Ontario

Firm overview

As a leading business law firm, McMillan LLP serves public, private and not-for-profit clients across key industries in Canada, the United States and internationally. With recognized expertise and acknowledged leadership in major business sectors, we provide solutions-oriented legal advice through our offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal.

To help organizations stay ahead, we provide exceptional industry insights in transportation, technology and technology transactions, infrastructure and construction, and natural resources and energy. Whether it’s a cross-border transaction, a complicated private equity deal, complex real estate financing, or a bet-the-company lawsuit or regulatory dispute, by fostering a supportive workplace culture, McMillan’s 300+ lawyers serve clients with excellence and responsiveness, delivering the real-time solutions they need.

Our firm values - respect, teamwork, commitment, client service and professional excellence - are at the heart of McMillan’s commitment to serve our clients, our local communities and the legal profession. Among other industry and professional accolades, we are proud to be named Canada’s Top 100 Employers 2024, one of only two law firms recognized in this prestigious competition.

About our Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group

With an impressive track record in domestic and cross-border litigation, McMillan’s lawyers are recognized for their creativity and effectiveness in bringing disputes to satisfactory conclusions, both inside and outside the courts. And with specialists in key areas such as competition, intellectual property, real estate, securities and others, our litigators always strive to deliver a complete solution—no matter the nature of your corporate or commercial disputes.

As experienced litigators, we always assess risk and opportunities before advising clients on the likelihood of success and helping them weigh their options. We also understand that litigation is not always the preferred option, and help clients pursue a full range of resolution avenues including early negotiated settlements and alternative dispute resolution methods. If we proceed to court, however, we are recognized for our ability to tenaciously advance our clients’ commercial interests.

Firm overview

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP is a Canadian law firm focused on serving the advocacy, advisory, and transactional needs of the country’s most dynamic business sectors.

Cassels brings a rare depth and breadth of experience to both the negotiating table and the courtroom. We offer recognized expertise in resolving complex legal issues, pride ourselves on developing inventive and effective means of solving problems and have a reputation for assertive and efficient settlements built on a track record of favorable motion and trail decisions – counsel know that we are ready, willing, and able to go all the way to court.

Our litigators represent clients at all levels of federal and provincial courts including the Alberta, BC, and Ontario Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Cassels also boasts one of the country’s leading class action defence teams — we successfully defended the first-ever class action in Ontario and have maintained our position as a mar-ket leader with precedent-setting class action defence work ever since. As your strategic advisors, our approach to litigation focuses on two things – reputation and success.

Cassels offers one of the largest law practices in Canada, advising clients from start-ups to multi-national organizations — across the street and around the world — and we are consistently cited as market leaders by such authorities as Chambers, Lexpert, and Best Lawyers.

We are dedicated to staying on the leading edge of trends in law and business to offer practical and flexible solutions to any legal challenge.

At Cassels, your success is our priority.

Select Key Industries and Areas of Practice:

• Aboriginal
• Banking & Specialty Finance
• Blockchain & Digital Assets
• Business
• Cannabis
• Class Actions
• Competition & Foreign Investment
• Construction
• Employment & Labour
• Energy
• Entertainment & Sports
• Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
• Franchise
• High Growth &Venture Capital
• Hospitality
• Information Technology & Data Privacy
• Infrastructure
• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Intellectual Property
• International Trade
• Litigation
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Mining
• Municipal, Planning & Environmental
• Private Equity
• Product Liability
• Real Estate & Development
• Regulatory
• Restructuring & Insolvency
• Securities
• Securities Litigation
• Taxation
• Universities & Colleges

Firm overview

Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP is one of Canada’s top corporate commercial and securities litigation law firms. Based on extensive peer and client reviews, the firm and the firm’s partners are ranked nationally among the best of their peers by the leading legal ranking services.

Corporate Commercial Litigation
Our corporate commercial litigation practice specializes in managing complex high-stakes litigation. We are business litigators who act for plaintiffs and defendants in all manner of corporate and commercial litigation matters including disputes arising out of mergers and acquisitions, breach of contract suits, director and officer liability claims, oppression remedy matters, business tort claims, fraud and cyber-fraud investigations and claims, wrongful dismissal actions, professional negligence suits, corporate governance and accounting issues, and corporate investigations. Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP also has significant expertise litigating professional negligence claims involving securities industry professionals and accountants.

Securities Litigation
Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP is the largest dedicated securities litigation team in Canada. We are ranked in Band 1 (the highest level) for securities litigation by Chambers and are the only boutique law firm in the top Band. Our securities litigators are client-focused and business-minded, providing representation for market partic-ipants in a wide range of disputes and regulatory investigations. We have successfully represented clients in some of the most significant and high-profile securities law cases in Canada.

Our securities litigation practice includes primary and secondary market liability claims, claims arising out the restatement of a company’s financial statements, claims arising out of alleged fraud, claims against investment dealers and advisors in respect of allegedly problematic investment products, strategies and tax shelters, and claims against investment funds, fund managers and traders arising out of allegedly problematic trading strategies. Our firm has particular expertise with investment loss litigation. We have represented clients in cases that range from suitability claims to more complex trading in options, commodities, derivative products and leveraged investing.

Our securities regulatory defence practice includes investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the OSC and CIRO. We have significant experience with cross-border investigations involving the SEC and other US regulators.

Awards and Rankings
In addition to being awarded Securities Litigation Firm of the Year by Benchmark every year since 2017, Lexpert ranked Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP in 7th position out of 20 law firms for Commercial Litigation in Toronto in 2024. Based on extensive peer and client reviews, Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP is ranked in Band 1 for Securities Litigation by Chambers Canada. Our firm has also been selected as an Excellence Awardee for Liti-gation & Dispute Resolution Boutique Firm of the Year by the Canadian Law Awards.

Partners

Robert Brush: +1 416 217 0822  |  rbrush@cmblaw.ca 

Michael Byers: +1 416 217 0886  |  mbyers@cmblaw.ca

Dana Carson: +1 416 217 0855  |  dcarson@cmblaw.ca

Alistair Crawley: +1 416 217 0806  |  acrawley@cmblaw.ca

Linda Fuerst: +416 217-0853  l  fuerst@cmblaw.ca

Melissa MacKewn: +1 416 217 0840  |  mmackewn@cmblaw.ca

Kate McGrann: +1 416 217 0850  |  kmcgrann@cmblaw.ca

Matthew Scott: +1 416 217 0870  |  mscott@cmblaw.ca

Clarke Tedesco: +1 416 217 0884  |  ctedesco@cmblaw.ca

Updated March 2025

Firm overview