Stephen Cavanagh

Steve’s practice focuses on professional liability, insurance and commercial litigation. He has extensive experience in advising both insurers and insureds about coverage issues and has had a number of reported cases in that field. He has also acted as a mediator and as an arbitrator in various types of civil disputes, principally in the areas of insurance and commercial law. As well, he has acted as counsel in disciplinary proceedings.

Steve became a Fellow of the American College of Trial lawyers in 2010 and a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America in 2019. In 2025, he withdrew from both organizations.

He is certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. He has been selected for inclusion among The Best Lawyers in Canada in Insurance Law and Malpractice Law has been “Repeatedly Recommended” as a Leading Practitioner in the field of “Litigation-Commercial Insurance” by LEXPERT.

In 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2024, Best Lawyers in Canada named Steve the Lawyer of the Year in the area of Insurance Law in Ottawa.

From 2007 to 2021, Steve was a member of the Ontario Civil Rules Committee, which is responsible for the Rules of Civil Procedure. In 2013 and again in 2018, he was a member of a subcommittee which made recommendations to the Civil Rules Committee regarding the discount rate for future pecuniary damages (Rule 53.09). He also served as a member of various other subcommittees over his 14-year term on the Rules Committee.

In 2020, Steve was invited to serve as a member of the “Civil Working Group”, made up of judges and practitioners from across the province.

For five years, Steve was the Ottawa Senior Instructor in Civil Litigation for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course. He also taught Insurance Law and Trial Advocacy at uOttawa’s law school for several years.

In 2022, Steve became a member of the Bench and Bar Committee in Ottawa. According to its terms of reference, it is “an ad hoc committee comprised of members of the judiciary, court administration staff, and senior lawyers who practise in the area of civil litigation in the East Region (primarily in the Superior Court of Justice)”.

Steve was named by the CCLA as the 2019 recipient of the Carleton Medal. “The Carleton Medal is given to a lawyer (including a retired lawyer, judge, former judge, or paralegal) who is most deserving of recognition for great diligence, high ideals and outstanding leadership in the practice of law throughout their career. Those who will receive the medal will have made a significant contribution to the profession of law, whether as a solicitor in effectively performing services in that position, as a barrister in attaining an excellent reputation in the courts, as an academic, or for a single act of notable distinction that advances the ideals of the profession.”

Because of Covid-19 restrictions, the award was presented in June, 2022.

Education
LL. B. 1978 – Western University
B.A. (Hons.) 1975 – Carleton University

Bar Admission
1980 – Ontario

Affiliations
Advocates’ Society
American College of Trial Lawyers
Canadian Defence Lawyers
County of Carleton Law Association

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