Babin Bessner Spry has tended to its status as a corporate commercial litigation boutique since 2009, when it formed as what has been referred to as a “Torys/Davies [Ward Phillips & Vineberg] offshoot.” More specifically, Babin Bessner is regarded by community contemporaries as a shop “giving big-firm service with boutique tweaks.” The firm’s client base is an even mix of entrepreneurial developments and referrals from “customers who are not necessarily getting the attention they would like with the bigger firms.” Founder Ed Babin is a revered courtroom presence, a stature solidified in Benchmark’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers category. “Ed’s ‘happy place’ is trials,” insists a peer, who goes on to stress, “Ed is a really tough litigator and really hard on the issues but [is] very kind with the people he deals with.” Among other matters, Babin represented a class of current and former Canadian major-junior hockey players in an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal in a proposed class proceeding against the largest professional ice hockey leagues in Canada and the US, including the NHL, the AHL and others, seeking damages of $825 million for an alleged competition conspiracy.
Ellen Bessner “has a different practice than the rest of them – she’s more securities regulatory,” confirms a peer. “She acts for brokers or dealers of securities that are investigated and maybe prosecuted by the OSC. She also does some acting for individuals.” Mike Bookman makes his debut as a future star in this edition. “Mike just made partner, and for the longest time, that firm kept a very tight lid on the partnership, so that’s a big step for him,” declares a peer, who notes, “We’ve come across him in shareholder disputes.”
