Emily Lacey McMurtry

Emily is a Senior Associate and arbitrator with Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. Based in Ottawa, Emily’s practice has a strong focus on various arbitration matters (international and domestic). She is often called on by senior members from across Canada for assistance on issues arising in arbitration matters, particularly with respect to questions of jurisdiction and procedure, as well as in relation to many institutional arbitration rules.

In her arbitration practice, Emily represents clients in domestic and international disputes involving product liability and professional negligence claims, mining industry agreements and construction matters, and shareholder disputes, among others. She has experience under many institutional rulesets, including the ICC, ICDR, CIArb, JAMS, VanIAC, and ADRIC rules; and has successfully represented clients in arbitrations governed by Canadian and English law. Recently, Emily played an integral role in the firm’s success on behalf of a Canadian mining client in a half-billion dollar international arbitration involving complex issues of contractual interpretation, smelter royalty calculations, and buy-back rights.

Through her broad substantive experience, Emily is adept at understanding her clients’ businesses and the technical aspects of their work, frequently representing clients who construct and manufacture highly engineered projects and products, including amusement rides, aircraft engines, liquified natural gas tanks, and self-storage buildings. She is also particularly experienced in matters involving contracts for the sale of goods, including those that raise issues pursuant to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (“CISG”).

Emily was appointed to the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation’s (“DRC”) roster of arbitrators in January 2022, after having completed the DRC’s Arbitrator Training Course. As an arbitrator for the DRC, Emily renders international commercial arbitration awards deciding disputes arising between DRC members in relation to transactions for fresh produce. Emily is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and sat as a member of the ADRIC Committee’s Arbitration Modernization Project, which was tasked with drafting the new ADRIC Rules released on March 1, 2025. She completed the Toronto Commercial Arbitration