Find out which securities litigation law firms in Ontario came out on top in Lexpert’s yearly rankings based on the results of our expansive peer survey. The full list of the province’s most recommended litigators and law firms in the practice can be viewed in our practice area rankings.
In our survey, securities litigation covers dispute resolution and settlement on issues, including insider trading, oppression remedies, shareholder disputes, contested mergers and acquisitions bid and defence work, proxy contests, amalgamations, reorganizations and restructurings, corporate governance disputes, and director, officer, issuer and investment dealer disclosure and liability claims.
Most frequently recommended law firms
Bennett Jones LLP
Year established: 1989 (Toronto)
Number of lawyers: 15+
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Ranjan K. Agarwal, Jonathan G. Bell, Preet K. Bell, Curtis A. Cusinato, Andrew N. Disipio, Michael A. Eizenga, Alan P. Gardner, Matthew J. Hunt, Ilan Ishai, Jeffrey S. Leon, Robert W. Staley, Robert B. Swan
Boasting a roster of more than 400 lawyers and business advisors in its offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, Bennett Jones LLP is among Canada’s largest full-service business law firms. 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. Bennett Jones has one of the best securities litigation team in the country. Its lawyers have extensive experience in securities litigation, enforcement and regulatory proceedings, class actions and corporate disputes for public companies. The team boasts national experience advocating for clients at all levels of courts and before securities regulatory tribunals in all significant Canadian capital markets. The group also assists clients across a broad variety of issues such as stock option dating, insider trading, antitrust matters and allegations of corporate wrongdoing.
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Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Year established: 1856
Number of lawyers: 15
Number of ranked lawyers: 5
Partners: Bradley E. Berg, Jeff W. Galway, Anne Glover, Rahat Godil, Erin Hoult, Andrea Laing, Doug McLeod, Ryan Morris, Kiran Patel, R. Seumas M. Woods
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Blakes) provides legal advice to leading domestic and international businesses. The firm is one of Canada’s largest full-service business law firms. The firm has offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Montréal, and international headquarters in New York, London and Beijing. It handles transactions of all sizes and levels of complexity, whether an issue is local or multi-jurisdictional, or practice-area specific or interdisciplinary. Blakes’ securities litigation team is at the forefront of Canada’s most significant securities disputes, including primary- and secondary-market securities class actions, contested transactions, financial products litigation, regulatory enforcement matters and investigations. Its lawyers focus almost exclusively on securities litigation. Blakes’ securities litigation counsel boasts extensive experience in securities litigation, enforcement and regulatory proceedings, class actions and corporate disputes for public companies and their boards of directors and special committees. The team provides a broad range of litigation and risk-management services, including advising and representing clients with respect to litigation avoidance and preparedness, internal and regulatory investigations, compliance and all stages of civil and regulatory proceedings.
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Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP
Year established: 2005
Number of lawyers: 14
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Robert Brush, Michael L. Byers, Alistair Crawley, Melissa MacKewn, Kate McGrann, Clarke Tedesco
Toronto-based Crawley MacKewn Brush LLP is among Canada’s leading corporate and securities litigation boutique. The law firm represents clients in the capital markets and financial services sectors. Its lawyers have successfully represented clients in some of the most significant and high-profile securities law cases in the country. The firm’s civil litigation practice focuses on securities class action defence and corporate litigation. The firm acts for companies, directors, officers, securities dealers, advisors, investment funds, fund managers, traders and other capital market participants in a wide range of securities class actions brought in provinces across the country. Its lawyers have extensive experience with the litigation and resolution of corporate disputes, including oppression claims, fair value applications, corporate governance and accounting issues and corporate investigations. All lawyers at Crawley MacKewn Brush have an active commercial litigation practice. They boast extensive experience in professional negligence claims involving securities industry professionals and accountants.
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
Year established: 1961
Number of lawyers: 10+
Number of ranked lawyers: 6
Partners: Anthony M.C. Alexander, Andrea L. Burke, Andrew Carlson, Chantelle Cseh, Sandra A. Forbes, Steven G. Frankel, Maureen Littlejohn, Michael H. Lubetsky, Matthew Milne-Smith, Derek D. Ricci, Luis Sarabia, Kent E. Thomson
Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Davies) is among the leading full-service business law firms in Canada. It specializes in high-stakes and complex matters. The firm’s clients include 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’ securities litigation team consists of experienced litigators representing clients in a variety of transactions, ranging from insider trading cases to class actions and takeover disputes. The team is reinforced by the expertise of the firm’s market-leading securities group. Both teams work together on strategy, preparation for litigation and resolution of enforcement proceedings.
Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP
Year established: 1992
Number of lawyers: 20+
Number of ranked lawyers: 6
Partners: Tom Curry, Peter Griffin, Monique Jilesen, Brian Kolenda, Eli S. Lederman, Brendan F. Morrison, Peter J. Osborne, Scott Rollwagen, Shara N. Roy, Ronald G. Slaght, Lawrence E. Thacker, Mark Veneziano
Toronto-based Lenczner Slaght Royce Smith Griffin LLP is recognized for having one of Canada’s leading litigation practice. For more than 25 years since its establishment, the firm has acted for clients in over 17,000 cases, conducting more than 500 trials, arbitrations and tribunal hearings. Lenczner Slaght boasts extensive experience in litigating securities-related disputes before the courts, including the defence of professional negligence and other claims brought against investment advisors and dealers and significant expertise defending shareholder class-action proceedings. The firm’s securities litigation lawyers appear regularly in the hearing rooms of the provincial securities commissions, defending clients’ interests against allegations of breaches under various legislative and regulatory frameworks. The lawyers are also active in securities policy, including membership on the Ontario Securities Commission’s Securities Proceedings Advisory Committee.
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Year established: 1855
Number of lawyers: 15+
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: William D. Black, Eric S. Block, Byron Shaw, Darryl A. Cruz, Shane C. D’Souza, Deborah Templer, Brandon Kain, Andrew Matheson, Frank McLaughlin, Eli Mogil, Dana M. Peebles, Thomas N.T. Sutton
McCarthy Tétrault LLP is one of Canada’s largest 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 in the UK. The firm is among the country’s leaders in securities litigation, boasting expertise in class actions, take-over disputes, shareholder litigation, regulatory proceedings and internal investigations. Its lawyers act for a broad range of clients, including major Canadian and foreign banks, securities firms, public issuers, hedge funds, shareholders and officers and directors in all manner of complex securities litigation, both in the courts and in the regulatory arena. The firm’s litigators also represent clients before provincial securities commissions and other regulators, such as the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). The practice ranges from defending clients in high-stakes enforcement proceedings to representing clients’ interests in contested take-overs. McCarthy Tétrault’s securities litigators frequently work closely with the firm’s securities regulation and transactional specialists to achieve the best results for their clients.
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Year established: 1862
Number of lawyers: 10+ (Corporate and securities litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Robert Carson, Alexander Cobb, Laura Fric, Deborah Glendinning, Adam Hirsh, Shawn Irving, Craig Lockwood, Christopher Naudie, Kevin O’Brien, Lawrence E. Ritchie, Lauren Tomasich
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 roster of more than 400 lawyers that provide expert legal services to both domestic and international clients. The firm is recognized for its extensive expertise in business. It specializes 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, retail and venture capital. Osler’s corporate and securities litigation group consists of lawyers with extensive experience representing public and private clients in corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and securities matters before the courts and provincial securities commissions. The lawyers work closely with our colleagues in related groups to provide comprehensive representation of their clients in Canada and cross-border. They advise and represent clients in corporate governance and securities litigation matters related to corporate finance proceedings, securities class actions, take-over bids, defending corporations in US-style “strike” suits, directors’ personal liability, shareholders’ rights, oppression remedy, dissent remedy and appraisal, derivative actions by shareholders, disputes in mergers and acquisitions and “poison pill” disputes.
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Year established: 1952
Number of lawyers: 19
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: David R. Byers, John Ciardullo, Alan L. W. D’Silva, Samaneh Hosseini, Peter F.C. Howard, Katherine L. Kay, Eliot N. Kolers, Aaron Kreaden, Daniel S. Murdoch, Patrick J. O’Kelly, Simon A. Romano, Alexander D. Rose
Stikeman Elliott LLP specializes in business law and represents clients within 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. Stikeman Elliott’s securities litigation team consists of award-winning litigators whose expertise span across various areas, including product liability, securities regulation, competition and antitrust and directors’ and officers’ liability. The group’s lawyers are also known for devising effective tactics in defending class actions and utilizing alternative dispute resolution strategies to advance client objectives.
Torys LLP
Year established: 1941
Number of lawyers: 40+ (Litigation and dispute resolution)
Number of ranked lawyers: 7
Partners: Andrew Bernstein, Sheila R. Block, Gillian B. Dingle, John A. Fabello, Andrew Gray, Patricia D.S. Jackson, William McNamara, Jeremy Opolsky, David Outerbridge, Linda M. Plumpton, Sylvie Rodrigue, Andrew M. Shaughnessy, Arlen K. Sternberg, Lisa K. Talbot, John A. Terry, James C. Tory
Torys LLP is one of Canada’s largest full-service business law firms 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 securities defence litigation team is comprised of highly experienced, accomplished and business-minded lawyers who work on all aspects of civil litigation, securities regulatory, registration and compliance matters. The team provides counsel to securities market participants, including registrant firms and individuals, on registration matters and internal investigations. Its clients include investment dealers, market participants, investment funds, public companies and their directors and officers, and marketplaces. Torys’ lawyers have been seconded to the Ontario Securities Commission, Quebec’s Autorité des marchés financiers and numerous investment dealers. Their practice routinely involves cross-border and international matters.
Consistently recommended law firms
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG)
Year established: 1823
Number of lawyers: 18 (Securities disputes)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: Duncan Ault, Aaron Blumenfeld, Bevan Brooksbank, David Di Paolo, Maureen Doherty, James D.G. Douglas, Larry Elliott, Ronald Foerster, Graeme A. Hamilton, Laura Paglia, Caitlin Sainsbury
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) is one of the largest full-service business law firms in Canada. The firm boasts more than 700 lawyers and legal professionals in its offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver and Beijing in China. The bilingual law firm excels under both the common and civil law systems in the country. BLG serves businesses and other institutions in a range legal matters, including mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, major disputes, financing, and trademark and patent registration. The firm is also the first law firm in North America to implement client service standards. BLG’s securities disputes team collaborates with their clients to provide strategic counsel and advice before and during investigations, remediation, negotiations and mediation. Their team works to avoid litigation or regulatory proceedings whenever possible. When necessary, the team goes to battle to defend complex claims, including class actions, cross-border matters, direct actions against individuals and prosecution of subrogated claims.
Goodmans LLP
Year established: 1917
Number of lawyers: 40+ (Litigation)
Number of ranked lawyers: 1
Partners: Andrew Brodkin, Lauren Butti, Daniel Cappe, Dino Clarizio, Daniel Cohen, Joe Conforti, David Conklin, Joseph Cosentino, Kenneth Crofoot, Nando De Luca, Mark Dunn, Tom Friedland, Ben Hackett, Brad Halfin, Tamryn Jacobson, Suzy Kauffmann, Michael Koch, Peter Kolla, Francy Kussner, David Lederman, Alan Mark, Richard Naiberg, Melanie Ouanounou, Julie Rosenthal, Peter Ruby, Jordan D. Scopa, David Scrimger, Sandon Shogilev, Graham Smith, Jerry Topolski
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. It boasts a large litigation group consisting of experts in civil litigation, securities, corporate and commercial, intellectual property, insolvency and restructuring, construction, libel and slander, employment and technology. The team’s lawyers have acted in numerous matters involving shareholder disputes and hostile take-over bids for public companies, cases involving asset or share purchase agreements, shareholder class actions involving allegations of securities fraud and proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission. Goodmans’ litigators regularly appear in all levels of court, including provincial and federal trial and appellate courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. They also represent clients before administrative and regulatory tribunals.
Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP
Year established: 1997
Number of lawyers: 20+
Number of ranked lawyers: 4
Partners: Rahool Agarwal, Nadia Campion, Paul Fruitman, Matthew Gottlieb, Shaun Laubman, Matthew Law, James Renihan, Crawford Smith, Larissa Vermeersch, Andrew Winton
Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP (LOLG) is one of Canada’s leading litigation firms. The Toronto-based firm’s lawyers handle complex commercial disputes and public law cases. They also carry a robust trial, arbitration and appellate practice across the country and in the Supreme Court of Canada. The firm’s lawyers often act as counsel in insolvency cases, class actions, securities litigation and public and administrative law matters. They also represent clients in franchise, infrastructure, employment and health law disputes. LOLG’s practitioners are leaders at the Bar, holding positions on the Chief Justice of Ontario’s Advisory Committee on Professionalism and the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute and fellowships in elite trial organizations. Its associates are recruited primarily from judicial clerkships at the Supreme Court of Canada, provincial Courts of Appeal and the Commercial List of the Superior Court of Justice.
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
Year established: 2012 (Canada)
Number of lawyers: 10 (Securities litigation, regulation and enforcement)
Number of ranked lawyers: 3
Partners: D. Michael Brown, Jeremy Devereux, Linda Fuerst, Andrew McCoomb, Alan B. Merskey, Orestes Pasparakis, Jennifer Teskey
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. The firm’s securities litigation, regulation and enforcement team is frequently called upon to assist clients in high-stakes shareholder lawsuits, government enforcement actions, internal investigations, whistleblower claims and shareholder activism matters. Its lawyers have defended domestic shareholder lawsuits involving several high-profile merger and acquisition transactions and conducted notable cross-border investigations on behalf of international clients. The team has also successfully represented public and private companies, financial institutions, accounting firms, exchanges, hedge funds, investment advisors and individual company officers, directors and employees. Its expertise spans a wide variety of key industries, including energy, utilities, transportation, healthcare, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, retail and consumer markets, technology, real estate, investment banking and financial services.
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