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Ren Bucholz

B.S. (Hons.), M.A., J.D.

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Ren Bucholz is a partner at Paliare Roland whose trial and appellate practice encompasses some of Canada's most complex commercial disputes. He regularly represents public and private companies, institutions, and individuals in matters involving shareholder disputes, intellectual property, technology, competition law, defamation, and class actions. Ren is also frequently called upon to provide strategic advice and representation in cross-border disputes, internal investigations, and matters involving significant reputational or business risk.

Ren has appeared as lead counsel before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as before the Federal Court, administrative tribunals, and domestic and international arbitration panels. A former clerk at the Ontario Court of Appeal, Ren’s litigation experience spans dozens of trials and appeals, where he is known for developing practical, creative solutions to sophisticated legal and commercial challenges.

Ren’s practice spans complex commercial disputes that often involve the intersection of commercial interests with new technologies and intellectual property.  He has acted in patent, copyright, and trademark matters in the Federal Court, Superior Court, and in private arbitrations.  A former Google Policy fellow, Ren spent several years representing a leading NGO at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, a specialized agency of the United Nations, where he dealt with copyright, trademark, and patent policy.  He also spent years working on technology standards involving broadcasting, digital copyright protection, open-source software, and voting machine security at entities like the IEEE and DVB.  Ren has published articles and book chapters on the intersections of new technology and intellectual property.

In addition to public-facing litigation, Ren often provides practical, discreet advice to organizations and individuals.

Education

  • Osgoode Hall Law School, J.D., 2010
  • York University, M.A. in Communications and Culture, 2009
  • University of Colorado, Boulder, B.S. (Hon) in Journalism, 2004

Bar Admissions

  • Ontario, 2011

Professional Affiliations

  • The Advocates' Society
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association
  • Pro Bono Law Ontario
  • Advisory Board Member, Electronic Frontier Foundation
  • Board Chair, Code for Canada

Practice Areas

Awards and Honours

  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory - Class Actions; Litigation - Corporate Commercial; Professional Liability; Litigation (Defamation) 
  • Lexpert Special Edition on Litigation - Recognized as a leader in Litigation - Corporate Commercial – 2023-2026
  • Best Lawyers in Canada - Corporate and Commercial Litigation
  • Benchmark Litigation - Future Litigation Star
  • 2020 Lexpert Rising Star: Leading Lawyer Under 40
  • 2018 Precedent Setter Award

Representative Work

  • SS&C Technologies Canada Corp. v. Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
    Counsel to the successful appellant at the Supreme Court of Canada in a dispute over the breach of a data licensing agreement by the world’s largest custodial bank, in which the Court revisited the doctrine of spoliation of evidence. (2026 SCC 29)
  • Schwartz v. Leavens, Data Stealth et al
    Counsel for the defendants who were successful in striking a complex shareholder oppression action for abuse of process (2025 ONSC 5872); under appeal to the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
  • Confidential Arbitration
    Successfully represented minority shareholders in a closely held company alleging breach of duties of good faith and honest performance, and oppression, leading to a payment of over $700 million.
  • Clare et al. v. Meta Platforms Inc.
    Counsel to the proposed plaintiff class in a Federal Court action alleging Meta infringed their copyright by downloading their copyrighted works and using them to train a large-language model, an artificial-intelligence product.
  • Dupuis et al. v. Bluewater Health
    Counsel to the proposed plaintiff class in an action filed against five Southwestern Ontario hospitals stemming from a ransomware attack that compromised patient health and employee financial data. 
  • SFA 404 North Properties Inc. v. Rice et al.
    Counsel to the plaintiff in a suit arising from the sale of a large development property
  • Rooney v. Rooney
    Counsel to the applicant in a dispute over the enforceability of a unanimous shareholders agreement and the sale price for the respondent’s shares.
  • Great Canadian Holidays Inc. v Roger Ruby and Five9 Solutions
    Counsel to the plaintiff in an ongoing oppression and misappropriation of corporate funds action.
  • International Royalty Corporation v. Newmont Canada Corporation
    Counsel to the successful plaintiff in a summary judgment motion involving payments to stop the operation of an otherwise economical mine on which the plaintiff holds a net smelter return royalty (2024 NSSC 160).
  • Rogerson v. Havergal
    Counsel to the successful defendant in a dispute involving allegations of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty (2020 ONSC 3172, 2020 ONSC 2279)
  • Iristel v. Rogers
    Represented Iristel, an independent local exchange carrier, in an arbitration and successful application to set aside an arbitration award.
  • Knox Presbyterian Church v. Dai
    Represented the successful plaintiff in obtaining a permanent injunction following a campaign of online and physical harassment.
  • Morgan Stanley v. Stikeman Elliott LLP - Represented Morgan Stanley in month-long solicitor’s negligence trial involving a failed RFP to build a massive solar energy project. Dispute settled post-trial.
  • LNRLP v. Vale Canada et al.
    Represented the holder of a net smelter return royalty over the output of one of the world’s largest nickel mines. Dispute settled mid-trial.
  • Rutman v. Rabinowitz
    Represented the successful plaintiff in an online defamation case, resulting in the largest aggravated damages award for defamation in Canada at the time (2016 ONSC 5864).
  • Nova Growth Corp. v. Boxer et. al
    Counsel for defendants in a lengthy commercial trial involving claims for an interest in the Niagara Falls casino. Defeated a range of contract and conspiracy claims, including allegations of computer spoliation (2014 ONSC 2763).
  • Borden Ladner Gervais v. Barlow
    Counsel to the plaintiff in defamation matter, including obtaining injunctions on the basis of Internet defamation and trademark infringement.
  • Sheridan Chevrolet Cadillac Ltd. v. Kyungshin-Lear Sales and Engineering
    Counsel to defendant in a multi-jurisdictional class action involving alleged price-fixing among automotive parts manufacturers.
  • Die-Mold Tool Ltd. v. McKenzie
    Counsel to a corporate plaintiff in a complex series of disputes involving the alleged oppressive conduct of a departing executive.
  • Ren v. College of Massage Therapists of Ontario
    Counsel to the College in this judicial review of a decision regarding allegations of advertising improprieties (2014 ONSC 2758).
  • Wi-LAN v. John Doe
    Counsel to the plaintiff in a defamation action against an anonymous Internet user involving multiple Norwich Orders seeking third-party records.
  • Royal Sun Alliance v. Viridian
    Dispute over historical insurance coverage for environmental damage in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
  • Goldhar v. Ha’aretz
    Counsel to the plaintiff in a defamation action involving the online publication of an article by an Israeli newspaper (2018 SCC 28).
  • Xerox Corporation v. Infinite Media Inc.
    Counsel to the plaintiff in a software licensing dispute encompassing allegations of copyright infringement.
  • Pastore v. Aviva Canada Inc.
    Counsel for successful appellant on matter regarding the proper interaction of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule of the Insurance Act and the scope of judicial review of decision made in that context (2012 ONCA 642).
  • Davydyiuk v. The Internet Archive et al.
    Counsel to the defendants in a suit alleging copyright infringement related to the Wayback Machine (2014 465 F.T.R. 76 (FC)).
  • Perfect 10, Inc. v. Google, Inc. et al.
    Counsel for Google in copyright case relating to image search (2011 FC 348).

Publications

  • Contributor – Article discussing decision in Baglow v. Smith which involves the liability of website “moderators” for the defamation of speakers on the internet – Lawyers Weekly – June 5, 2015
  • Contributor – Dynamic fair dealing with orphan work: lessons from “real” property – 2013.
  • Contributor – Voltage Pictures LLC v. John Doe and Jane Doe 2014 FC 161, The Federal Court of Canada – E-Commerce law reports – March-April 2014
  • Co-author – Hidden Treasure and Hydra’s Heads: How Clarifying Canadian Insurance Law can Address Environmental Harm – The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Insurance & Reinsurance, Global Legal Group Ltd. London, UK – 2012, 2013 editions.

Presentations

  • Moderator – Fireside Chat: Emotional Intelligence in the Context of Practicing Law/Providing Legal Services – The Law Society of Ontario, Stress Management for Legal Professionals 2026: Bolstering Your Emotional Intelligence – April 8, 2026
  • Co-chair – The Law Society of Ontario: The 2025 Twelve-Minute Civil Litigator – October 8, 2025
  • Co-chair – The Law Society of Ontario: The 2023 Twelve-Minute Civil Litigator – September 29, 2023
  • Panel discussion – Litigating AI: Understanding the multi-faceted intersection of AI and the Law – 2022 Can-Tech Law Fall Conference – Data Disruption: Managing Changes in Data, Technologies and Law – November 3, 2022
  • Presenter – AI/Algorithms, Race and the Law – 14th Annual FACL Ontario Conference – February 20, 2021
  • Presenter – The Future of IP Litigation: Virtual Court Processes and what it Means to your Practice – Canadian Bar Association – June 12, 2020
  • Presenter – Home Field Advantage – How Canadian Courts Take and Impose Jurisdiction for Online Conduct – ALAI Canada – April 6, 2017
  • Panel discussion – How Canadian authors thrive in a digital world? – Authors Alliance and the University of Toronto Libraries
  • Presenter – The battle for control of the web – Mesh13 conference – May 15, 2013