Michael Riley

Bar Admissions

• Ontario, 1981

Education

• Bachelor of Laws, Osgoode Hall Law School (1979)
• Bachelor of Commerce, McMaster University (1976)

Professional Accreditations and Affiliations

• Notary Public
• Canadian Defence Lawyers
• Defence Research Institute (DRI)
• Hamilton Law Association
• The Advocates’ Society

About Lawyer

J. Michael Riley is an AVP, National Strategy Counsel at the 100 King St. West, Toronto office.  He joined Aviva Trial Lawyers in July 2000. Prior to this he was a partner in the firm of Dempster, Dermody & Riley in Hamilton and prior to that was a partner with the Agro Zaffiro firm in Hamilton. His area of practice is Insurance Law with a focus on Coverage Issues.  Michael has handled both jury and non-jury cases and has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario including the Court of Appeal as well as Supreme Court of Canada. Some notable cases include: Hopkins v Pitts Insurance; Regina v Banas and Haverkamp; Houser v West Lincoln (Township); St. Anne v City of Hamilton. He has written for Hamilton Law Association, Canadian Defence Lawyers, Insurance Institute and has spoken at seminars on behalf of those same associations. In addition, he maintains a webpage of case summaries on the Claims Technical Page located on Aviva World.

Notable Cases

• Hopkins v Pitts Insurance
• Regina v Banas and Haverkamp
• Houser v West Lincoln (Township)
• St. Anne v City of Hamilton

Personal Interests

Michael is an avid golfer and enjoys watching sports particularly football, hockey and baseball. He spends his spare time reading mystery and suspense novels and with his grandchildren