Douglas Worndl
Doug Worndl is senior counsel in Rochon Genova’s Class Actions Group. Doug’s practice over the last 15 years has focused on plaintiff-side securities/investor recovery class action litigation. He represents individual and institutional investors who have suffered losses resulting from breaches of duty by capital markets participants. He has been involved in virtually all aspects of the prosecution of securities class actions as is reflected in many reported decisions where he has appeared as counsel including class actions against reporting issuers: CIBC, TD Bank, SNC-Lavalin, Aphria, Home Capital Group, Canadian Solar, Zungui Haixi, Donnybrook Energy, and Baffinland Iron Mines.
Has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal of Québec, the Court of King's Bench of Alberta, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Doug is a frequent writer, speaker and lecturer on securities law and policy, particularly in the areas of enforcement, investor protection, investor recovery, and statutory civil liability. Since 2018 he has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law teaching “Securities Litigation: the Public and Private Enforcement of Securities Law” and has been a frequent guest lecturer on Securities Litigation at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. Doug has been a speaker and panelist regarding securities law at various professional conferences and has appeared in person and in writing before the Ontario Securities Commission to make submissions regarding various OSC policy initiatives impacting investors' rights. He has also been a contributor to various media on securities enforcement issues
His 36-year career started in the public sector as counsel to a Canadian Federal Judicial Inquiry into the 1989 Air Ontario air disaster ("Moshansky Commission") where he investigated all aspects of Canada's aviation operational and safety system including appearing at public hearings over its 2½ year mandate. Following the release of the Inquiry Report in 1991, Doug joined one of Canada’s largest law firms where he practiced commercial and aviation litigation for close to 20 years, defending corporate and institutional clients. In January 2011, he made a major practice shift, joining one of Canada’s leading plaintiff-side class action firms acting for individual and institutional investors.
Doug has a BA and LLB from the University of Toronto, an LLM (Securities Law) from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1989.