Since its formation in 1979, the Stockwoods barrister boutique has concentrated exclusively on litigation, and in this capacity has won rapturous acclaim from peers even outside Ontario. “We’re all big fans,” offers one peer by way of consensus of the legal community’s assessment of the firm. “To a person, they are just all really excellent.” Another peer confirms, “They’ve grown to a model that has so much depth yet remained elite.” Stockwoods is considered “absolutely up there in the echelons with [venerated Toronto litigation shops] Lenczner [Slaght] and Lax [O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb],” yet is unique amongst Toronto firms (even among its boutiques) in the portfolio it attends to, which encompasses criminal (and not solely of the white-collar variety), public and administrative law, municipal litigation, securities, and a niche in tribunal advisory work, as well as well as general commercial litigation. “Even their general commercial work is not the routine ‘color-by-numbers’ stuff,” notes one peer. “It’s always these kind of quirky oddball commercial cases, which the Stockwoods gang is so perfectly suited for.” Another contemporary marvels, “The collective brainpower at that firm is just staggering. If you want to know what they’re up to, just read the newspapers!” Clients are equally effusive in their praise. “Stockwoods lawyers are excellent strategists and compelling advocates,” testifies one. “They led the strategic framing of an intervention, led and oversaw the research component, led the drafting of materials and made oral arguments in court.” Another raves, “Stockwoods does an exceptional job at communicating with and understanding clients' views and objectives, and with handling complex litigation. They excel at approaching novel areas of law with creativity and determination and worked incredibly hard to deliver compelling and written argument and to advise on strategic considerations as they arose over the course of the litigation.”
One Stockwoods partner who has had no shortage of media attention, Nader Hasan has emerged as “one of the true leaders in the criminal bar, and not just for white-collar work, either,” according to a peer. “Nader is one of the staunchest advocates for justice in Canada, handling really difficult and ugly cases, and at a relatively young age.” In just the most recent example, Hasan represented a man who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of an on-duty police officer. The Crown alleged that the client intentionally drove over the officer. The police initially attempted to portray this incident as a terrorist attack on a police officer, but as facts emerged, it became clear (to the public and eventually the jury) that this was a tragic accident and not a crime. After a six-week jury trial, Hasan’s client was acquitted on all counts.
Gerald Chan, addressed by a client as “smart and hard working,” continually demonstrates white-collar crime prowess. Chan acts as trial counsel on behalf of one of two co-founders and principals of a real-estate developer that was the subject of a years-long investigation by the RCMP Integrated Markets Enforcement Team, the result of which was the police bringing charges of fraud and secret commissions in relation to the alleged non-disclosure of fees and alleged misrepresentations regarding the valuations of the projects. Andrea Gonsalves acts for the lead applicant, Animal Justice, Canada’s only national animal law advocacy organization. In 2020, Ontario enacted the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, which created new legal hurdles to protesting outside animal transport trucks and engaging undercover exposés inside farms and slaughterhouses. Animal Justice and the two individual applicants challenged the law, asserting that certain of its provisions unconstitutionally violate the right to freedom of expression and other Charter rights. “Andrea has deep litigation and constitutional law expertise, familiarity with our work, and ability to provide nuanced advice on complex and tricky legal issues at the first instance, and on appeal,” declares one client. Another testifies, “Andrea is incredibly hard working yet consistently pleasant and professional both to clients as well as to opposing counsel and witnesses for the opposing party in our matter. Her intelligence and strategic legal thinking and analysis are apparent in all of our interactions and she has remained accessible and dedicated to her work on our legal challenge despite handling a heavy case load involving other important and complex matters.”
Stephen Aylward, a younger partner whose reputation has been quickly on the rise, is addressed by a client as “innovative and creative, and equally meticulous on the details! [He provides] Excellent supervision of Clinic students who were engaged in research, and excellent advocacy in court.”
