The Honourable Joe. E. Hershfield, Retired Superior Court Judge (TCC)
The Honourable Joe E. Hershfield QC was a Superior Court Judge (Tax Court of Canada) for 16 years. Prior to this appointment he was a tenured professor at the Faculty of Law in Manitoba and practised law full time for 15 years. Mr. Hershfield is now an arbitrator and mediator with ADR Chambers Canada.
ADR Chambers Canada is an organization comprised of retired judges, experienced lawyers and other dispute resolution professionals dedicated to assisting the legal and business communities, both nationally and internationally, to resolve disputes in an expeditious and cost-effective manner. ADR is an alternative to the law, not a part of it, and does not determine legal rights or enforce legal remedies. It looks to ways to move forward without the narrow focus of the law.
Joe earned his B.Sc. and LL.B. from the University of Manitoba and his LL.M. from the University of Chicago. He returned to the University of Manitoba as a tenured Associate Professor Faculty of Law; after which he became a partner at the firm of Taylor McCaffrey until he was appointed to the Tax Court of Canada in 2000.
Since 1972, he worked with the Federal Government as an advisor on a number of occasions including most recently as an advisor to the Federal Department of Finance (2017-18).
Joe’s expertise includes wills and trusts, succession, business structures, corporate reorganizations and acquisitions, estate planning, cross-border transactions, public and private placements and senior housing. Given these areas of practice, his ADR interests include disputes in the areas of: succession, administration of trusts and estates, co-ownership structures (including partner, shareholder, syndicate, joint venture and joint ownership interests), contracts and commercial transactions. His interpersonal skills and community involvement such as, for example, an executive member of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, president of Glendale Golf and Country Club and a board member of the national JNF and his local temple has provided a broader perspective.
He brings a wealth of experience in settling non-neutral and neutral disputes. His experience, although based in law, has helped develop a skill-set most suitable to helping parties shed their litigious, often righteous frame of mind; allowing them to end disputes and “move-on”. He believes that the entanglements of the law mold good lawyers into excellent settlement practitioners. As a practicing lawyer he was known for his ability to settle the most difficult cases without going to court.
His professional and personal backgrounds recommend his selection as a mediator or arbitrator. Neutrality, interpersonal skills in working out settlements, credibility and trust are the heart of what Mr. Hershfield offers.
Currently, in addition to ADR Chambers of Canada, Joe is a member of the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society (TCAS), the ADR Institute of Ontario and the ADR Institute of Canada. </gallery>