Ontario

Firm overview

Roy O’Connor LLP is widely considered one of Canada’s leading litigation boutiques offering sophisticated advocacy and counsel in the areas of complex corporate commercial litigation, class actions, securities litigation and general civil litigation. Our firm and lawyers are consistently recognized as outstanding lawyers who produce top results for our clients.

Roy O’Connor LLP acts as both plaintiff and defense counsel and acts for many leading public and private corporations, governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations and private individuals in matters that are often high profile and very confidential. Roy O’Connor LLP’s lawyers have succeeded in many nationally recognized, precedent-setting cases in the areas in which it practices.

By working along side and with our clients, our lawyers apply their creativity and experience to craft the right solution for each of our clients’ complex problems.

Benchmark Litigation Canada the guide to Canada’s leading litigators- ranks the firm as one of the few recommended firms in Ontario and a firm that shifts “seamlessly between plaintiffs and defence work…” Our firm was further recognized with one of the prestigious Benchmark Firm of the Year awards in 2013, 2015 and again in 2017. The National Magazine, the official publication of the Canadian Bar Association, described our lawyers as among the best class action lawyers in the Country. Lexpert ranks the firm as a consistently recommended leading Toronto boutique in the field of class actions.

Updated April 2023

Firm overview

Experienced. Strategic. Committed.

We are a renowned legal team

We succeed for our clients because we don’t stop until we find the right answer. Our team works collaboratively, leveraging diversity of style and expertise to produce better legal outcomes.

We have more experience, expertise, and success in appeals than any other lawyers in the province of Ontario.

We are strategic

We simplify the complex. We distill our cases down to their most important elements. We continually analyze the case from different angles, uncovering opportunities that tip the scales in your favour.

We are known throughout the profession and by the courts as exceptional advocates.

We are in your corner

We thrive on doing the impossible for our clients. Our job is to solve your problems and get you results, whether in or out of court. We listen to your needs. We’re committed to your case. We care about the outcome.

Updated March 2023

Firm overview

Bennett Jones is consistently recognized for its expertise in domestic and cross-border litigation. The firm is known for its uncompromising strength in the areas of competition and antitrust, securities, class actions, energy, commercial, intellectual property, fraud, construction, restructuring/insolvency, employment, health, and professional negligence litigation and has prominent practitioners in alternate dispute resolution, including international commercial arbitration. We are committed to working with our clients to develop an effective and cost-efficient strategy to identify and achieve their unique goals in the prosecution and defense of business disputes.

With more than 100 lawyers practicing commercial litigation nationally, Bennett Jones litigators have significant experience in all aspects of dispute resolution, and have leading reputations before courts and tribunals. We represent some of Canada's largest corporations, including energy producers, and technology and telecommunications companies, and are skilled in conducting commercial arbitrations, including those involving issues in the oil and gas, mining and construction industries. Our litigation practice is supported by the considerable strength of our appellate advocacy and judicial review practice which provides clients and referring counsel with specialized and strategic advice on all aspects of cases on appeal or under judicial review.

We are frequently retained by major domestic and international corporations in the defense of class actions. Representing parties at every stage of the lawsuit, from pre-certification motions and applications through to trial, we bring to each phase coordinated strategies and effective communications to streamline the litigation process. We also advise clients on mitigating their class action risk and proactively monitor trends in prospective class action developments.

Recognizing that many disputes are settled prior to trial, our commercial and technical expertise provides another valuable set of skills to the negotiation and settlement of litigation. Our team approach ensures that we provide the most timely, effective and innovative support to our clients. Our lawyers' reputations, contributions to Canadian case law, and distinguished history of service have resulted in top rankings in all major legal directories for many of our litigators, in a multitude of litigation practice areas.

Firm Culture:

Bennett Jones reflects the integrity and professional excellence of the firm’s Founding Partners. Over the years, the firm has produced some of Canada’s most accomplished legal and business leaders, fostering values that established it as one of Canada’s most successful business law firms. The firm prides itself on offering clients innovative, strategic and forward-thinking approaches to legal and regulatory challenges and opportunities. Mutual respect and independent thought are cornerstones of client and colleague interactions. Bennett Jones is proud to have been recognized for 20 consecutive years as one of Canada’s Best Employers.

Updated March 2023

Firm overview

Ross Nasseri LLP is a premier Canadian litigation boutique that specializes in civil and regulatory litigation. The firm and its lawyers have received various accolades and are recognized as leading trial and appeal lawyers in Ontario. Our firm’s lawyers are battle-tested and have built a reputation as fearless and tenacious advocates who fight for their clients’ interests inside and outside of the courtroom.

Ross Nasseri boasts a tight-knit and entrepreneurial team with lawyers and clerks who have top-level training and pedigree. The firm’s clientele includes entrepreneurs, professionals, government entities, and businesses of all sizes including closely held/family companies, publicly traded corporations, and institutions. Our lawyers are valued for their mature litigation instincts and their ability to either resolve cases on favourable terms or push them forward expeditiously to a hearing. Our areas of expertise include litigating corporate/commercial, property, estates, and construction disputes, and acting both as prosecution and defence counsel in administrative and regulatory proceedings. Our firm is also one of few with expertise in acting on and providing advice in situations where there are parallel or concurrent civil, criminal, and regulatory proceedings. 

Some of our recent representative matters include:

• Successfully overturning a decision to punish parties for contempt of court by awarding a $9M judgment against them
• Successfully representing a non-profit organization in challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Canada Elections Act
• Successfully enforcing letters rogatory issued from a US District Court in a matter being litigated before the US International Trade Commission
• Representing unit holders in a significant limited partnership where there are various claims of mismanagement against the LP’s general partner and related entities
• Acting as counsel in a multi-action, complex commercial trial arising from a powder-coating company (awaiting trial decision)
• Acting as counsel in a multi-action tort trial concerning two well-known Toronto businesses, in which one businessowner alleges that the other contracted with an assassin and conspired to have him murdered (awaiting trial decision)
• Winning an 18 day-trial arising from a partnership dispute over a real estate investment and defending the trial victory on appeal
• Acting as counsel for a major Ontario regulator and providing advice on policies as well as acting as prosecution counsel
• Defending a public company in litigation commenced pursuant to the Repair and Storage Liens Act, over a fleet of vehicles
• Acting for a dissenting shareholder in an application to determine the fair market value of shares in a going private transaction
• Acting for co-trustees of an estate, including a major bank, to resist an adverse possession claim
• Defending an institution against vicarious liability and negligence claims arising from historical sexual assault allegations
• Acting for the Estate Trustee During Litigation in a multi-million dollar estate dispute
• Advising the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee on litigation strategy in a breach of contract action
• Acting for the plaintiff in a complex, multi-defendant proceeding arising from a fraudulent real estate scheme
• Acting for the respondents in a proceeding arising from a multi-property joint venture
• Acting for the plaintiff in an action for conspiracy and intrusion upon seclusion by several defendants including police officers
• Defending a mortgage administrator in regulatory proceedings at the Financial Services Tribunal, arising from a syndicated mortgage
• Defending a significant propane distribution company in an action for wrongful termination and malicious prosecution and prosecuting a counterclaim for conversion
• Defending a well-known retail company and its directors in an oppression proceeding
• Acting for a well-known hotel in a breach of contract and unjust enrichment action against a contractor
• Acting for numerous naturopaths in proceedings governed by the Regulated Health Professions Act
• Acting for a well-known hospitality website to defend an action for defamation
• Acting for a physician in an oppression case arising from a cosmetic clinic

Updated March 2023