Olivier F. Kott, Ad. E.

Olivier F. Kott, Ad. E. now acts exclusively as a mediator and arbitrator. He is accredited as a mediator by the Qubec Bar and has attended the Mediation Workshop at Harvard University. He has also completed the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators training programme. The Secretary General of the International Court of Arbitration recently confirmed his appointment as president of an arbitral tribunal.
In his capacity as mediator and arbitrator, he draws on his 45 years’ experience in the prevention, management, and resolution of complex business disputes as a partner of Norton Rose Fulbright (previously Ogilvy, Renault). He has extensive civil trial and appellate experience including successfully pleading two landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Mr. Kott negotiated and drafted numerous construction contracts and participated in the resolution of disputes pertaining to large national and international construction projects as well as acting as a mediator and an arbitrator. He taught construction law at l’Universit de Montral for 18 years and regularly published articles and gave conferences on construction law, insurance law, civil law, and the prevention and resolution of disputes. He directed and coauthored the publication of a 900-page book on construction law entitled La Construction au Qubec: perspectives juridiques .

He is a founding member of the Construction Law Section of the CBA (Qubec) and the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers of which he is a past President. He also served as Chair of the Qubec Province Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 2017, the Barreau du Qubec awarded him the Advocatus Emeritus distinction.

Mr. Kott has been recognized as an expert in construction law in all the major national and international law directories including Chambers Global, Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and Whos Who Legal.
Mr. Kott also received Best Lawyers distinction of Lawyer of the Year in Alternative Dispute Resolution and Lawyer of the Year in Construction Law (Montreal).