and trade associations.  He practices several specialized areas of business law, including: 

  • advertising & marketing (as well as consumer protection & privacy and with a focus on the automotive, consumer products, energy, financial services, sports & entertainment, retail and pharmaceutical sectors)
  • corporate & commercial (including reorganizations, complex agreements and corporate governance for businesses as well as charities and not-for-profit entities)
  • commercialization and privatization of government assets and services
  • competition (in particular, pricing & distribution practices and compliance programs & audits, as well as advertising & marketing)
  • construction (with an emphasis on RFPs, bids and contracts)
  • government procurement (especially for the defense industry)
  • international business and trade (primarily in the agricultural and liquor sectors)
  • private mergers & acquisitions (especially in regulated industries such as for-profit post-secondary education)
  • public-private partnerships (mainly for transportation and health infrastructure)
  • regulatory (in such diverse areas as agri-chemical products, gaming, liquor, marine ports, and post-secondary education)
  • transportation (with a focus on marine) 

Bill has a high BV® Distinguished peer and client rating in Martindale & Hubbell.  He is also listed as one of Canada's leading Shipping and Maritime Lawyers in  Who's Who International Legal - Canada which describes him as a "gifted lawyer with a broad client base". Bill is listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 as a leader in Advertising and Marketing Law.

He Co-Chairs the firm's Advertising & Marketing, Government Relations, and Transportation Groups and is active in many others including Pharmaceuticals and Projects. 

Bill is a frequent writer and presenter on topics relating to his specialized areas of practice many of which are listed below.

publications and presentations
July 2011
Bell Canada agrees to $10 million penalty
Competition and Advertising Bulletin
Also published in Lexology
June 2011
'Canada' Chapter in The International Comparative Legal Guide to Pharmaceutical Advertising 2011
Published by Global Legal Group
April 2011
Tracking Changes in the Law and Best Practices for Behavioural Advertising: A Perspective From Canada
What's In Store, ABA Newsletter of the Section of Antitrust law's Consumer Protection Committee, Volume 16, No. 1, Spring 2011
March 15, 2011
tracking changes in the law and best practices for behavioural advertising1
advertising & marketing bulletin


  • automotive
  • advertising and marketing
  • bureau investigations
  • charities & not-for-profit
  • competition/antitrust
  • compliance programs and audits
  • construction 
  • corporate and commercial
  • government relations
  • international business and trade law
  • pharmaceuticals
  • pricing and distribution practices
  • privacy
  • private M&A
  • projects
  • public policy advocacy
  • transportation

  • The Law Society of Upper Canada, since 1988
  • Association of Canadian Port Authorities, Law Committee Member, since 1999
  • American Bar Association, Section of Anti-trust Law, Consumer Protection Committee Member, since 2011
  • NABS: National Advertising Benevolent Society of Canada, Director and Executive Committee Member, 2004-2009
  • Canadian Marketing Association, Ethics and Privacy Committee Member, since 2004
  • Canada-U.S. Law Institute, Advisory Board Member, since 2007
Called to the Ontario bar - 1988

Cambridge University, LLM - 1989

University of Toronto, LLB - 1986

University of Toronto, BA - 1983