Darrel H. Pearson

Darrel Pearson helps clients navigate their most complex international trade and investment law issues involving the movement of goods, services and intellectual property across international borders, and resolves their disputes with government agencies before Canadian Tribunals and Courts.

Darrel is head of the firm's international trade and investment practice. He practices all aspects of international trade and customs law, including trade remedies, customs, international trade treaty matters, export regulation, sanctions and controls, goods and services taxes, government procurement dispute settlement, and other regulatory matters concerning Canadian trade regulation. Darrel has represented Canadian and international clients in more than 200 trade remedy matters involving goods exported to Canada from all over the world and has led some of the most important customs and trade remedy cases heard by Canadian Tribunals and Courts, including two cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Darrel represents clients across a range of commercial, industrial, primary industry, consumer, agricultural and agri-food industries. He assists these clients on the range of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade faced by importers and foreign exporters. He develops and implements client cross border trade strategies, represents their interests in internal and external audits, and provides compliance advice. Darrel contributes to the customs component of the firm's uniform approach to tax and customs Transfer Pricing practices and issues. Darrel also represents clients in dispute resolution proceedings relating to government procurement.

Complementing his international trade and investment practice, Darrel is a qualified arbitrator of international commercial and investment treaty disputes. He is member of the International Roster of Neutrals of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) (International division of the American Bar Association), the London Court of International Trade (LCIA) and has been appointed to the NAFTA Ch. 19 Dispute Resolution Panel.

Darrel is internationally recognized as a leading international trade practitioner in multiple independent legal directories, and is consistently ranked Band 1 in Chambers Global and The Legal 500. He has authored numerous publications and frequently speaks on Canadian international trade law issues in Canada and abroad.