Eric Bédard

Personal Bio

Job Title: Partner

Areas of Expertise:

Eric is an experienced and highly successful trial and appellate lawyer who has developed a particular expertise in domestic and international arbitration. He has degrees in both common law and civil law from McGill University. A partner of Woods, and a key member of the firm’s arbitration practice, Eric advises and represents parties in a wide range of industries, including in particular financial services, mining, oil & gas, energy and natural resources. Eric also advises and represents employers and senior management in employment cases.

In addition to representing parties in numerous commercial arbitrations, Eric’s arbitration experience includes representing Canada as a member of its legal team in the NAFTA Chapter XI case Lone Pine v. Canada. He has also served as assistant to arbitral tribunals in investor-State disputes in both ad hoc arbitrations and institutional proceedings administered by bodies such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague.

Eric is actively involved in the Canadian and international arbitration community, notably as a member of the Arbitration Committee of ICC Canada (the Canadian National Committee of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce) and an ICC YAF Regional Representatif, as well as being part of the Executive of Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners (YCAP) as VP - Education and Events. He is also a frequent author and speaker on topics such as evidence, civil procedure and international arbitration, and he remains very involved with his alma mater, McGill University, through a variety of teaching and mentoring initiatives.