Clarence Bennett,
K.C.
Partner
-
Suite 1000, Brunswick House
44 Chipman Hill
Saint John, N.B.
E2L 2A9 - +1.506.634.6414
- +1.506.652.1989
- cbennett@stewartmckelvey.com
- LinkedIn Profile
Language(s) spoken: English
Bar Admission(s): New Brunswick, 2005; Ontario, 2022
Legal Assistant(s): Wendy Ebbett
Clarence is a management-side labour, employment and human rights lawyer, workplace investigator and mediator who works with a broad variety of clients spanning both public and private sectors including: crown corporations, colleges and universities, municipalities, banks, airports, manufacturing, trucking, construction and IT. Samples of his work include:
- Acting for David Dunsmuir challenging his dismissal and the law with respect to the standard of review and procedural fairness to the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Acting for the New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission in a claim of constructive dismissal by its Executive Director to the Supreme Court of Canada.
- Acting for the New Brunswick Provincial Court Judges Association in the Judicial Remuneration Commission, a constitutionally mandated process designed to set remuneration for judges.
- Acting on behalf of Spielo against an oppression remedy claim in excess of 30 million dollars by a former shareholder and employee.
- Defending various companies facing human rights complaints by employees claiming to have been discriminated against because of maternity leave issues, obesity, disability, mandatory retirement, sex, sexual orientation and religion.
- Performing workplace investigations for in-house counsel and corporations across Canada for complaints of harassment, discrimination, bullying.
Education & Career
Education
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, LLM, 2008
University of New Brunswick, LLB, 2004
St. Thomas University, BA (honours), 2001
Harvard Law School:
- Negotiation and Leadership, 2021
- Sidetracked: Understanding the Psychological Barriers that Derail Negotiations, 2021
- Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, Program on Negotiation, 2021
- Mediating Disputes, Harvard Law School, Program on Negotiation, 2021
Activities
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Member, Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers
Member, Human Resources Association of New Brunswick
Firm practice group leader, Labour & Employment, Stewart McKelvey (2015 – 2016)
Editor, Atlantic Employers’ Counsel, Stewart McKelvey (2007 – 2014)
Lecturer, Employment Law, University of New Brunswick College of Extended Learning, Management Development Program (2005 – 2006)
Board of Directors, Fredericton Non-Profit Housing Corporation (2008 – 2016)
Board of Directors, College Hill Daycare Cooperative Ltd. (2012 – 2014)
Board of Directors, United Way/Centraide Central New Brunswick Inc. (2014 – 2016)
Board of Directors, Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers (2015 – 2017; 2019 – 2022)
Managing Partner, Fredericton office (2015 – 2020)
Managing partner, Saint John office (2016 – 2024)
Board of Directors, Fundy Civic Center (2019 – present)
Board of Directors, Ronald McDonald House Charities Atlantic (2021 – present)
Accolades
King’s Counsel, 2022
Chambers and Partners Canada 2022-2024 Employment & Labour – Atlantic Canada, Band 1 lawyer
Best Lawyers 2022 Labour and Employment Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Saint John
Benchmark Canada, local litigation star (Labor and employment)
Best Lawyers: Labour and Employment Law, 2015 – 2025
Lexpert rating: Workplace Human Rights
Lexpert® Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40, 2018
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Publications
Contributor, Canadian Journal of Administrative Law and Practice special issue – A Decade of Dunsmuir / les 10 ans de Dunsmuir, ‘David Dunsmuir – An Unlikely Administrative Law Celebrity’
Cross-Canada Guide to Human Rights Law in Employment (ISBN: 978-0-7798-5554-4), Carswell, 2013; Contributing Author with others from the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers
Fairness, Reasonableness and the Eye of the Beholder, Solicitor’s Journal, Volume 26, Issue 1, Spring 2010
A Tale of Two Gamblers: The Oppression Remedy and Employee Shareholders, Commercial Litigation Review, Volume 7, Number 4, November 2009
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