t: 441.295.2244  441.777.8883  |  e: dcard@applebyglobal.com 

Duncan Card

Corporate Director

B.A., LL.B., LL.M., ICD.D

Called to the Bar in Ontario, Canada and in Bermuda. 

Corporate Director Profile: Summary Overview

Duncan Card is a Partner in the Bermuda office of the full service and leading international law firm of Appleby Global (www.applebyglobal.com), where he practices commercial law specializing in complex and innovative commercial transactions, all technology contracting, FinTech and InsureTech, infrastructure transactions and financing, cyber security governance, IP commercialization, ESG advisory services, the Canada-Bermuda Tax Information Exchange Agreement, and large public sector projects. Duncan’s practice is highly international, including in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and across the Caribbean.

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Education

Institute of Corporate Directors, ICD.D, 2013, Class Valedictorian

University of Toronto, LL.M.

Academy of International Law (The Hague)

London School of Economics and Political Studies (UK), LL.B., International Rotary Fellow

Queen’s University, LL.B., AS&K Scholar

Queen’s University, B.A. (Hons.), Gold Medalist, and Jenkins Award Recipient

Duncan Card is an experienced corporate director in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Duncan has taught corporate governance courses, delivered University lectures, and is widely published in the field of corporate director duties, best practices and on the topic of governance and oversight of corporate technology, transformation, data protection, and cybersecurity best practices.

Duncan has taught the Technology Corporate Governance Module for the Institute of Corporate Directors for eight of that programs cohorts, and in 2013, Duncan graduated with his ICD.D designation, as Class Valedictorian, from the ICD and University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business.

Enterprise Technology Leadership:

For 2019, Duncan has received the following professional ranking distinctions: Canada’s national business newspaper, The National Post’s, rankings of the “Best Lawyers in Canada” (Technology Law); 2019 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory in the areas of Computer and Technology; winner of the International Advisory Experts’ 2019 International Advisory Expert Award – IT Law Bermuda; and, recognized as one of Canada’s Leading Infrastructure Lawyers in Lexpert/ROB Infrastructure Special Edition, which appears in the September 27, 2019 issue of The Globe and Mail‘s Report on Business Magazine.

Duncan is included in the 2018 inaugural edition of Who’s Who Legal: Data as a world leading Information Technology lawyer. Duncan is also identified in the 2018 Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Information Technology as well as Corporate & Finance.

Duncan is identified in the 2017 Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Information Technology. Duncan has been included in the prestigious ranking of Lexpert Magazine’s and American Lawyer Media’s ranking of the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada for 16 years, and he has been recognized in both the 2017 Lexpert Special Edition on Leading Infrastructure Lawyers in Report on Business Magazine and the 2014 Lexpert Special Edition on Leading Energy Lawyers in Report on Business Magazine.

He is included in the 2017 Who’s Who Legal: TMT (U.K. publication). Duncan is cited by the U.K. based international professional ranking authority, “Who’s Who Legal”, as the only Bermudian lawyer included in the 2016 prestigious ranking of the leading “Telecommunications Media & Technology” lawyers in the world. Duncan is also included in 2015 Expert Guides, The World’s Leading Lawyers Chosen By Their Peers, Technology, Media & Telecommunications where he is recognized in the Specialty of Information Technology.

Duncan is also included in Lexpert Magazine and American Lawyer Magazine’s 2017 joint ranking of the Leading US/Canada Cross-border Corporate Lawyers in Canada, most notably for complex commercial transactions.

Duncan has also been cited as one of the world’s leading lawyers in Euromoney Magazine’s Guide to the World’s Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (U.K. publication) and he is rated in the 2012 British publication, PLC Which lawyer?, published by the UK based Practical Law Company. 2017 is Duncan’s eleventh year of inclusion in Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in Canada in The Best Lawyers in Canada in the specialty of Information Technology Law. Duncan is also included in the Who’s Who Legal Canada 2013 for Information Technology.

In January 2012, Duncan was ranked as a “Most Frequently Recommended” lawyer in Canada by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. 2011 was the third year Duncan was cited as a leading lawyer in Lawday’s North America’s Leading Lawyers.

Duncan serves as a Strategic Board Advisor to the Association of Caribbean Corporate Counsel and has been appointed to the Editorial Board of the Canadian Institute’s IT Law & Technology Journal in 2016. Duncan has also served as a judge for the Bermuda International Innovation of the Year Award in 2015 and 2016.

Directorships, Trusteeships and Advisory Boards Memberships

Past – Commercial

  • Advisory Board Member, Drone Delivery Canada Corp., a publicly traded company listed under the TSX Venture Exchange (from March 2019 to March 2022)
  • Director, Capital G Bank Limited (Chair, Governance & Compensation Committee), one of the largest domestic bank and financial service enterprises in Bermuda. Duncan was a director of Capital G Bank for 12 years, where he Chaired the Bank’s Governance and Compensation Committee
  • Director, Capital G Limited, parent company of Capital G Bank Limited (Bermuda)
  • Director, Hitachi Data Systems Inc., one of Canada’s leading data storage solution providers
  • Director, First Atlantic Commerce, Bermuda (international payment processing service)
  • Director, Warner Home Video (Canada) Ltd.
  • Director, Warner Music of Canada Ltd.
  • Director, Munroe Systems for Business Limited
  • Director, GlobeNet Communications Inc.
  • Director, FinancialCAD Corporation

Past – Not-For-Profit

  • Director, Canadian Institute for the Blind (Ontario), where he Chaired the Marketing and Public Relations Committee
  • Director, Canadian IT Law Association, Canada’s largest information technology law profession developing enterprise
  • Director, AUTO21 Network, a Centre of Excellence, Canada’s national automotive research and development program
  • Elected Trustee, Board of Trustees, Queen’s University in Kingston (2000-2006), where he was also a member of that Board’s Nominating Committee
  • Elected member of Queen’s University Council (1995-2003)

Current

  • Director, Osisko Bermuda Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd., which is publically traded on both the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. is an intermediate precious metal royalty company focused on the Americas that commenced activities in June 2014. Osisko holds a North American focused portfolio of over 130 royalties, streams, and precious metal offtakes.
  • Director, FutureVault Inc.
  • Advisory Board Member, EXEN Technologies, Escondido, Calf.

Professional Recognitions/Awards/Rankings

  • 2022 ranking of the “BEST Information Technology lawyers in Canada” by the independent and US based “BEST LAWYERS in the World” ranking service, where Duncan has been cited for each of the last 16 years since the first edition of that international ranking service was launched.

  • In October, 2021 Duncan was named as one of Canada’s few “Most Frequently Recommended Technology Lawyers – 2022” by Lexpert, Canada’s largest independent legal profession survey ranking enterprises.

  • 2021, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, ranked as one of Canada’s leading Technology, and Computer & IT lawyers
  • 2021, Top 100 Registry (US based), ranked among the “Top 100 Lawyers (USA & Canada)” in recognition of his technology transaction expertise, and as their “Attorney of the Year” (Toronto, 2021-22)
  • 2020 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory where he is ranked in the areas of Technology, and Computer & IT Law
  • 2020 Lexpert Special Edition: Technology, Report on Business (Globe & Mail National Newspaper), recognized as one of Canada’s leading technology lawyers
  • 2020, appointed to Information Technology Association of Canada’s “Industry Cybersecurity Best Practices Advisory Group”
  • 2020,  Lexpert Special Edition on Infrastructure Law, recognized as a Leading Infrastructure Lawyer in Canada
  • 2019, Lexpert/ROB Infrastructure Special Edition, which appears in the September 27, 2019 issue of The Globe and Mail‘s Report on Business Magazine, recognized Duncan as one of Canada’s Leading Infrastructure Lawyers.
  • 2019, Canada’s national business newspaper, The National Post, includes Duncan in its rankings, “Best Lawyers in Canada” (Technology Law).
  • Winner of the International Advisory Experts’ 2019 International Advisory Expert Award – IT Law Bermuda.
  • 2019, Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, ranked in the areas of Computer and Technology Law.
  • 2018 Inaugural Edition of Who’s Who Legal: Data, recognized as a world leading Information Technology lawyer.
  • 2018 Chambers Global:  The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Foreign Expert Based in Bermuda, Information Technology.
  • 2017 Chambers Global:  The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Foreign Expert Based in Bermuda, Information Technology.
  • 2017 Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada.
  • 2017 Lexpert Report on Business (ROB): Infrastructure Special Edition, recognized as a Leading Canadian Infrastructure Lawyer.
  • 2017 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Technology, Media and Telecommunications, included in the 2017 prestigious ranking of the leading “Telecommunications Media & Technology” lawyers in the world.
  • 2016 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to The Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, recognized as a leading technology transactions lawyer in Canada (published by American Lawyer Media, New York, in conjunction with LEXPERT Magazine, Toronto, Ontario).
  • 2016 Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada
  • 2016, Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business ranked as a business a leading lawyer in Information Technology.
  • 2016 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Technology, Media and Telecommunications, cited by the U.K. based international professional ranking authority, “Who’s Who Legal”, as the only Bermudian lawyer included in the 2016 prestigious ranking of the leading “Telecommunications Media & Technology” lawyers in the world.
  • 2015 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to The Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, recognized as a leading technology transactions lawyer in Canada.
  • 2015 Lexpert Guide to the Leading U.S./Canada Cross-Border Corporate Lawyers in Canada
  • 2015 Expert Guides, The World’s Leading Lawyers Chosen By Their Peers, Technology, Media & Telecommunications recognized in the Specialty of Information Technology
  • 2014, Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business ranked as a business a leading lawyer in Information Technology.
  • 2014, Best Lawyers in Canada, recognized as one of Canada’s leading information technology lawyers.
  • 2014 Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to The Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, where he is ranked as a “Most Frequently Recommended” lawyer in Canada for Technology Transactions and “Frequently Recommended” lawyer for Computer & IT Transactions, (published by American Lawyer Media, New York, in conjunction with LEXPERT Magazine, Toronto, Ontario).  Duncan has been cited in that prestigious ranking for the last 17 years.
  • Duncan has been cited annually in Best Lawyers in Canada (bestlawyers.com) since 2006.

Industry Memberships

  • Institute of Corporate Directors (Canada)
  • Institute of Directors (UK)
  • International Association of Gaming Advisors
  • American Bar Association’s International Law Section’s “National Security Committee”
  • American Bar Association’s Business Law Section’s Gaming Law Committee
  • American Bar Association’s Science & Technology Law Section’s “Homeland Security Committee”
  • Canadian Association of Defense and Security Industries (CADSI)
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Canadian Nuclear Law Association
  • Defense & Foreign Affairs Institute
  • International Bar Association’s Computer Technology Law Committee
  • International Nuclear Law Association
  • International Technology Law Association (U.S.)
  • Royal Canadian Military Institute
  • Society for Computers and Law (UK)
  • Advisory Board, Association of Caribbean Corporate Counsel
  • Member, International Bar Association’s Technology Law Committee and International Sales Committee
  • Member, Strategic Committee, 2020 Cybersecurity Best Practices Forum, Information Technology Association of Canada

Bermuda & Caribbean Professional Experience and Qualifications

  • Partner, Commercial Law and Transactions, Appleby Global, Bermuda
  • Managing Principal, Bermuda law firm of Bennett Jones ( Bermuda ) Ltd., associated with Bennett Jones LLP ( 2014-2018 )
  • Former Appleby Scholar, Faculty of law, London School of Economics
  • Bermuda Status and UK Citizen, Called to the Bermuda Bar, 1984
  • Retired as Vice-Chair, E-Commerce Advisory Committee to the Minister of Economic Development, Bermuda 2017
  • Chief Legal Counsel, to Bermuda Cabinet Office and Minister of Economic Development, Bermuda Bid Committee, 2017 America’s Cup Hosting Venue
  • Chief Legal Counsel, to Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance, Bermuda ) 2014-2017, Bermuda National Airport Redevelopment Project
  • Bermuda’s Exclusive Representative Director, Association of Caribbean Corporate Counsel 2013- Present
  • Who’s Who Lawyers International, ( UK ) only Bermudian lawyer ranked as one of the leading technology Lawyers in the world
  • Telecommunications Media and Technology Lawyer of the Year –Bermuda, 2018, Finance Monthly Magazine ( UK )
  • Duncan is an active corporate director for the Bermuda subsidiary of a publicly trade global mining enterprise
  • Duncan represents numerous Bermuda businesses outside of Bermuda, and he is a frequent speaker at Bermuda AGMs and conferences.

Transformative, Entrepreneurial and Highly Innovative Projects

Duncan’s commercial law practice has been devoted to highly entrepreneurial, innovative and transformative projects, which have pervasively been technology dependent, including (among many others):

  • Along with a former colleague, legal counsel for the first live re-transmission of television over the internet in Canada, iCrave TV
  • Legal counsel for the first transaction to sell health insurance over the Internet in the world
  • Legal counsel for the world’s first off-shore B2B Insurance brokerage exchange
  • Legal advisor and Director, for the highly innovative and advanced off-shore payments infrastructure services provider, First Atlantic Commerce
  • Legal counsel for the first franchise of Yahoo! in the world, to create Yahoo!.ca
  • Legal counsel assisting with establishing the first Canada-US seamless North American wireless communications infrastructure, Rogers Communications and AT&T  
  • Legal Counsel to establish Canada’s largest and most advanced urban ( Smart City ) Ultra- Broadband communications infrastructure, Waterfront Toronto
  • Outside legal counsel to assist in establishing North America’s first full-service internet ( digital ) bank, Mbanx
  • Legal counsel for Canada’s first transactions to develop many different genres of highly transformative ( revolutionary ) technology solutions and products, including: transformational IT solutions; hydrogen fuel cells; advanced military high-tech; advanced satellites; robotic manufacturing; and all forms of intelligent infrastructure.
  • Counsel to the Bank of Canada, over a two and a half year project ( to 2011 ) and across many nations, ( as only the second country in the world ) to modernize and replace Canada’s cloth currency with high-security polymer banknotes
  • The four year project to plan, structure, private sector finance and close the highly innovative and North American award winning ( 2017 ) PPP transaction to redevelop Bermuda’s international airport
  • The current project ( 2017 – and forward ) to transform and modernize Canada’s entire payments, settlement and clearing infrastructure, led by Payments Canada https://modernization.payments.ca/

About Duncan Card

Duncan was an inaugural inductee to the Queen’s University Track & Field Hall of Fame, having been a member of numerous Canadian National Track Teams, a former Canadian National Track Champion (4x100m), and a former National sprint indoor record holder (300m) while at Queen’s University.

Duncan has served on the management committee of numerous political campaigns for several politicians he believes in, and he is interested in both corporate-community outreach programs and in the developing field of corporate social responsibility. Duncan is a citizen of Bermuda ( by birth ), Canada ( by choice and divine grace ), and of the United Kingdom ( with deep gratitude ).

Contact Duncan Card

t: 441.295.2244  441.777.8883  |  e: dcard@applebyglobal.com 
www.linkedin.com/in/duncancard