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Ruben Goulart
Ruben Goulart is a Partner in our Human Resource Law Group and Managing Partner of Keyser Mason Ball, LLP. With over 20 years of experience in the human resources field, he is the senior practitioner in the group. His practice is management focused, as he primarily represents employers on a variety of human resource legal issues, including Occupational Health and Safety and Human Rights. He also provides counsel to corporate directors and senior executives in transition, in both the private and public sectors. For more information on the practice group, click here»
Focus of Practice
Ruben Goulart has increasingly positioned himself as a senior advisor for his clients relating to all areas of workplace law. Ruben is regularly involved in all aspects of Human Resources risk analysis and mitigation, and conflict resolution. His practice takes him to day to day operational questions, complex litigation issues, and sensitive corporate strategic matters. Due to their confidence and trust in his judgment, Ruben is generally closely aligned with management and the decision making process at most of his clients. He loves what he does, and has spent his entire professional career at KMB.
Represents & Advises
- Employers of all size, with a focus on:
- Employers with a national presence and multi-provincial operations,
- Companies in the manufacturing, distribution, construction, and business/professional services sectors,
- Canadian subsidiaries of companies headquartered primarily in the United States.
- Senior Executives on all issues relating to their workplace relationships, including recruitment, contractual relationships, compensation, and separation.
Admissions and Affiliations
- Called to the Bar in Ontario 1992
- Human Resources Professional Association of Ontario (Halton Chapter)
- Ontario Bar Association - Member
- Living Arts Centre in Mississauga - Corporate Secretary
- Innovator’s Alliance - Halton Chapter Member
- Federation of Portuguese Canadian Business and Professionals – Member, and former Board Member.
Education and Interests
- B.A. - University of Toronto (St. Michael’s College) 1987
- LL.B. - Osgoode Law School Ontario 1990
- Ruben lives in Oakville with his wife, two daughters, two dogs, and a cat named Sam.
- He loves to travel with his family (and is very fond of California), listening to his extensive and ever growing music collection, and finds fulfillment in reading to disadvantaged grade school children through KMB’s Reach! Program.
Recent Experience
- Assisted a client in developing and implementing a multi-million dollar contracting out strategy with respect to a key component of its business involving employees in several Canadian Provinces, addressing specific issues such as successor and related employer entitlements of the affected employees, preparation and finalization of employment and commercial agreements, and the minimization of termination costs;
- Advised and represented a client before the Health and Safety Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Labour with respect to legal consequences arising from a workplace fatality, including advocacy and negotiation with Crown Prosecutor, and representation at a Coroner’s Inquest into the death;
- Advised a client with respect to the transition of several members of its sales management team arising from their “in employment” competitive activity, including representation of the employer in subsequent legal proceedings to recover damages incurred by the employer as a result of the actions of such employees;
- Successfully represented a client before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in the context of a former employee who had resigned alleging unhappiness in her position, and then later filed a Human Rights complaint alleging that the resignation arose from a disability;
- Advised and represented a Japanese based national employer in the negotiation and finalization of employment and change of control agreements with all members of its senior management team in Canada during a sensitive period immediately prior to the sale of the business;
- Developed and implemented a transition plan related to the shut-down of a US client’s production plant in Ontario, including termination risk analysis, implementation strategy, development of termination agreements, and subsequent resolution of termination related claims;
- Represented a client at the Ontario Labour Relations Board on multiple union drives at one of its facilities in Mississauga, successfully engaging a creative communication and build up strategy, and providing ongoing strategic support to maintain a union free environment;
- Successfully represented a senior executive in a multi-million dollar action brought by her previous employer, who claimed that she had improperly resigned, had dislodged significant business opportunities prior to and following her resignation, and had prejudiced the pending sale of the employer’s business;
- Represented a long-term CEO of a large foreign based manufacturer of heavy equipment in the finalization of his termination package, including the negotiation and final pay out of the Commuted Value of his Supplemental Executive Retirement Pension in circumstances where such payout was not specifically contemplated in the relationship agreement;
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