Ontario

Firm overview

Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP is a Canadian law firm with offices in both Vancouver and Toronto. Since our beginnings, we have grown to a team of nearly 70 lawyers and over 100 employees. Last year, we expanded into the Toronto market, merging our well-known and respected Vancouver practice with the practices  of senior  commercial  litigation  and senior  construction and infrastructure lawyers in Toronto. This combination of geography  and experience  formed  a powerful  national  platform from which to better serve our clients across the country.

We offer an extensive range of legal services in the areas of construction and infrastructure, commercial litigation, commercial real estate, corporate commercial, insurance defense, professional liability,  product liability,  workplace law, and business immigration.

Our core area of practice is construction and infrastructure law, with  over half of the lawyers in the firm  focused on this area. Our construction lawyers are recognized practitioners, litigators, solicitors, and engineers who have a wealth of experience to draw on.

We  have a strong  history  of assisting  clients  with  a variety  of projects nationwide. We work  on all matters in our space including large-scale infrastructure, institutional, industrial, and commercial projects such as highways, railways, tunnels, pipelines, mines, industrial facilities, schools and other education facilities, hospitals, manufacturing plants, commercial buildings, and condominiums.

Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel were also co-counsel to the Ontario Government preparing a report and guiding the legislative drafting of Ontario’s Construction Act. As such, they are uniquely positioned to advise clients on the effects of the new Act.

A Client Focused Approach

At Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP we have developed our firm with a fundamental understanding that our clients deserve exceptional legal service that is delivered in a manner that is honest, creative, clear, relatable, flexible, and cost effective.

We provide solutions customized to our clients’ needs in various sectors including education, healthcare, government, and industry. We help our clients seize emerging opportunities and find solutions to complex legal problems.

Our lawyers have an impeccable sense of the challenges that can arise within their areas of expertise and are committed to working together collaboratively across disciplines to find the best solutions for our clients.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Canada  is  leading  the  world  in terms  of diversity, inclusion and pluralism. It is a strength that unifies our country and its  people, and  strengthens business relationships  creating opportunities for success.

At Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP,  we are committed to fostering a culture of diversity, inclusion and pluralism in the workplace that embraces the unique backgrounds, perspectives, experiences,  and talents  of individuals  at all levels  of the  firm  to ensure that we represent the communities we serve in Canada.

As the firm continues to grow, we are committed to consistently improving our diversity and inclusion policies to ensure they continue to reflect the culture and values of our employees and clients.

Community Involvement and Pro Bono Work

Beyond our commitment to our staff and our clients, our firm is also committed to the communities in which we have been able to grow and thrive. In that regard, we as a firm, and our individual members, are involved in a variety of community-oriented organizations.

We also encourage our lawyers to get involved with pro bono work by offering each lawyer credits every year for time spent providing legal services on pro bono  files that reflect their individual interests and commitments.

Our lawyers have participated over the years as instructors of various courses taught at the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia, and Stanford University. We are keenly interested in education as it relates to our practices and the development of future experts in law.

Firm overview

Fearless Advocates. Trusted Advisors.

Rueters lawyers are experienced trial and appellate advocates in the areas of corporate/commercial, securities, employment, defamation, civil fraud and environmental litigation. Our client list includes investment firms, multinational corporations, investor groups, mining and engineering companies, public figures involved in defamation claims, directors and officers of multinational corporations, public employees and high-value estates. We have acted for plaintiffs and defendants in class proceedings and for creditors and corporation debtors in CCAA insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.

Our lawyers represent corporations, brokers, dealers and individuals before courts and securities regulators to defend against allegations of insider trading, deceptive practices, and to respond to cease trade orders and disclosure issues. We also act in disciplinary proceedings before regulatory bodies including IIROC, MFDA, CPA Ontario, the LSO and the ONERT.

Boutique Litigation. 

We tailor our approach to fit each client’s litigation and dispute resolution goals. Our simple internal structure and efficient staffing allows information to flow seamlessly between associates, partners and clients. Client calls are returned. Client concerns are addressed.

We also know that the best legal disputes are those that never arise. Rueters delivers risk advisory services to corporations, companies and startups and conducts workplace investigations for employers facing possible legal action.

Creative. Flexible. Diverse.

Rueters combines small-firm creativity and flexibility with a deep and diverse knowledge base earned from experience at some of Canada’s largest law firms as well as practice in multiple jurisdictions. We have handled diverse matters ranging from workplace bullying to unique investment products. We have advised bitcoin entrepreneurs and litigated internet defamation claims including obtaining judgment against anonymous internet posters. We also have experience in cross-border litigation. We have participated in Ontario trial proceedings in Hong Kong, and our lawyers have practiced across Canada, the U.S. and the EU.

Rueters lawyers have been recognized by peers and publications as leading practitioners in Canada, and all Rueters partners are recognized by Benchmark as either current or future Litigation Stars.

Our first duty as your lawyer, however, is to be your advocate and advisor. With that fundamental principle in mind, we apply our experience, strong instincts and sound judgment to take on whatever problem our clients bring to us to achieve results that best serve their needs.

Last updated March 2020

Firm overview

TALENTED: Adair Goldblatt Bieber is one of Canada’s leading litigation boutiques. Our commitment to excellence is recognized by our clients as well as our peers in the legal community. Our lawyers receive some of the highest independent ratings in peer reviewed publications, including Lexpert, Best Lawyers, and Martindale Hubell. Many of our lawyers clerked with appellate courts, were medal and prize winners in their educational careers, and had business and industry experience prior to coming to law.

TENACIOUS: We understand that no client wants to be involved in litigation, but it is sometimes necessary to protect their interests or assert their rights. First and foremost, we are trial and hearing lawyers. We use our expertise to move cases quickly and effectively, while advancing principled positions that are important to our clients. We are forceful advocates, expert in ensuring our clients’ voices are heard by judges, arbitrators, tribunal members, and the other side.

TRUSTED: We are trusted by a diverse client base to handle their most sensitive matters including commercial litigation, professional discipline and liability claims, partnership disputes, directors’ and officers’ liability claims, civil claims for sexual assault and harassment, class actions, public inquiries, product liability claims, employment actions, and defamation claims. We are frequently requested by other lawyers to help their clients in situations where they are unable to assist.

Last updated April 2020

Firm overview

Stockwoods LLP is one of Canada’s most experienced and highly-regarded boutique litigation firms.  Our lawyers are routinely ranked among Canada’s very best commercial, regulatory and criminal litigators.  Because of our broad strength and expertise across the litigation spectrum, our firm effectively advises and represents clients who face complex litigation exposure in different areas of the law.

Stockwoods’ high quality of judgment and advocacy, and its reputation for efficiency, has repeatedly been recognized by our peers – a major part of our practice comes from referrals from other leading lawyers in Canada and abroad. We are often engaged in cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters.

Our clients include private and public companies, and their directors and officers; public agencies, regulatory bodies across a variety of industries (including energy regulation, professional regulation, policing, health and securities regulation); governmental bodies ranging, including government departments, municipalities and First Nations.  Our lawyers have also acted as commission counsel and for parties at public inquiries.

Class Actions:

• Acting for TD Bank in defence of the FX conspiracy and SSA Bonds conspiracy class actions; for Bell Canada Inc. in defence of a class proceeding concerning inmate access to telephone services; for Apotex Inc. and certain natural health retailers and suppliers in a pharmaceutical liability class action.
  
  
• Defending the City of Windsor and Town of Tecumseh in class actions seeking to recover allegedly unconstitutional lottery licensing fees over a period in excess of 20 years.
  
  
• Acting for corporations and senior executives in secondary market securities class actions concerning the cannabis sector, the solar energy industry, and management of a major REIT, and in competition class actions in the tech and financial industries.
  
  
• Acting as Court Monitor and Court Counsel in relation to the administration of Canada’s largest class action settlement in the Indian Residential Schools matter, as well as the pan-Canadian settlements relating to blood tainted by Hepatitis C and the provincial settlement involving the contamination of the public water supply in Walkerton, Ontario.
  
  
• Acting for the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Class Proceedings Fund in matters arising from their public mandate to fund class actions litigation in Ontario, and as amicus curiae in a significant appeal concerning counsel fee approval.

Commercial/Civil Litigation:

• Acting as litigation counsel to senior officers, directors and special committees of boards of directors in internal investigations.
  
  
• Acting both for corporations and boards of directors, and for dissident shareholder groups, in disputes related to contested proxy fights.
  
  
• Acting for the Monitor in the Carillion Inc. CCAA proceeding.
  
  
• Acting for a major financial services firm in a series of actions relating to the establishment of a bank.
  
  
• Acting for a wind farm owner in an action asserting manipulation of a ROFR process in the energy industry.
  
  
• Acting for an institutional mortgage investor in a power of sale action relating to a development property.
  
  
• Acting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in litigation supporting its journalists, and in defence of defamations and other claims against it.

Criminal and Quasi-Criminal Litigation:

• Acting for both corporate and individual clients on large-scale white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, including matters investigated by the RCMP Integrated Markets Enforcement Team and OSC Joint Serious Offences Team; 
  
  
• Acting for clients in relation to all allegations of criminal wrongdoing, including sexual offences, cyber / tech crimes, fraud offences, serious violent offences, drug offences, and national security matters.
  
  
• Acting for clients in criminal matters with multi-jurisdictional dimensions.
  
  
• Advising and acting in relation to matters involving searches of sensitive environments (e.g., law offices, media) and the intersection between privacy and electronic surveillance.
  
  
• Acting for clients on appeal, having successfully resisted Crown appeals and obtained new trials and substituted acquittals on defence appeals.

Intellectual Property Litigation:

• Acting for Wenger S.A. and others in a trade-mark enforcement action against a major Canadian luggage distributor alleging confusion with the famous Swiss Army Knife cross mark.
  
  
• Representing rights-holders in various trade-mark, copyright and patent disputes.
  
  
• Acting for the Weir Group PLC on numerous patent disputes concerning key technology used in the oil production sector.

Public & Administrative Law:

• Acting for the Privacy Commissioner in a significant action against Facebook Inc. arising from the Cambridge Analytica data breach.
  
  
• Representing a senior federal government official in an examination by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
  
  
• Acting as counsel to parties and interveners in dozens of public law matters at the Supreme Court of Canada and the provincial courts of appeal, including the landmark 2019 Vavilov decision.
  
  
• Regularly representing public agencies in administrative litigation and judicial review applications/appeals.
  
  
• Regularly representing federally appointed judges in connection with the Canadian Judicial Council.

Securities Litigation & Enforcement:

• Acting for underwriters, banks, issuers and senior executives in significant complex OSC investigation, enforcement and settlement proceedings.
  
  
• Acting for CI Financial Ltd. in proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission, brought to overturn a TSX decision refusing to enforce CI’s shareholder rights’ plan.
  
  
• Acting for OSC Staff in various high-profile matters including the fraud prosecutions of Weizhen Tang, the self-styled “Chinese Warren Buffett”, and previously of hedge fund manager Sextant Capital Management Inc.

Last Updated March 2020