Brian W. Burkett Brian W. Burkett is a senior partner with Heenan Blaikie’s Toronto office.
Mr. Burkett concentrates exclusively in the area of management labour relations and employment law. He represents employers in collective bargaining, arbitration, labour board proceedings, human rights complaints and wrongful dismissal complaints. Furthermore, he offers proactive strategic advice on behalf of employers and employer organizations in both private and public sectors, as well as involvement in the development and design of labour law policy at both the federal and provincial levels. His law practice on behalf of individual employers and employer organizations includes proactive strategic labour and employment law advice in both the private and public sector; strategic input on the development of labour and employment law policy at the provincial, federal and international levels; regular appearances before grievance arbitration and labour relations boards at the provincial and federal level and before provincial and federal courts; frequent negotiation of collective agreements on behalf of a variety of employers in the industrial, commercial and retail sectors; and involvement in interest arbitration proceedings at both the federal and provincial levels, on behalf of clients in the railway, airline, hospital and nursing home sectors.
Mr. Burkett is a director of and counsel to the Canadian Employers Council, which represents the interests of the Canadian employer community at the International Labour Office in Geneva, Switzerland, and in connection with the Summit of the Americas Process.
Mr. Burkett is a Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in the United States.
Mr. Burkett is co-author of the book Canadian Labour and Employment Law for the U.S. Practitioner, Second Edition(2006) and the 2008 Supplement, published by BNA Books of Washington, D.C. He is also a co-author of The Littler Mendelson Guide to International Employment and Labor Law – 2009 Supplement, published by the law firm Littler Mendelson. He is an associate editor of the Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal and a member of the International Association of Labour Law Journals. He also co-teaches the advanced Labour and Employment Law course at the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations.
Mr. Burkett has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating (“AV”) for his skills and sense of ethics. Since 1999, he has been recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in the annual Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada published by Lexpert/American Lawyer Media. He is also recognized as a leading practitioner in the field of management labour and employment law in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (2009), The Best Lawyers in Canada, 4th Edition (2010), and The International Who’s Who of Management Labour and Employment Lawyers (2009). Education
LL.B., York University (Osgoode Hall Law School), 1976 B.A., University of Toronto, 1973 Professional Affiliations
Advisory Committee on International Labour Affairs (ACILA) American Bar Association Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) Canadian Bar Association Canadian Chamber of Commerce Canadian Employers Council Canadian Labour Law Association (CLLA) International Association of Labour Law Journals International Organization for Standardization (ISO) International Society for Labour and Social Security Law Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) Ius Laboris The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario)
Publications and Conferences Co-author,“CSR and Its Progeny: Post-Recession”, International Law News winter 2010 edition. Canadian Labour and Employment Law for the U.S. Practitioner, Second Edition, (2006) and 2008 Supplement, BNA Books, Washington, D.C. “The Convergence of Labour Law and Human Rights: A Historical Overview”, co-authorship, published by the University of Toronto Press in the Charter at Work in 2006 International Labour Law in Context: A Historical Overview, International Labour Law Conference: Meeting the Challenges of Globalization, Heenan Blaikie LLP and the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law “The International Labour Dimension: An Introduction”, published by the Cambridge University Press in Globalization and the Future of Labour Law, 2005 Reflections on Tripartism and Labour Law Reform, published in Canadian Labour & Employment Law Journal, Volume 12, No. 3, 2005 Annual Labour Law Conference held at Western University Faculty of Law, Co-chair Corporate Social Responsibility and Codes of Conduct: An Overview for the International Labour and Employment Law Practitioner, presented at the International Labour Law Conference in 2004 Canadian Labour & Employment Law Journal, Associate Editor Directors' and Officers' Liability, a Handbook Canada and the ILO: Freedom of Association since 1982 (2003), 10 Canadian Labour and Employment Law Journal 231 Balancing Corporate Security and Privacy Protection in the Post 9-11 Environment, presented to the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association (CCCA), March 2003. The Canadian Airline Industry Since 2000: Air Canada's Challenges and Successes, presented at the Railway & Airline Labor Law Midwinter Committee Meeting of the American Bar Association, March 2003 The Voice of Canadian Employers in the International Labour-Trade Debate, prepared for the Canadian Employers Council, February 2003 The Aftermath of September 11: Canada's Response to Securing North America (Spring 2002) Outside Counsel (American Corporate Counsel Association's quarterly newsletter) Labour Law and the Challenges of Globalization, prepared for the Canadian Employers Council, October 2001
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