Steve Szentesi
I am a Toronto based competition, advertising and regulatory lawyer with more than 20 years experience advising companies, associations, advertising and communications agencies, governments and other organizations in Toronto, Canada and the United States in relation to Canadian competition, advertising and regulatory laws. My experience includes working on hundreds of matters in the competition, advertising, association compliance, anti-spam law (CASL), contest and regulatory law areas.
My practice experience includes working at some of the leading business law firms in Toronto (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg), Vancouver (Lang Michener, now McMillan) and London, U.K. (Linklaters). I also served as in-house competition counsel for The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) in Ottawa, one of Canada’s largest trade associations.
My academic experience includes four years as adjunct professor of competition law at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Law and publishing widely in the competition and advertising law areas. I frequently speak at industry and other events and am regularly contacted by the media for views on Canadian competition, advertising and regulatory law developments.
Key publications: Lawyer Editor for Practical Law Canada, Competition (Thomson Reuters), co-author of The Competition Law Guide for Trade Associations in Canada (Thomson Reuters), author of Competition Law and REALTORS (a national competition law compliance course for REALTORS), subject matter expert and advisor for Competition Law for REALTORS (a national online competition law compliance course for REALTORS) and subject matter expert and author for the advertising law section of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College’s course Ethics in Clinical Practice and Advertising.
Clients
I practice federal Canadian and Ontario law. As such, I frequently act for companies, trade and professional associations, not-for-profit organizations, governments, advertising agencies, communications firms and individuals in Toronto and across Canada and the United States in relation to federal and Ontario competition, advertising and regulatory laws. Over the past 20 years I have provided competition, advertising and regulatory law advice to clients in Toronto and across Canada, as well as U.S. and international clients seeking legal advice for Canadian operations and projects.
Competition and Advertising Law Services
For more information about my competition, advertising and contest law services, see: here, here and here.
Representative Work
Some of my recent competition/antitrust, advertising/marketing and contest law work includes:
Association competition law compliance, including in-person and online compliance programs for some of Canada’s largest associations; competition compliance for a major global construction products company; competition law compliance programs for small and large companies; advertising and marketing law advice (including for several of the world’s largest consumer products companies, local Canadian governments and several international governments); submissions to the Competition Bureau; filing Competition Bureau complaints; competition and advertising law related memoranda, applications for Competition Bureau advisory opinions; Canadian price-fixing cases; immunity applications to the Competition Bureau; contest law advice including for several local and international governments; competition law seminars and presentations for industry groups; drafting contest rules/forms; and assisting litigation counsel with competition law theory and strategies.
Education
B.A. – University of Toronto
M.A. – University of Toronto
LL.B. – Dalhousie University
Contact
Steve Szentesi Law Professional Corporation
4005 – 8 The Esplanade
Toronto, ON
M5E 0A6
If you would like to discuss a potential competition or advertising law matter or schedule a video conference call, please send us an e-mail at: steve@szentesilaw.com.
Industry Experience
Industry sectors in which we have worked in the competition and advertising law areas include:
Accounting associations, advertising agencies, agriculture, agricultural manufacturers, airlines, airports, architectural woodworking, architects, associations, automobile dealers, automobile repair, biscuits, broadcasting, car dealerships, cat food, cement, charities, chicken farmers, children’s playgrounds, chiropractors, clothing, clothing manufacturers, computers, computer hardware, consulting, construction associations, construction materials, copper mining, defence procurement, destination marketing, diamonds, digital media, direct marketing, dog food, energy, financial services, float plane airlines, floor plan finance, food, forestry, gaming, gem polishing, gold mining, golf retailers, grain elevators, hedge funds, hotels, insurance, labour unions, LCD monitors, manufacturing, media, mining, news wire services, online contests, online gaming, online search engine ranking, outfitting and hunting expeditions, oil change services, paper, pencils, pet food, pharmacies, plastics, plastic manufacturers, port terminal grain handling facilities, potash, printing, pulp and paper, rail, real estate, real estate self-storage, real estate associations, real estate boards, real estate services, real estate brokerages, recycling, residential high-rise construction, residential home construction, retail, retail books, retail clothing, roofing shingles, satellite communications, silver mining, social media, software, sports broadcasting, stock exchange services, telecommunications, telemarketing, theatre exhibition and film distribution, time shares, tires, tourism, trade associations, trailer leasing, transportation, travel agencies, upstream oil and gas, vacuum cleaner manufacturing, vitamins, window retailers, windows and door manufacturers.
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SERVICES AND CONTACT
We are a Toronto based Canadian competition and advertising law firm that helps clients in Toronto, Canada and the United States practically navigate Canada’s advertising and marketing laws and offers Canadian advertising/marketing law services in relation to print, online, new media, social media and e-mail marketing.
Our Canadian advertising/marketing law services include advice in relation to anti-spam legislation (CASL), Competition Bureau complaints, the general misleading advertising provisions of the federal Competition Act, Internet, new media and social media advertising and marketing, promotional contests (sweepstakes) and sales and promotions. We also provide advice relating to specific types of advertising issues, including performance claims, testimonials, disclaimers, drip pricing, astroturfing and native advertising.
For more information about our services, see: services
To contact us about a potential legal matter, see: contact
For more information about our firm, visit our website: Competitionlawyer.ca
