BACKGROUND
EXPERIENCED ARBITRATOR, MEDIATOR, LAWYER AND PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER
DONALD L. MARSTON, FCIArb, J.D., B.Sc., P. ENG.
ARBITRATOR, MEDIATOR, INDEPENDENT NEUTRAL
Don Marston’s alternative dispute resolution
(“ADR”) practice as an experienced arbitrator, mediator
and project neutral is particularly focused on construction and infrastructure disputes as well as commercial disputes of a technical nature. Typical examples include disputes relating to design, construction, transportation, energy, pipelines, water treatment, manufacturing, procurement and a broad range of commercial business contracts.
In 2019, Don was made an Officer of the Order of Honour of Professional Engineers Ontario.
He was the 2022 recipient of the Ontario Bar Association’s Award of Excellence in Construction and Infrastructure Law.
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Don’s Canadian and international appointments include ICC, ICDR/AAA, Jams Rules and ad hoc arbitrations. He also has more than twelve years of experience chairing dispute resolution boards on infrastructure projects, including transportation and public private projects in Canada and Eastern Europe.
ABOUT
Don was a senior partner in the major Canadian law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He was the founder and Chair of its Construction Law and Infrastructure Projects practice and a member of its International Commercial Arbitration Group. No longer practising as a lawyer, Don continues his membership in the Law Society of Ontario but now devotes his professional practice exclusively to ADR, as an independent arbitrator, mediator and project neutral.
He has chaired the International Construction Projects Committee of the International Bar Association and The Construction Law Committee of the Canadian Bar Association in Ontario.
Don also has a degree in metallurgical engineering and is registered as a Professional Engineer in Ontario. Prior to his career as a lawyer, his engineering and construction career included experience in both the steel industry and the construction industry.
The first Canadian to be elected a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers (in 1997), Don is also a founding Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers.
He has been a longtime advocate of, and a frequent speaker and author on, the advantages and benefits of ADR.
Don taught engineering law and professional liability courses for more than twenty years at the University of Toronto. He has been responsible for Professional Practice Examinations in Engineering Law for Professional Engineers Ontario since 1981. He is the author of the text Law for Professional Engineers, Canadian and Global Insights, 5th Edition, 2019.
Don’s recognitions have included Best Lawyers in Canada (for his alternative dispute resolution and construction law expertise), Best Lawyers International, and Who’s Who Legal, Canada.
EDUCATION
Queen’s University, B. Sc. (Eng.)
Professional Engineer, P. Eng.
Queen’s University, J.D. (Law)
ADR CAREER
The Osler ADR Centre
2005 – 2009
Marston International ADR
Since 2009