Ontario

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. After more than 100 years of service, 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 their most complex legal and regulatory challenges and opportunities. Bennett Jones promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment where mutual respect and independent thought lead client and colleague interactions. Bennett Jones is proud to have been recognized for 23 consecutive years as one of Canada’s Best Employers.

Firm overview

Thornton Grout Finnigan LLP (“TGF”) focuses its practice in two areas: (i) commercial litigation; and (ii) insolvency and restructuring. Representative mandates reflect the breadth and depth of the team, and the creativity involved in resolving some of the most complex legal issues in Canada.

TGF is a mix of senior restructuring and litigation lawyers with a full range of experience gained by years of practice, both inside and outside full-service law firms, combined with talented and energetic younger lawyers who thrive in the entrepreneurial environment of a specialty firm.

Representative Mandates:

• Counsel to the first publicly-funded university in Canada to be restructured pursuant to an insolvency statute 
• Counsel to PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. as Receiver and Manager of Bridging Financial Inc. and its Funds
• Litigation counsel to the constructors of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT, an $8+ billion project, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canada’s history
• Counsel for Grant Thornton Limited as Trustee in bankruptcy of AP Private Equity Limited and Aiden Pleterski, a 23-year-old self-proclaimed crypto king who was, along with his company, adjudged bankrupt following the obtaining of a Mareva Order.
• Counsel to BDO Canada Limited as court-appointed monitor in the CCAA restructuring of Eve & Co Incorporated, Natural Medco Ltd., and Eve & Co International Holdings Ltd.
• Lawyers for FTI Consulting Canada Inc. as court-appointed monitor in the CCAA proceedings of the Just Energy Group
• Counsel to A. Farbers & Partners Inc. as court-appointed receiver of Pure Global Cannabis Inc. and its related entities
• Counsel to Ernst & Young Inc, as court-appointed Monitor of the Country Fresh Foods Group
• Counsel to Ernst & Young Inc., as court-appointed Monitor in the restructuring of the Carillion Group in Canada
• Counsel to debtor company AgMedica and its subsidiaries, the first licensed cannabis producer to file for CCAA protection in Ontario
• Counsel to Alvarez & Marsal Canada Inc., as court-appointed Monitor of Lydian International Inc. and its subsidiaries, including as foreign representative for recognition proceedings in Jersey, Channel Islands
• Counsel to Ernst & Young Inc., as Monitor of JTI Macdonald Corp. in its CCAA proceeding
• Court appointed litigation counsel to the Litigation Trustee of Cash Store Financial in pursuing nine figure damage claims against Cash Store’s professional advisors
• Counsel to Grant Thornton Limited as court appointed Receiver of the Comsale Group of Companies in a Canadian receivership proceeding with foreign recognition in the US and Malaysia
• Counsel to the Province of British Columbia in the CCAA proceedings of Purdue Pharma L.P.
• Counsel to BDO Canada Limited as court appointed Receiver of Unique Broadband Systems Ltd. in Canadian receivership and Chapter 11 foreign recognition proceedings
• Represented the court-appointed Monitor in a CCAA and Chapter 11 proceeding of Pacific Exploration and Production Corporation in the first Canada / US / Columbia cross-border insolvency proceeding, restructuring $5 billion in creditors’ claims
• Counsel to the court-appointed Monitor in the dual plenary proceedings under Chapter 11 and the CCAA of Performance Sports Group Ltd. and its affiliates, including a US$575 million sale transaction
• Canadian counsel to Square Two Financial Corporation and 17 affiliates in a CCAA and Chapter 11 restructuring of US$400 million of debt involving a stock sale in Canada and an asset sale in the US
• Canadian insolvency counsel to the Trustees of Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan and the UK Pension Protection Fund – the largest single creditor in the global insolvency proceedings of the Nortel Networks group of companies, allocating US$7.3 billion in sale proceeds among 40 insolvency estates in 19 countries
• Retained to resolve what had been described by the judiciary as “the longest running legal saga in Canadian history” and successfully ended the litigation through a creative application of the restructuring provisions of the CCAA
• Counsel to the court-appointed Monitor in the restructuring of the Canadian Abitibi- Bowater entities
• Counsel to Fraser Papers Inc. and its Canadian and US affliates in a restructuring pursuant to the CCAA and Chapter 11 Restructuring counsel to Hollinger Inc. in the windup of Hollinger and its subsidiaries
• Litigation counsel to the court-appointed Chief Restructuring Officer and Litigation Trustee of Hollinger Inc.
• Counsel to the court-appointed Monitor in the restructuring of Stelco
• Represented GE Capital Aviation Services, Inc., a principal stakeholder and the largest creditor in the CCAA restructuring proceedings of Air Canada, Canada’s largest airline
• Counsel for the court-appointed Receiver of the Portus group of companies, recovering over 95% of the more than $800 million of investors’ money
• Counsel to the Agent and lead lender in a syndicate of lenders to Allen-Vanguard Corporation, a publicly traded international military defence corporation, during its restructuring pursuant to the CCAA and its recapitalisation as a private entity
• Counsel to the Insolvency Institute of Canada as intervener on an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in Re Indalex
• Counsel to a syndicate of European lenders in connection with a $75M breach of contract claim against a major North American air carrier
• Counsel to a committee of contesting bondholders in the proposed privatisation of BCE Inc., involving the world’s largest leveraged buyout with an enterprise value of $52 billion, including an appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada
• Represented the former principal of Lakeport Brewing Corp. in the successful defence of a $50 million officer and director liability case
• Represented the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) before a major municipal judicial inquiry
• Counsel to the court-appointed Receiver in the Norshield hedge fund scandal involving the tracing and attempted recovery of over $400 million in investor funds in several jurisdictions
• Counsel to United States Steel Corporation as the DIP lender and largest creditor in the CCAA proceedings of US Steel Canada Inc.
• Counsel to a significant landlord in various retail restructuring proceedings including Target, Sears Canada Inc. and BCBG
  
  

Firm overview

Mark Polley and Andrew Faith founded Polley Faith in 2010 following careers as litigators at McCarthy Tétrault, and then as criminal prosecutors. 

The firm continues to strengthen its roster through a team of extremely talented and dedicated partners and associate lawyers, many of whom are former clerks of the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Federal Court of Appeal, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the Federal Court. With an eye on the future, we believe in an active campus recruiting program that regularly attracts law students at the top of their class.

Our firm is retained by Canada’s premier companies, institutions, and individuals to solve complex litigation problems. We are called on regularly by other top firms to lend our special expertise in high-stakes commercial, regulatory, and criminal disputes.

Polley Faith has earned the trust of its clients and peers by a firm culture obsessed with getting client-focused results in every case. Finding, training, and unleashing the potential of Canada’s best new lawyers is the bedrock of our success. Ambition, judgment, and integrity drive us forward.

Firm overview

Torys LLP is an international business law firm that works with clients who expect the best advice and exceptional service. Torys’ dedication to excellence across practice areas and industries has resulted in an enviable record of experience in Canada and globally. Teamwork is one of the firm’s distinguishing features, reflected in all aspects of how the firm partners with clients and collaborates internally. Long-standing clients continue to retain Torys, not only for its excellent service and legal expertise, but also because of a shared value for lasting partnerships based on trust and respect. The firm serves clients across Canada and globally from offices in Toronto, New York, Calgary, Montréal and its Legal Services Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Torys’ nationwide disputes practice includes some of the most sophisticated litigators in the country. Bet-the-company commercial claims, reputationally critical class actions, complex arbitrations—Torys has a decades-long track record of high-profile domestic and international experience. Above all, they are skilled advocates: litigators who understand their clients’ business and are true partners vested in their success, inside and outside the courtroom. Beyond commercial matters, Torys’ experience extends to securities litigation, product liability disputes, significant antitrust issues and patent infringements, among others.

Torys’ litigation team draws on the broader firm’s wealth of corporate, compliance and regulatory knowledge to benefit their clients' goals, both in the context of a dispute and to mitigate long-term risk and resolve their most challenging matters.