Admission & Qualifications
Ontario Bar, 2007
Education
JD, University of Toronto, 2006
BA (Honours), Trent University, 2003
Professional Profile
Cait Sainsbury is a Partner in the Toronto office of BLG with extensive experience acting for corporations and individuals in competition/antitrust and securities class actions, complex commercial disputes, and securities litigation and regulatory proceedings. Cait also regularly advises clients on managing risks and cross-border issues in multi-jurisdictional cases. Cait previously acted as Litigation Counsel in the Enforcement Branch at the Ontario Securities Commission.
Cait is widely regarded for her depth and breadth of experience and commitment to her clients. She has been described as a “very strong and effective counsel” who provides “practical and results-oriented advice”.
Her ability to perform in high pressure and highly public matters on behalf of her clients has resulted in Cait being consistently recognized as a leading litigator, including rankings in Chambers Canada, Benchmark Litigation top 50 Women in Litigation, Best Lawyers, and others. Cait was named Competition Litigator of the Year by Benchmark Litigation in 2022.
Cait is an active member of The Advocates Society, the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Women’s White Collar Defence Association (WWCDA), and is a member of BLG’s Partnership Board, the firm’s national governing body.
Cait's areas of focus include:
- defence of competition/antitrust and securities class actions;
- securities litigation and regulation including broker liability litigation and proceedings before the MFDA, IIROC, and the Ontario Securities Commission;
- corporate internal investigation;
- mergers and acquisitions litigation; and
- shareholder's rights litigation.
Representative Matters
Re: Hutchinson et al. – acted for Respondent in insider trading prosecution brought by the Ontario Securities Commission.
Re: Cheng et al. – acted for Respondent in connection with allegations of misleading Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission in an insider trading prosecution.
Competition class actions – acts for clients in defending precious metals, foreign exchange, automotive components, bearings, optical disk drives, and other claims.
Broker Liability Defence – represented dealer and advisor in successfully defending a broker liability claim at trial.
Re: Hecla Mining Company and Dolly Varden Silver Corporation – represented Dolly Varden in successfully responding to an application heard simultaneously by the Ontario Securities Commission and British Columbia Securities Commission to cease trade a private placement financing and in successfully bringing an application to cease trade Hecla's insider take-over bid of Dolly Varden until such time as it obtained a formal valuation pursuant to s. 2.3 of MI 61-101.
OSC No Contest Settlement – represented securities dealer in Ontario Securities Commission no-contest settlement regarding allegations of control and supervision inadequacies in respect of fees.
Orbixa Technologies Inc. v. Ribero et al. – represented securities broker in successfully opposing a motion for relief from the deemed undertaking rule to provide information obtained in a civil proceeding to regulators.
Re: Agueci et al. – acted for a Respondent in an insider trading prosecution brought by the OSC.
Re: Northern Securities Inc. et al. – acted for IIROC in a regulatory hearing relating to a trading practice which improperly obtained access to credit for the firm's client.
French v. Karas et al. – acted for mutual fund dealer in defence of a class action proceeding.
Sino-Forest Corporation – represented short-seller in various capacities.
Magna International Inc. v. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board – acted for institutional shareholders in regulatory and civil litigation proceedings regarding the collapse of a dual class share structure.
Re: DBSL – acted for IIROC in successfully responding to a motion to stay disciplinary proceedings arising out of DBSL's participation in the third-party asset backed commercial paper market.
Re: Biovail – acted as OSC Litigation Counsel in regulatory hearing regarding misleading statements made by Biovail about the financial implications of a multi-vehicle truck accident on the company's financial results.
Other Distinctions
Recognized in the 2019 edition (and since 2018) of Benchmark Canada – The Definitive Guide to Canada’s Leading Litigation Firms & Attorneys as a Future Star.
Recognized in the 2019 edition of Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Corporate Commercial Litigation, Securities Litigation).
Recognized as a 2018 Lexpert® Rising Star: Leading Lawyers under 40.
Recognized in the 2018 edition of Benchmark Canada 40 and Under Hotlist.
Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Corporate and Commercial Litigation).
Publications
Speaker, "Significant Legal Developments in the Northeast Region", 33rd Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, American Bar Association.
Speaker, “Thinking Critically About Pass-On”, ABA Anti-Trust Section Global Private Litigation Conference.
Co-Chair, The Advocates’ Society Seventh Annual Securities Symposium.
Speaker, "Significant Legal Developments in the Northeast Region", 31st Annual National Institute on White Collar Crime, American Bar Association.
Author, "Whistleblower Policy Bulletin," BLG Securities Litigation Bulletin.
Author, "We must not sell short the value of short-sellers," The Globe and Mail.
Author, "New Tips for Tipsters: A Quick Review of the More Vital Variations to the OSC's Proposed Whistleblower Program," BLG Securities and Capital Markets Bulletin.
Author, "Securities Litigation Snapshot" BLG Securities Litigation and Regulatory Bulletin.
Author, "Re: DBSL" BLG Brokers' Report.
Author, "ABCP Revisited" BLG Brokers' Report Special Edition.
Author, "The Enforcers" Advisor's Edge Report, (with David Di Paolo).
Author, "Proposed Canadian Securities Act – A Summary of the Criminal and Regulatory Offence Provisions and New Investigative Powers" BLG White Collar Crime Bulletin, (with Tyler Hodgson).
Author, "Proposed Canadian Securities Act – The Enforcement Provisions," BLG Publication.
Quoted, "Is Canada doing enough to support whistleblowers?," Wealth Professional.
Quoted, "Canadian securities regulators disagree on whistleblower incentives," Compliance Week.
Quoted, "New awards policy for whistleblowers under fire," Law Times.
Prior Experience
Litigation Counsel, Enforcement Branch, Ontario Securities Commission (2008-2009)