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Sean Kelly

Partner and Labour & Employment Practice Group Leader

Sean Kelly Web Size

Language(s) spoken: English

Bar Admission(s): Nova Scotia, 2011; Ontario, 2023

Legal Assistant(s): Hayden Marchand

Providing legal services through a professional corporation.

Sean is an experienced trial lawyer with a practice focused on employment litigation and representing professional regulators. He has appeared before all levels of Courts and Administrative Tribunals in Nova Scotia as well as the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Divisional Court and also defends employers facing occupational health and safety investigations and charges, negotiates collective agreements, litigates grievance arbitrations and is routinely engaged to provide employment and labour counsel in corporate transactions. His clients include a wide range of employers from national and multinational companies to small-medium sized enterprises across a wide array of industries. Sean also has an active sports litigation practice, having represented national and provincial sport organizations, as well as both athletes and coaches at discipline hearings, investigations and mediations.

Sean is the Labour & Employment Practice Group Leader, and also holds a certificate in mental health law from Osgoode Hall Law School. He brings a practical approach to resolving discipline and performance management issues, regularly conducts workplace investigations (often involving harassment and discrimination allegations) and is routinely engaged to negotiate and draft executive employment agreements and act in restrictive covenant litigation (non-compete and non-solicitation obligations).

He has significant governance experience both as a board member and as legal counsel, particularly in the area of crisis management, and frequently engages with industry associations and clients to facilitate education through seminars, presentations and has appeared in the media as a commentator on workplace legal issues.

Highlights of Sean’s recent representative and trial work include:

  • Defending a national retailer in a wrongful dismissal jury trial involving egregious respectful workplace policy violations by a manager resulting in a mistrial and costs awards exceeding $100,000 against opposing counsel and the dismissed employee.
  • Successfully defending a national sport organization in a complex litigation involving serious reputational implications resulting in a significant costs award.
  • Successfully representing a regional media company before the Court of Appeal in a leading Nova Scotia case on constructive dismissal and mitigation.

Education & Career

Education

Osgoode Hall Law School (York University), Certificate in Mental Health Law, 2021

Dalhousie University, LL.B., 2010

McMaster University, M.A., 2006

Mount Allison University, B.A. (honours), 2003

Activities

Firm-wide Labour & Employment Practice Group Lead, 2024 – present

Member & Panel Presenter, Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers, 2012 – present

Past Vice-Chair of Board of Governors & Chair of Governance and Human Resources Committee, NSCAD University, 2015 – 2021

Community Member, Admissions Committee, Dalhousie University Medical School, 2019 – 2020

Past President, Sail Nova Scotia, 2014 – 2018

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Presentations

Presenter and facilitator, “Workplace Mental Health Law”, HRANS Law Day Conference, November 2022, March 2023, March 2024

Co-Presenter, “For Regulators: Conducting Investigations Effectively and Efficiently”, Stewart McKelvey Labour & Employment Webinar

Moderator and Co-Presenter, “Protecting your Workplace: OH&S Legal Updates and Insights”, Stewart McKelvey Labour & Employment Webinar

Co-presenter, “No Excuses: Proactive Disability Management”, Stewart McKelvey annual Labour & Employment Group seminar

Facilitator/moderator “Discrimination, Harassment & Workplace Investigations”, Stewart McKelvey Client Seminar, October 2021

Panelist, “Cross Canada Employment Law Update”, Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers, October 2021

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