David Brown, former chairman and CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission, will rejoin law firm Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP as counsel, on December 1.

Brown headed up the Ontario securities regulator from April 1998 to June 30, 2005. He led the expansion and reorganization of the OSC to meet the increasing demands of a changing market.

Prior to joining the OSC, Brown was a senior partner at Davies and widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading corporate lawyers, with more than 29 years of experience in major corporate and commercial matters, in particular in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and corporate reorganizations.

Brown has played a significant role in national and international regulatory bodies. He was the founding chairman of the Council of Governors for the Canadian Public Accountability Board, a national body he helped form to oversee the audits of Canadian publicly-listed companies. He is a member of the Audit and Assurances Standards Oversight Council, a body formed by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants to oversee the setting of Canadian auditing standards. Internationally, he is currently a member of the Public Interest Oversight Board, a new body formed by international regulatory and supervisory bodies to oversee the standards-setting and other public interest activities of the International Federation of Accountants. Brown is a past chairman of the Technical Committee and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Brown is an active volunteer. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University Health Network and a Director and Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee of Cancer Care Ontario. He is a member of the Governance Council of the Ontario Hospital Association and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Osgoode Hall Law School and The Dean’s Advisory Council for the Wilfrid Laurier University School of Business and Economics. He is a past director of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and a past director and President of the Granite Club.

“We are delighted that David is returning to the firm,” William O’Reilly, managing partner at Davies, said in a release. “In his role as counsel to the firm, David will offer strategic counsel to members of the firm and clients alike with respect to a variety of complex matters. His experience at the OSC, his domestic and international policy perspective, as well as his years of private practice, will be an invaluable resource. David will also play an important leadership and mentoring role in our internal professional development program.”

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP practises nationally and internationally from offices in Toronto, Montreal, New York and an affiliate in Paris.