Alfonso Nocilla
Academic Degrees:
B.A. (Philosophy and History), Toronto, 2007; J.D., Queen’s, 2010; LL.M., Western, 2011; Ph.D. (Law), UCL, 2019; Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2012.
| Email: | anocilla@uwo.ca |
| Phone: | 519-661-2111, ext. 84002 |
| Office: | LB 237 |
Alfonso Nocilla is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Western Law. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic direction and oversight of the Faculty’s JD program.
Professor Nocilla is a commercial law scholar whose research focuses on domestic and cross-border bankruptcy, insolvency, and restructuring. His work has been cited favourably by courts at all levels across Canada, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He is co-editor of the Journal of the Insolvency Institute of Canada and serves on the editorial advisory boards of the peer-reviewed Canadian Business Law Journal and the Annual Review of Insolvency Law. His commentary on significant insolvency and restructuring cases has been sought by national media outlets, including CTV News, CBC Radio One, The Globe and Mail, and Law360 Canada.
He was a Western Massey Fellow and Visiting Scholar at Massey College in 2025–2026.
Research Highlights
Articles
“Modified Universalism and COMI: A Comparative Analysis” [2024] 22 Annual Review of Insolvency Law 13.
“Canadian Cross-Border Insolvency Law and the Triumph of ‘Modified Universalism’: A Retrospective” (2024) 33:2 International Insolvency Review 399.
“Deus Ex Machina, or Gargantua? Interim Financing Under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act” (2024) 57:1 UBC Law Review 127.
“An Insolvency Proceeding By Any Other Name? CBCA S. 192 Arrangements in the Wake of Wilks Brothers” (2024) 40:3 Banking and Finance Law Review 487.
“Crossing the Event Horizon: Reverse Vesting Orders Under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act” (2024) 68:1 Canadian Business Law Journal 173.
Riz Mokal & Alfonso Nocilla, “Rehabilitating the UK Pre-Pack: A Critical Analysis and Proposals for Reform” (2024) 40:2 Banking and Finance Law Review 207.
“Pre-packaged Sales and the Destruction of Value: The View from the U.K.” (2021) 64:3 Canadian Business Law Journal 342.
Vern W. DaRe & Alfonso Nocilla, “Bestriding the Narrow World: Is it Time to Bifurcate the Role of the CCAA Monitor?” [2020] Annual Review of Insolvency Law 224.
“Reorganizations, Sales, and the Changing Face of Restructuring in Canada: Quantitative Outcomes of 2012 and 2013 CCAA Proceedings” (2019) 42:2 Dalhousie Law Journal 371.
Vern W. DaRe & Alfonso Nocilla, “The Trouble with Pre-Packs” [2018] Annual Review of Insolvency Law 621.
“Asset Sales and Secured Creditor Control in Restructuring: A Comparison of the UK, US and Canadian Models” (2017) 26:1 International Insolvency Review 60.
“The History of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Future of Restructuring Law in Canada” (2014) 56:1 Canadian Business Law Journal 73.
“Is ‘Corporate Rescue’ Working in Canada?” (2013) 53:3 Canadian Business Law Journal 382.
“Asset Sales Under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Failure of Section 36” (2012) 52:2 Canadian Business Law Journal 226.
Comments
“Comment on Shaver-Kudell Manufacturing Inc. v. Knight Manufacturing Inc., 2021 ONCA 925”, (2022) 45:2 Manitoba Law Journal 177.
“Freedom of Contract, Fairness, and the Anti-Deprivation Rule”, (2022) 65:3 Canadian Business Law Journal 374.
Vern W. DaRe & Alfonso Nocilla, “The Inconvenient Act: Letters of Credit and Landlord Rights in Bankruptcy” (2021) 36:2 Banking and Finance Law Review 303.
“Ipso Facto Clauses and the Limits of Freedom of Contract in Insolvency: Capital Steel v. Chandos Construction” (2019) 62:3 Canadian Business Law Journal 337.
Chapters in Edited Volumes
“Executory Contracts in Insolvency: The Canadian Perspective”, Chapter 29 in Jason Chuah & Eugenio Vaccari, eds., Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law: A Global Guide, 2nd Edition (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2023).
“National Report for Canada”, Chapter 31 in Jason Chuah & Eugenio Vaccari, eds., Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law: A Global Guide (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2019).
Pedagogical Texts
Jassmine Girgis, Alfonso Nocilla & Virginia Torrie, eds., Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law in Canada: Cases, Materials, and Problems, 2nd Edition (CanLII, 2024).
Chapter 1: “Introduction, Evolution, and Modern Objectives” (with Jassmine Girgis and Virginia Torrie).
Chapter 3: “Initiation of Bankruptcy Proceedings and Consequences”.
Chapter 4: “Property of the Estate”.
Chapter 9: “Ranking of Creditors and Distribution of Proceeds”.
Chapter 13: “Carrying on Business During CCAA Proceedings”.
Chapter 14: “Claims During CCAA Proceedings”.
Stephanie Ben-Ishai & Thomas G.W. Telfer, eds., Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law in Canada: Cases, Materials, and Problems (Irwin Law, 2019):
Chapter 3: “Bankruptcy: Commencement and Consequences”.
Chapter 4: “Property”.
Chapter 9: “Priorities and Distribution”.
Book Reviews
Louise Gullifer and Orkun Akseli, eds., Secured Transactions Law Reform: Principles, Policies and Practice (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2016), (2018) 33:3 Banking and Finance Law Review 422.
