Crown Office Chambers

British

England, Ontario

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Financial Services
Insurance
Professional Services
Energy and Commodities
Mining and Natural Resources
Technology and Telecommunications
Logistics

English

LL.B (Hons) - London School of Economics
Legal Practice Course (UK) - BPP Law School
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution - Accredited Mediator
Canadian National Committee on Accreditation (Canadian law degree equivalent)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (passed finalist)

https://www.crownofficechambers.com/barristers/donny-surtani/

PUBLICATIONS

Arbitration - 2021 in review: reasons (for claimants) to be cheerful - New Law Journal, 2022, 17

What is the investment value of a dispute? (with M.L. McGrath) - Thomson Reuters Westlaw, October 2021

English Courts Issue Key Decision on Law Governing Arbitration Agreements - Canadian Journal of Commercial Arbitration blog, April 2021

Data vs "gut instinct": analytics in dispute resolution (with A.J. Oddy) - HSF Global Bank Review 2019

Class Actions in England and Wales (2018, Sweet & Maxwell) co-author

Developments in the law on bankers' duties (with K. Kilgour) – Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, 2018, 33(7)

When should a prospectus' jurisdiction provision bind a secondary purchaser of securities? (with N. Chapman) – Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, 2016, 31(8)

Where in the world? (with N. Chapman) – New Law Journal, 2016, 166

Claims against directors under the Brussels Regulation (with A. Taggart and A. Pertoldi) – Employment Law Journal, 2015/16, 166

Hague Choice of Court Convention: gaining momentum (with G. Rowan, A. Alcasabas and D. Waldek) – PLC Magazine, 2015, 26(10)

Prospectus Liability: bracing for parallel claims in multiple jurisdictions - Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, 2015, 30(5)

Various contributions to blogs, bulletins and newsletters on international arbitration, banking disputes commercial contracts and private international law

TALKS AND SEMINARS

Arbitrating banking disputes: addressing the needs of the financial services sector - CanArbWeek seminar, Toronto, Canada (September 2021) moderator

2020 in Review: Dispute resolution perspectives from across the globe - ACC and Nishith Desai Associates seminar (March 2021) panellist

Mediation Skills Training Series for Litigators - SABA Toronto virtual seminar series (November 2020) co-chair

Managing Dispute Risk in India-related commercial contracts - SABANA virtual seminar (October 2020) panellist

Expert-led damages assessments in international arbitration - CanArbWeek seminar, Toronto, Canada (September 2020) moderator

Decision Analysis in Fraud Disputes - IAFCL seminar, Toronto, Canada (May 2020) keynote speaker

Commercial Litigation Summit by Legal Business - London, England (July 2019) panellist

GlenLegal Conference on Legal IT - Gleneagles, Scotland (March 2019) panellist

Global Pound Conversation roundtable - Hong Kong (February 2019) keynote speaker

International Mediation seminar - Bombay Chamber of Commerce, Mumbai (October 2018) speaker

Damages 2018: Recognising your options beyond discounted cash flow by Cornerstone Research - London, England (June 2018) panellist

Managing Risk: a Disputes perspective by Herbert Smith Freehills - London, England (May 2017) speaker

Various client and internal training and professional education engagements for HSF and other firms in North America, Europe and Asia

ICC Task Force on ADR and Arbitration - track leader
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators - Fellow
Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre - List member
Vancouver International Arbitration Centre - panel member (expedited arbitration and mediation)
Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners - member

I have an independent practice as a party representative and as a neutral in arbitration and mediation. I am dual-qualified in England and Ontario, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a former Chartered Management Accountant.

With over 20 years of experience in law and finance, I accept appointments to act as arbitrator or mediator, particularly in cases with an accounting, banking or financial element, or with complex quantum of damages issues. My practice experience encompasses financial services, energy, TMT, corporate, construction, insurance, joint venture disputes, M&A disputes, and civil fraud.

I have appeared as an advocate before the English High Court, Court of Appeal and various tribunals. In addition to my arbitration and mediation practice, I have acted in complex cross-border litigation in England and elsewhere, including in some of the largest cases heard in the English commercial courts.

I am a member of the ICC Task Force on Arbitration and ADR, and have been accredited as a mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (UK). I am an Advisory Board member for the Centre for the Online Resolution of Disputes (CORD), and have served as a guest lecturer on arbitration and ADR at universities in England and in Canada.