Brian H. Somer

Preston’s primary mediator and arbitrator, Brian H. Somer, practiced law mainly in the areas of civil, commercial, construction and estate litigation. He was an instructor in the Civil Litigation, Debtor-Creditor Relations, and the Estate Planning and Litigation sections of the Ontario Bar Admission Course for several years. He is also a contributing editor to O’Brien’s Forms and Precedents (Thomson Reuters). Most recently, Mr. Somer was General Counsel for a major commercial financial services company (a Canadian chartered bank subsidiary) that operates across the country.

Mr. Somer has considerable adjudication experience including several years as an Assessment Officer with the Ontario Superior Court. He was also a Vice-Chair of the License Appeal Tribunal of Ontario and was, during a pilot project, a mediator with the Ontario Insurance Commission (all positions being per diem).

Mr. Somer has been on the Roster of the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program (OMMP) since its inception in 1999. He has also been a Roster Arbitrator with the Tarion New Homes Warranty Corporation (the Builder Arbitration Forum) since 2005 and was recently appointed as a Roster Mediator with Tarion as well.