Sopinka, Gelowitz and Rankin on the Conduct of an Appeal, 6th Edition

The late Honourable John Sopinka, was Canada's most prominent and skilled litigator when he was appointed directly from the bar to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1988. In a distinguished and high-profile career as a litigator, his most notable briefs included his role as counsel to the Estey Commission on the failure of the Canadian Commercial and Northland banks; his representation of nurse Susan Nelles when she sued the government of Ontario and the Toronto police for malicious prosecution; and his work as counsel for former federal cabinet minister Sinclair Stevens at the William Parker Inquiry into conflict of interest allegations. Justice Sopinka served with great distinction on the Supreme Court for nine years, until his untimely passing in 1997. Justice Sopinka left an important legal legacy in his judgments on the court, and his books Sopinka on the Trial of an Action, 4th Edition (J. Kenneth McEwan, LexisNexis 2020); Sopinka, Lederman & Bryant – The Law of Evidence in Canada, 6th Edition (Hon. Sidney N. Lederman, Hon. Justice Michelle K. Fuerst & Hamish C. Stewart, LexisNexis 2022); and Sopinka, Gelowitz and Rankin on the Conduct of an Appeal, 6th Edition (Mark Gelowitz & W. David Rankin, LexisNexis 2026).

Mark A. Gelowitz, B.A., LL.B., B.C.L., is a senior partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Mark has a business-focused civil and securities litigation, appellate and international commercial arbitration practice. He has regularly appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and the Courts of Appeal across the country. Mark's international arbitration practice includes major arbitrations conducted in London, Hong Kong, Rome, Geneva, Tokyo, Warsaw and the Hague. Mark completed two appellate judicial clerkships, the first with the late Chief Justice E.D. Bayda of the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in 1986-87 and the second with the late Justice John Sopinka of the Supreme Court of Canada in 1989-90. He completed the B.C.L. degree at Oxford University in 1989, between his clerking experiences.

W. David Rankin, B.B.A.H., J.D. (Hons.), is a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. He represents public and private sector clients to solve disputes, including through appellate litigation, administrative and constitutional litigation, class actions, and Indigenous litigation. David has appeared as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal, and several provincial appellate courts. David served as a law clerk to The Honourable Mr. Justice Morris J. Fish of the Supreme Court of Canada. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, where he graduated with the W.P.M. Kennedy Silver Medal.