Robert Emblem

Full Profile

Having worked on secondment with a leading Lloyd’s syndicate in the mid-1990s, Bob has developed a large insurance coverage and defense practice. He represents insurers, reinsurers and insureds in the areas of commercial general liability, professional liability, media/technology liability, directors’ and officers’ liability, fidelity, contingency and property insurance. In addition to providing coverage and regulatory advice to insurers and reinsurers, he regularly performs policy wording reviews and claims audits.

Bob is a member of both the Ontario and Québec bars, has wide-ranging experience in both the Common Law and civil law systems, and is fluently bilingual in English and French. He regularly appears before all levels of the Québec courts as well as before arbitration and mediation panels throughout North America.

Bob is one of the leading experts in Canada in the area of course of construction insurance and co-authored Commercial General Liability Insurance published by Butterworths. He speaks regularly at conferences and delivers papers for the Barreau du Québec, the Canadian Institute, the Canadian Bar Association, Insight, Canadian Defence Lawyers, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and other organizations.

Bob is currently listed and recommended in the following guides:

• Business Today, “Top 10 Canadian Insurance: Dispute Resolution Lawyers to Watch in 2023”
• Chambers Canada in Insurance: Dispute Resolution category in 2024, 2023 and 2022
• The Best Lawyers in Canada since 2011 for Insurance Law, including from 2019 to 2024
• The Legal 500 in the insurance and construction categories in 2023, 2022 and 2021
• Martindale-Hubbell in the fields of Insurance, Professional Liability and Litigation
• Lexpert Special Edition: Infrastructure in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 for Canada's Leading Infrastructure Lawyers
• The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (since 2011, including the 2019 and 2023 editions) for Litigation – Commercial Insurance

He is a member of the firm’s Canadian Management Board.

Admissions

• Québec Bar

• Ontario Bar
   

Education

• 1992 – 1993, LL.B. (Civil Law), University of Montréal

• 1987 – 1990, LL.B. (Common Law), Queen's University (Kingston, Ontario)

• 1983 – 1986, B. Comm. (with Great Distinction, University Scholar) McGill University (Montréal)
   

Professional Associations

• Canadian Bar Association (CBA)

• Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS)

• Canadian Defence Lawyers (CDL)

• International Bar Asssociation (IBA)

Experience

• Counsel for earthworks contractor in $71M arbitration claim for wrongful termination

• Counsel for geotechnical engineering firm in $30M lawsuit following collapse of causeway in Northern Quebec

• Counsel for contractor in Quebec class action proceedings alleging excessive noise due to highway reconstruction

• Counsel for contractor in lawsuit following significant water infiltration loss in residential condominium building

• Counsel for course of construction insurers in claims involving significant settlement damages at research hospital in Quebec City

• Counsel for course of construction insurers in litigation involving water infiltration at healthcare centre in Baie-James

• Counsel for structural engineers in litigation involving design of residential condominium development in Montreal

• Defence/supervisory counsel in numerous large construction-related disputes in Quebec and throughout North America

• Counsel for insurers in numerous coverage disputes before the Quebec courts

• Counsel to builders’ risk insurers under single-project policies in respect of numerous first-party losses across Canada

• Coverage/monitoring counsel to insurers of various professional liability facilities across Canada

• Counsel to property insurers following blast furnace loss at steel mill

• Auditors to reinsurers of numerous Canadian professional liability programmes (lawyers’ errors and omissions, directors and officers liability and medical malpractice insurance)

Presentations and Publications

• “Démystifier les assurances dans le domaine de la construction”, Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux du Québec (February 2018)

• “Démystifier les assurances dans le domaine de la construction”, Canadian Institute (May 2016)

• “Recent Caselaw on Construction Insurance,” conference given to insurance intermediaries in Ottawa (March 2016)

• “Développements récents en assurance dans le domaine de la construction,” Québec Risk and Insurance Management Association (February 2016)

• “Gestion des réclamations et litiges dans le domaine de la construction,” Canadian Institute (April 2015)

• “Latest Developments in Canadian Construction Insurance Law,” Lexpert (June 2014)

• “Subrogation and Conflict of interest in Construction Claims,” conference given to insurance intermediaries in Ottawa (June 2014)

• “Mieux comprendre les principales clauses dans vos contrats d’assurance dans le domaine de la construction,” Canadian Institute (April 2014)

• “Survol de la responsabilité environnementale en droit québécois,” conferences given to insurance intermediaries in Montréal and Québec City (April 2013)

• “Le choix des professionnels quant aux assurances à prendre dans le domaine de la construction,” Canadian Institute (November 2012)

• “L’assurance dans le domaine de la construction - l’arrêt de la Cour suprême dans Lombard Progressive Homes c. Lombard et d’autres développements récents,” Canadian Bar Association (September 2011)

• “Maximiser votre compréhension des principales clauses dans vos contrats d’assurance et des maximums actuels par le biais d’exemples concrets de leur utilisation,” Canadian Institute (April 2011)

• “Le rôle des produits d’assurance dans la gestion de risque de construction,” Canadian Institute (November 2009)

• “Gestion des risques de construction : guide pour une utilisation efficace des produits d’assurance,” Presented at the Federated Press Conference (January 2009) 

• “L’assurance - outil de gestion pour les risques de construction” – Text for Canadian Institute conference (May 2009)

• “L’utilisation des produits d’assurance pour mieux gérer vos risques dans le domaine de la construction,” Canadian Institute (April 2008)

• “The Ins and Outs of the CGL policy,” Insight (November 2007)

• “L’assurance dans le domaine de la construction : Ce que vous devez savoir sur les couvertures et les exclusions pour éviter les conséquences périlleuses d’une couverture incomplète,” Canadian Institute (2007)

• “Démystifier l’application des dernières modifications au contenu de la police CGL approuvées par le BAC,” Canadian Institute (2006) and Assurances et gestion des risques, Vol. 675 (1-2), April-July 2007, 75-98

• “New IBC Commercial General Liability (CGL)”, in “Joint IIO-IBC Conference on Advisory Wording,” presented by IIO & IBC, Toronto (2005)

• “The CGL Policy in 2005,” presented by the Canadian Defence Lawyers, Toronto (2005)

• “La requête pour forcer l’assureur à prendre fait et cause de son assuré,” presented by Insight (2005)

• “Six Months at Lloyd’s of London,” Lawyer’s Weekly (March 21, 2005)

• “Les exclusions pour risques d’affaires dans les polices d’assurance de responsabilité civile générale (CGL) : Comment mieux les comprendre,” presented by the Canadian Institute (2004)

• “Faulty Workmanship Claims and the Commercial General Liability Policy” in “Conférence annuelle du Barreau du Québec,” presented by the Québec Bar (2001)

• “DRI’s Preserving the Privilege Project”, DRI – Québec Chapter of Canadian Submission (2001)

• Co-auteur de “Commercial General Liability Insurance”, Toronto, Butterworths (2000)

• “Dommages en matière de vices de construction”, Les Bâtisseurs (1995)

• “Legal Liability Issues - What’s in Store in the 90s?”, presented by the Canadian Insolvency Association (1994)