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.” It is also worth mentioning that the firm houses lawyers considered “not only the sharpest and most fearless but also some of the nicest.”
Edward “Ted” Marrocco made headlines in December 2023 when he and fellow Stockwoods partner
Nader Hasan, acting on an inquest for the family of an Afghan-Canadian inmate who suffered from schizophrenia and was subsequently beaten to death by prison guards in 2016, scored a resounding victory and vindication when a jury delivered a verdict of homicide. The decision brought this long and hard-fought saga to a close. One peer sums up the numerous reactions to the decision. “This was a big deal, major! Those are relatively young guys that just saw this all the way through, and they deserve all the acclaim they get for it.” Luisa Ritacca is also gaining increased recognition for her work; a peer testifies, “She was on a panel that brought consequences against a gym coach.” It is also noted that “Stockwoods does a lot of work for hospital boards, and it’s primarily Luisa and Brian Gover who do this work.” Enthusiasm is also strong for
Brendan van Niejenhuis and Justin Safayeni. “Both of these guys are really brilliant, really cerebral, and just seem to always have quirky cases on the go that touch on various interesting areas.” A relatively newly recognized future star, Stephen Aylward also earns resounding accolades. “I want to put in a plug for him – he’s a really smart guy,” insists a peer. “With every case he told me about, my jaw kind of dropped a little bit. They were either headline news or, if the world found out about them, they would be headline news.” In the general commercial litigation space,
Sam Robinson generates consistent praise. “Sam is someone we work with and against,” confirms a peer. “He is a very bright guy, very affable, a pleasure to work with and does a great job for his clients.”
Paul LeVay, a celebrated figure at the firm and whose practice often incorporates a securities element, acts with Robinson, Marrocco and Aylward on a $90 million consolidated litigation arising out of an unsuccessful attempt to create a new bank. In 2019, the firm’s client discovered that the other side had secretly obtained a copy of its entire email server as well as access to other confidential information. A decision was issued in January 2022 staying the other side’s claims as an abuse of process. The appeal to the Ontario Court of Appeal was dismissed in January 2023, and an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was also dismissed.
