Fredrick Schumann

Fredrick focuses on high-stakes commercial disputes and investigations involving alleged financial misconduct, market behaviour, and other matters where civil litigation intersects with regulatory or criminal exposure. He is frequently retained to defend executives, companies, and public-facing organizations in matters that are legally complex, fact-intensive, and reputationally sensitive.

His practice includes major commercial arbitrations, civil fraud and asset-tracing proceedings, urgent injunction and enforcement matters, Competition Act investigations and follow-on litigation and class actions. He regularly advises boards, senior management, and executives on internal investigations and parallel civil, regulatory, and criminal risk.

Fredrick has represented senior public officials and corporate leaders in high-profile investigations and inquiries, and has defended individuals and organizations facing allegations of serious misconduct. He is often retained where expert evidence, institutional risk, and reputational consequences are central.

He appears regularly before the Ontario courts, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Before joining Stockwoods, Fredrick clerked for the Honourable Justice Ian Binnie at the Supreme Court of Canada and was selected as a Fox Scholar, training with leading commercial barristers’ chambers in London, England.

 

Represented Selena Stronach in a commercial arbitration concerning the valuation of 1/ST Racing. Worked with business valuation experts and real estate appraisers in developing reports and preparing to testify. Designed and conducted cross-examination of both opposing appraisers on value of racetrack real estate, addressing complex issues of land use regulation and valuation modelling. Succeeded at the arbitration in a high-value award, which was affirmed on judicial review. (Stronach v. Stronach, 2025 ONSC 7158)

Counsel for DKRT Family Holdings Inc in the Hudson’s Bay Company CCAA insolvency. Acted for DKRT in its successful bid to purchase the Royal Charter of 1670. 2025 ONSC 7193

Counsel to the Government of Canada in the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference. Assisted the Prime Minister of Canada and senior staff in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Represented a multi-national health company in a multi-billion dollar class action alleging price-fixing of generic prescription drugs. Selected by the joint defence group to cross-examine a plaintiff’s expert on drug pricing health policy. Successfully negotiated the dismissal of the action against our clients.

Represented the former President of a fuel distributor against allegations by his business partners that he fraudulently misappropriated millions of dollars. Contested an urgent Mareva injunction targeting a multi-million dollar yacht that was at sea, in a voyage the plaintiff contended was an attempt to remove assets from the jurisdiction. (Original Traders Energy, 2023 ONSC 1887)

In various confidential mandates, defend political officials of different parties and at different levels of government in conflict of interest and ethics investigations.

Along with others from Stockwoods, acted against Andean Medjedovic in a ground-breaking claim arising from the misappropriation through hacking of approximately US$16 million in cryptocurrency from a decentralized finance platform. The defendant fled the jurisdiction and is currently a fugitive. (E.g. Cicada 137 LLC v. Medjedovic, 2022 ONSC 369)

Fredrick has acted as defence counsel in complex, high-profile criminal prosecutions involving technical evidence and institutional defendants, including representing Ornge and senior political officials.