Alexa Biscaro

Of Counsel
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Ottawa
Canada
T:+1 613 780 8603
Ottawa
Canada
T:+1 613 780 8603
Alexa Biscaro

Alexa Biscaro

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Biography

Alexa Biscaro's bilingual practice focuses on public international law and arbitration, as well as business ethics and anti-corruption, with an emphasis on legal research and written advocacy. She also regularly provides advice on constitutional matters – particularly with respect to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – and issues relating to the Official Languages Act.

Ms. Biscaro's international arbitration experience includes acting as counsel in several commercial and investor-state arbitrations, and serving as tribunal secretary for a commercial arbitration administered under the auspices of the ICC. She has also acted as counsel in several domestic commercial arbitration matters, notably in Ontario and British Columbia.

Ms. Biscaro's business ethics and anti-corruption experience includes providing advice on issues of evidence and privilege in the context of investigations and proceedings spanning multiple jurisdictions, as well as matters relating to deferred prosecution agreements and sanctions.

Ms. Biscaro has appeared before the Federal Courts of Canada, the Ontario Superior Court, and the Ontario Provincial Court. She has also appeared before the Quebec Superior Court and Quebec Court of Appeal.

After completing law school, Ms. Biscaro clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada for Justice Thomas Cromwell. She volunteers as a judge for several mooting competitions, including the Jessup Canadian National Rounds.

Professional experience

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LL.M., (International Law), Cambridge University, 2019 (First Class Honours) 
J.D./LL.L, University of Ottawa, 2012
B.A.(Hons.), University of Ottawa, 2009
  • Ontario 2013

Recent mandates in which Ms. Biscaro has been involved relate to the following:

  • A Canadian construction company, its joint venture partner and the joint venture vehicle in an UNCITRAL BIT dispute with a South American state regarding the state tax authority's imposition of income tax and VAT on the joint venture vehicle
  • A Chinese-owned Balkans oil and gas company in an ICC arbitration with the state ministry of energy and state-owned oil and gas company relating to the operation of cost recovery provisions in the licence and petroleum agreements governing the company's petroleum operations, and issuance of a US$50 million tax assessment on the basis of a cost audit
  • A North American railroad in an arbitration under the BC Arbitration Act with a competitor railroad relating to compliance with the terms of a consent agreement and related tariff governing haulage rates and service on a portion of the railroad's rail network
  • An aviation-industry corporation in an ICC arbitration relating to the alleged breach of a software licensing agreement
  • Advising clients on the anti-corruption regimes of foreign states and the Canadian Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act
  • Advising clients with respect to the parameters of a deferred prosecution agreement
  • Advising clients of the potential consequences of World Bank sanctions and debarment on the various iterations of a proposed transaction
  • Advising clients on the consequences of foreign authorities obtaining confidential and privileged documents during dawn raids and its potential impact on Canadian proceedings
  • An individual plaintiff against the Government of Canada in an action for damages in negligence and for breach of ss. 7 and 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights relating to the circumstances of the plaintiff's imprisonment abroad and treatment while imprisoned abroad under an Interpol Red Notice
  • A North American railroad in an appeal concerning the interpretation of the Official Languages Act and the scope of language rights in the workplace
  • "The (Continued) Case for the Emancipation of Arbitration from Canadian Courts: Watch Your Language," Kluwer Arbitration Blog, January 26, 2022 (republished in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review, May 2022).
  • Foreign Investment and the Energy Transition: Booms, Busts, and Battlegrounds, OGEL 5 (2021), in Energy Transition (Co-authored with Martin J. Valasek and Cara Dowling).
  • "First Appellate-Level Decision on Vavilov and Arbitration Muddies Already Murky Waters," Canadian Journal of Commercial Arbitration, Vol. 2, Issue 1: October 2021 (Co-authored with Martin J. Valasek and Alison G. FitzGerald).
  • "The Emancipation of Arbitration: Recent Developments from the Supreme Court of Canada," Kluwer Arbitration Blog, June 30, 2021 (Republished in Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review, February 2022).
  • "Domestic Commercial Arbitration Awards: To appeal or not appeal?" Canadian Arbitration and Mediation Journal, February 2019 (http://adric.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ADRIC_JOURNAL_IAMC_2018_Vol27_No2.pdf).
  • "Ontario Court of Appeal confirms the court's discretion to decline to grant partial stays of litigation in favour of arbitration,"Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review,  February 2018.
  • "I'm not a party and I'll produce if I want to: Getting your hands on Crown and police documents," County of Carleton Law Association 35th Annual Civil Litigation Conference, November 2015.
  • "International Dispute Resolution on Trial," moderator, Canadian Council on International Law Fall 2020 Virtual Conference Series, October 29, 2020. 
  • "Wagg Motions: Getting the Goods from the Police and/or the Crown," CCLA 2015 Civil Litigation Conference, November 20-21, 2015, Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association
  • Juristes d'expression française d'Ontario
  • Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners
  • The Advocates' Society
  • County of Carleton Law Association
  • English
  • French

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