Bio
Jacob is a versatile construction lawyer with broad experience advising clients across all sectors of the construction industry. His practice focuses on litigation and alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, arbitration, and adjudication. He also regularly assists clients with drafting, reviewing, and negotiating construction and design contracts.
Jacob has acted in complex court and arbitral proceedings involving major, multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, including underground tunneling, light rail systems, steelworks, hospital redevelopment, mining operations, and highway expansion.
An active contributor to both the legal and construction communities, Jacob frequently lectures on key industry topics such as tendering, construction contracts, prompt payment, adjudication, and delay claims. He currently serves as Newsletter Editor on the Executive of the Ontario Bar Association’s Construction and Infrastructure Law Section.
Jacob is committed to delivering practical, legally sound solutions that help clients resolve issues efficiently and cost-effectively. He takes a strategic, results-driven approach to problem-solving, with a focus on minimizing risk, avoiding unnecessary delays, and protecting his clients’ commercial interests at every stage of a project or dispute.
He was recently recognized by his peers in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada for his expertise in Construction Law.
Memberships
- Ontario Bar Association, Construction and Infrastructure Law Section, Executive
- Advocates Society, Construction Law Practice Group, Member
- Canadian Construction Association, Member
Representative Work
- Complex multi-party litigation relating to several interrelated projects that support wastewater systems in downtown Toronto
- Ad hoc arbitration relating to several interrelated highway expansion and bridge building projects located throughout the province of Ontario
- Counsel for a participant in the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry, which investigated the commercial and technical circumstances that led to breakdowns and derailments
- Ad hoc arbitration relating to the manufacture and supply of light rail vehicles to a major public infrastructure project
- Complex multi-party litigation relating to the redevelopment and construction of a new hospital in downtown Toronto
- Ad hoc arbitration in respect of a tunneling project involving a general contractor and municipality
- Counsel for other lawyers in respect of alleged professional negligence in handling of construction law matters
Representative Publications
- “Calling on a Lien Bond – A Handy Reference Guide for Construction Lawyers in Ontario” (2025) 170 Canadian College of Construction Lawyers Legal Update, 2025 CanLIIDocs 1181.
- “Understanding Notice Holdback" Building Insight - Glaholt Bowles LLP Newsletter, Spring 2024 (Issue 25).
- “Portable Classrooms Are “Improvements” under the Construction Act" Building Insight - Glaholt Bowles LLP Newsletter, Spring 2023 (Issue 22).
- J. McClelland, Building Contracts, in O'Brien's Encyclopedia of Forms, 11th ed., Division I, Commercial and General, Chapter 21 (Thomson Reuters, 2023).
- “A Home Under Renovation is Not Necessarily “Under Construction”: Ontario Court of Appeal" Building Insight - Glaholt Bowles LLP Newsletter, Summer 2021 (Issue 16).
- “Newfoundland Court of Appeal and Ontario Superior of Justice Clarify Scope of Builder’s Risk Insurance Policies” (2019) Canadian College of Construction Lawyers Legal Update, 153.
- Podcast - “Episode 19: COVID-19, Ontario’s Essential Workplaces and the Suspension of Limitation Periods and Procedural Time Periods” Building Insight Podcast, April 17, 2020.
- Podcast - “Episode 14: Adjudication” Building Insight Podcast, October 22, 2020.
Education & Admissions
Accreditations
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada, 2026
