Borden Ladner Gervais’ Ontario presence is fortified by offices in Toronto and Ottawa, both stocked with versatile litigators attending to various specialties. These locations are particularly revered for the diversity of practices, covering health and medical, insurance and public law – areas in which the firm has been particularly dominant – as well as both domestic and international arbitration, construction, commercial litigation and securities.
The Toronto office elevated its stature in the securities space with a high-profile win for Cormark Securities in a thorny matter in which the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) alleged that Cormark and various other individual and group defendants engaged in illegal distribution of securities, failed to act in good faith and conducted themselves contrary to the public interest regarding certain transactions initiated by the defendants facilitating the 2017 exchange listing of cannabis entity Canopy Growth Corporation. The OSC claimed this series of transactions constituted an illegal distribution of Canopy shares without the required prospectus. Led by securities star
David Di Paolo and future star Graham Splawski, the Borden Ladner team argued that the transactions did not constitute an illegal distribution, emphasizing that the restricted shares remained within the regulatory "closed system" and were distinct from the freely-trading shares sold on the market, demonstrating compliance with the law. This argument proved successful when, in November 2024, the Capital Markets Tribunal rejected the OSC’s claim. This landmark win further augmented the already celebrated status of the two lead partners. “Dave Di Paolo is an excellent lawyer, with excellent oral advocacy” declares a peer. “You see him a ton in the securities space, and I’m seeing a lot more of him lately. He’s very strategic. Graham Splawski is also a real up-and-comer, who’s generating a lot more notice.” The Toronto office is also home to one of the firm’s most championed arbitration practitioners,
Hugh Meighen. “Hugh has great international chops,” states a peer, who goes on to mention, “He got training at [Magic Circle UK firm] Freshfields in London, and he is a very well respected guy.”
Caitlin Sainsbury is another favorite of the Toronto legal community. “We are big fans of Caitlin,” claims one securities-focused peer. “She really knows her way around the competition and the securities spaces, which is rare, especially for someone of her vintage.” Nadia Effendi is also lauded for “fierce dedication to advocacy in the public law space.” Effendi “came up with [celebrated appellate star and Borden Ladner counsel] Guy Pratte and has since taken on her own cases with aplomb.”
