Richard G. Dearden

About Richard G. Dearden

Rick Dearden is a senior litigation partner in Gowling WLG's Ottawa office whose work centres on defamation and reputation management, commercial litigation, administrative law, and international trade and customs. Defamation is one of the primary areas. The Ottawa Citizen has relied on Dearden for over 30 years in libel and press freedom matters, and the partner has also acted for Prime Minister Stephen Harper in libel cases. On the public law side, Dearden acts for the Information Commissioner of Canada on access to information matters and represented the Office of the Auditor General at the Gomery Inquiry hearings.

Called to the Ontario bar in 1979, Dearden has argued at the Supreme Court of Canada, in every level of Ontario court, at the Federal Courts and before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. Trade law has run alongside the litigation practice for decades. While NAFTA was being negotiated and put in place, the Government of Mexico retained Dearden as one of its outside counsel, and the United States Trade Representative was a client during the rollout of the earlier Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Later work includes chairing a softwood lumber panel and serving as co-counsel to Eli Lilly and Company in its NAFTA investor-state arbitration against Canada.

Dearden acted for the Ottawa Citizen at the Supreme Court of Canada in Cusson v Quan and Grant v Torstar. Together those decisions established a defence of responsible communication on matters of public interest in libel actions across Canada. Dearden has also co-taught media and defamation law at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Common Law. When The Advocates' Society honoured that advocacy with its John P. Nelligan Award, Dearden described Nelligan as "a legend and an icon."

Away from court, Dearden's an avid marathoner and a keen tennis player. Past community roles include board seats at the Ottawa Citizen Literacy Foundation and The Hnatyshyn Foundation, plus a turn as auditor of the Ottawa Citizen's Cappies awards.