These are Ontario’s best insolvency and financial restructuring law firms based on the results of Lexpert’s comprehensive yearly peer review. The complete list of the province’s most recommended lawyers and law firms in the field can be viewed on our practice area rankings.
In our survey covers, the practice of restructuring and insolvency litigation encompasses acting for and advising lenders and other creditors, debtors, trustees, receivers and other participants in corporate insolvencies and debt enforcement, collection and recovery. The practice also involves bankruptcy, receivership or similar court-supervised insolvency proceedings or private enforcement remedies.
Most frequently recommended insolvency & financial restructuring law firms
Goodmans LLP
Year established: 1917
Number of lawyers: 15 (Corporate restructuring)
Number of ranked lawyers: 9
Partners: Chris Armstrong, Robert Chadwick, Dan Dedic, Caroline Descours, Brian Empey, Joe Latham, Brendan O’Neill, Joseph Pasquariello, Jason Wadden, Bradley Wiffen
Toronto-based Goodmans LLP is recognized as one of Canada’s most innovative law firms, providing expert legal service in all aspects of business law. The firm’s business-related specialties include capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, technology, real estate investment trust, tax and litigation. Goodmans caters to a wide range of Canadian and international businesses, from startups to multinational corporations. The law firm’s corporate restructuring group is one of the largest in the country and consists of lawyers who have acted for every major type of stakeholder in every type of restructuring. They represent a diverse client base that includes domestic and international debtors, court-appointed monitors, noteholders, industry regulators, governments, private equity firms, lenders, distressed purchasers and investor committees. The firm’s clients belong to a variety of sectors, including for example, oil and gas, mining, media, technology, retail, pharmaceutical and telecoms.
Read more about Goodmans LLP in restructuring in a challenging economy
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year established: 1862
Number of lawyers: 31 (Insolvency and restructuring)
Number of ranked lawyers: 5
Partners: Joyce M. Bernasek, Andrea Boctor, Martino F. Calvaruso, Alexander Cobb, Jacqueline Code, Jeremy Dacks, David Davachi, Michael De Lellis, Kathryn Esaw, John Greonewegen, Michael Hart, Adam Hirsch, Shawn Irving, Paul Litner, John MacDonald, Lisa Mantello, Douglas Marshall, Ryan Nielsen, Shelley Obal, Mary Paterson, Nancy Roberts, Karin Sachar, Tracy Sandler, Jack Silverson, Marc Wasserman
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP one of Canada’s largest full-service firms with offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver and New York in the US. It boasts a stable of more than 400 lawyers providing expert legal services to Canadian and international clients. The firm is recognized for its extensive expertise in business law and is consistently ranked as among Canada’s top law firms. It is well-versed in a wide range of industries, including agribusiness, clean tech, energy, fintech, food products, gaming, health, hospitality and leisure, infrastructure, life sciences, mining, real estate investment trusts, REIT, retail and venture capital. The law firm’s insolvency and restructuring team represents directors, senior executives, in-house counsel, credit and investment officers and fund managers and other professional advisors, court-appointed officers and regulators. It provides advice and leadership in distress situations, including mergers and acquisitions, securitizations and derivatives, credit matters, supply chain management, financial reporting and governance in business-critical situations.
Read more about Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP in renewed interest in life sciences
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year established: 1952
Number of lawyers: 24 (Restructuring and insolvency)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: David R. Byers, Mike Devereux, Marie Garneau, Peter E. Hamilton, Maria Konyukhova, Jennifer G. Legge, Daphne J. MacKenzie, Craig Mitchell, Daniel S. Murdoch, D'Arcy Nordick, Meaghan Obee Tower, Justin Parappally, Elizabeth Pillon, Dee Rajpal, Nancy Ramalho, Simon A. Romano, Alexander D. Rose, Ashley John Taylor, Courtney Wilson
Stikeman Elliott LLP specializes in business law and has clients in Canada and across the globe. The firm provides counsel and advise through its offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver, and international headquarters in New York, London and Sydney. Its primary practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, securities, litigation and dispute resolution, banking and finance, competition and foreign investment, tax, restructuring, energy, real estate, project development, pensions, and labour and employment. The firm’s restructuring and insolvency group has built a reputation as a leader in the sector by guiding many of the most noteworthy commercial restructurings in Canadian history to a successful conclusion. The team boasts extensive experience in handling the most complex insolvencies and corporate restructurings and has represented clients in both public and private insolvency and restructuring matters.
Read more about Stikeman Elliott LLP in the impact of telehealth and telemedicine in Canada
Consistently recommended insolvency & financial restructuring law firms
Aird & Berlis LLP
Year established: 1919
Number of lawyers: 17 (Insolvency & Restructuring)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Ian Arvesa, Sam Babe, Sam Billard, Aaron Collins, D. Robb English, Richard Epstein, Harry M. Fogul, Jacqueline Goslett, Steven L. Graff, Sanjeev Mitra, Jeremy Nemers, Kyle B. Plunkett, Sanj Sood, Miranda Spence, Mark van Zandvoort
Aird & Berlis LLP is a Toronto-based full-service business law firm, serving clients across Canada and globally. It has a roster of more than 170 lawyers and business advisors dedicated to providing strategic legal and business advice in all principal areas of business law, including corporate finance, banking, insolvency and restructuring, energy, environmental, infrastructure, technology, intellectual property, litigation, workplace law, municipal and land-use planning, real estate and tax. The firm boasts strong national and international expertise and advises a range of clients from entrepreneurs to multinational corporations. Aird & Berlis’ insolvency and restructuring lawyers draw on specialized experience and diverse expertise from other areas of the firm to develop effective strategies and successfully represent clients in both the boardroom and the courtroom. They are adept at navigating out-of-court restructurings, purchase and sale of distressed businesses and assets, structuring and implementation of debt workout arrangements for senior and subordinated lenders, borrowers and investors and assisting regulatory bodies with investigations and enforcement strategies.
Read more about Aird & Berlis LLP in Canada’s evolving legal and regulatory landscape
Bennett Jones LLP
Year established: 1989 (Toronto)
Number of lawyers: 10 (Restructuring and insolvency)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Preet K. Bell, Mark S. Laugesen, Raj S. Sahni, Michael S. Shakra, Marvin Yontef, Sean Zweig, Kevin J. Zych
Bennett Jones LLP is one of Canada’s leading business law firms with a manpower pool of more than 400 lawyers and business advisors in its offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver. It also has international headquarters in New York and Beijing. The firm specializes in complex cross-border and international transactions and litigation. It advises foreign businesses and investors on Canadian ventures and investments, and connects Canadian businesses and investors with opportunities across the globe. The law firm’s restructuring and insolvency group covers the entire range of the practice, regularly acting for creditors, both individually and through formal and informal committees, debtors, “new money” investors acquirors and assets of insolvent entities and court officers. The team also represents foreign bondholders and banks, insurance companies and other international lenders in Canadian restructurings.
Read more about Bennett Jones LLP in when a purchaser reneges on a deal
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year established: 1856
Number of lawyers: 20 (Restructuring and insolvency)
Number of ranked lawyers: 5
Partners: Chris Burr, Milly Chow, Silvana M. D'Alimonte, Pamela L. J. Huff, Daniel Kofman, David C. Kruse, Alexis Levine, Auriol Marasco, Michael Matheson, Linc Rogers, Aryo Shalviri, Craig C. Thorburn
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) is one of Canada’s top business law firms, providing legal advice to leading businesses both domestically and overseas. It offers a full spectrum of capabilities in virtually all aspects of business law. Blakes handles transactions of all sizes and levels of complexity, whether an issue is local or multi-jurisdictional, or practice-area specific or interdisciplinary. The firm has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Montréal, and international headquarters in New York, London and Beijing. The firm’s restructuring and insolvency group is recognized as one of Canada’s leading domestic and cross-border restructuring practices. The team collaborates with its colleagues in financial services, capital markets, competition, antitrust and foreign investment, employment and labour, commercial real estate, tax, environmental and intellectual property groups to provide top-quality coordinated service and effective solutions to the unique and complex challenges their clients face.
Read more about Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in the growth and future of femtech
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year established: 1961
Number of lawyers: 7 (Financial Insolvency & Restructuring)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Michael Disney, Natasha MacParland, Natalie Renner, Robin B. Schwill
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Davies) is a full-service business law firm specializing in high-stakes and complex matters. Its clients include leading businesses and financial institutions in North America and abroad. Davies has offices in Toronto, Montréal and New York. The firm advises clients in a range of practice areas, including capital markets and securities, commercial real estate, competition and foreign investment, corporate governance, dispute resolution, finance, white-collar defence, mergers and acquisitions, pensions and executive compensation, private equity and tax. Davies’ financial insolvency and restructuring group helps creditors, debtors, shareholders, investors, monitors, trustees and receivers navigate all the challenges and complexities of a restructuring or insolvency. The team has a global perspective and a multi-jurisdictional reach, working regularly with insolvency practitioners and courts internationally, particularly in the US and the UK.
Read more about Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in solicitor-client privilege
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year established: 1855
Number of lawyers: 9 (Bankruptcy and restructuring)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Barbara J. Boake, Marc J. MacMullin, James D. Gage, Geoff R. Hall, Heather L. Meredith
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is one of Canada’s leading full-service law firms, offering expert legal services to clients in Canada and around the world. The firm delivers integrated business, litigation, tax, real property, and labour and employment offerings through its offices in Canada’s major commercial centres, New York in the US and in London, UK. The firm boasts one of the largest bankruptcy and restructuring groups in the country, with extensive experience in all areas of the practice. The team represents debtors, major financial institutions and other capital providers, large corporate creditors and court-appointed monitors, receivers and trustees. It has served as counsel to leading corporations and institutions on matters involving diverse industries, including agricultural, automotive, health law, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, retail, service, sports and recreation. The group also provides advice on structured finance and securitizations and helps executives acting as directors manage their personal risk, both statutory liability and risk of claims against them.
Read more about McCarthy Tétrault LLP in changes in Canada’s sales and income taxes
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year established: 2012 (Canada)
Number of lawyers: 8 (Bankruptcy, financial restructuring and insolvency)
Number of ranked lawyers: 5
Partners: Evan Cobb, Alan B. Merskey, Orestes Pasparakis, C. Nicole Sigouin, Jennifer Stam, Ruth I. Wahl, Rowan Weaver
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP is an international full-service business law firm with more than 3,700 lawyers and legal staff based in North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Middle East and Africa. It has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including Toronto, London, Houston, New York, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. The firm serves the world’s largest corporations and financial institutions. It boasts extensive experience in key industries, including finance, energy, infrastructure, and mining, transportation, technology, life sciences and healthcare. The firm’s bankruptcy, financial restructuring and insolvency practice lies in our multidisciplinary experience and international reach boasts multidisciplinary experience and international reach. Its bankruptcy lawyers handle some of the most complex and sensitive domestic and cross-border assignments across the globe. They have an impressive record of achieving successful outcomes in bankruptcy proceedings throughout the world and are active in all areas of financial restructurings and insolvencies in matters ranging from the largest multi-national mega-cases to significant regional businesses.
Read more about Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP in cybersecurity during the pandemic
Torys LLP
Year established: 1941
Number of lawyers: 14 (Corporate restructuring and advisory)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Amanda C. Balasubramanian, David Bish, Sheila R. Block, Scott A. Bomhof, David A. Dell, Tony DeMarinis, Andrew Gray, Patricia D.S. Jackson, Jeremy Opolsky, Sylvie Rodrigue, Adam Slavens
Torys LLP is an international business law firm with offices in Toronto, Montréal, Halifax, Calgary and New York. It advises clients on a wide range of transactions, including banking and debt finance, board advisory and governance, capital markets, competition and foreign investment, consumer protection, corporate restructuring, intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and tax. The firm’s corporate restructuring and advisory group guides senior management, boards of directors or special board committees through strategic and legal alternatives for resolving or pre-empting financial challenges. The team also provides context-specific counsel on individual and corporate duties, responsibilities and potential liabilities. It is also experienced in representing noteholders and lenders at all levels of the debt structure.