Robert W. Scriven

About Robert W. Scriven

Bob Scriven is a litigator whose work centres on agricultural and commercial disputes, and it takes in estate and matrimonial matters as well. Farming is personal for Bob, too. Bob grew up on a farm and has also managed a mixed farm with a beef cow-calf herd in Southern Ontario alongside family.

Bob graduated in law from the University of Calgary and was called to the Ontario bar in 2012. In 2017 Bob became a partner at Oldfield, Greaves, D'Agostino, Scriven Professional Corporation, where the litigation work was built around clients in primary agriculture. Today Bob is a partner at Bennett Grant LLP.

Clients have been represented by Bob at every level of court in Ontario, in the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, and at the Supreme Court of Canada. Tribunal hearings are a big part of the practice too, from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Ontario Land Tribunal to farm bodies like the Normal Farm Practices Board. Bob appears regularly for applicants at the Canadian Agricultural Review Tribunal and joined its Advisory Committee in September 2024, the group that helps the tribunal keep its procedures fair, accessible and efficient. In committee, Bob has backed a proposed Navigator project, especially as a help to applicants without a lawyer.

Bob co-wrote the second edition of Agriculture Law in Canada, published by LexisNexis Canada in 2019. Farm Credit Canada has also turned to Bob for advice on keeping farms out of court: start estate planning early, revisit the plan regularly, give some return to family members who work the farm without being on title (what Bob calls sweat equity), and treat regulatory compliance as part of running the business. Away from the office, Bob serves as secretary of the Huntington Society of Canada's board after earlier time as a director on its national board.