Since its formation in 1979, the Stockwoods barrister boutique has concentrated exclusively on litigation, and in this capacity has won rapturous acclaim from peers even outside Ontario. “The whole ‘litigation boutique’ model that is becoming all the rage now, but Stockwoods pioneered it,” confirms a peer. “They’ve grown to a model that has so much depth yet remained elite,” observes another. “You won’t many differing opinions on how stellar they are.” Another peer simply marvels, “When you think of the collective brain power at that firm, wow…” Stockwoods is considered “absolutely up there in the echelons with [venerated Toronto litigation shops] Lenczner [Slaght] and Lax,” yet is unique amongst Toronto firms (even among its boutiques) in the portfolio it attends to, which encompasses criminal (and not solely of the white-collar variety), public and administrative law, municipal litigation, securities, and a niche in tribunal advisory work, as well as well as general commercial litigation. “Even their general commercial work is not the routine ‘color-by-numbers’ stuff,” notes one peer. “It’s always these kind of quirky oddball commercial cases, which the Stockwoods gang is so perfectly suited for.” It is also worth mentioning that the firm houses lawyers considered “not only the sharpest and most fearless but also some of the nicest.”
Perhaps the most remarkable attribute of the firm has been its growth and grooming strategy, which was seen a healthy percentage of young stars “rise up [and] come into their own in the classic Stockwoods mold.”
Justin Safayeni continues to make remarkable strides. “People like Justin leading inquests is great,” offers a peer, “and you’re starting to see people like him taking over as first chair on cases – they’re no longer on the precipice.” Safayeni, an all-purpose practitioner, is especially revered for his media and defamation law practice. “He is a member of the Canadian Media Lawyers Association!” Another Stockwoods partner ascending to a career high,
Gerald Chan has made headlines as of late for cases in which he put his trial skills to the test in his specialty in white-collar crime, a rare phenomenon. “Gerald just came off an enormously high-profile securities prosecution for CannTrust,” confirms one peer. “Three individuals from the company were charged, with Gerald having one of them. Eventually, it came down to a case of the Securities Commission ‘We’d like to withdraw the charges.’ Gerald was not satisfied with that and insisted that an acquittal be entered – just an awesome job.” This alluded-to mandate saw Chan achieve a December 2022 victory for his client, the former Chairman of the Board for CannTrust, who was facing charges of securities fraud and insider trading. Chan put his trial and white-collar acuity on display again with his defense of Reliance Construction Toronto in a quasi-criminal prosecution for alleged OHSA violations after the Crown charged Reliance for failing to adequately secure its guardrail system after a safety fence allegedly fell from its 42nd floor balcony and tragically killed a pedestrian. The case went to trial, with the prosecution ultimately terminated after a judge found that Reliance’s constitutional right to trial in a reasonable time had been violated.
Nader Hasan similarly illustrates a fluency with unflinching trial prowess in criminal matters. Hasan represents a former Member of Parliament who was charged with breach of trust in relation to alleged misconduct during his time in Government. The prosecution alleges that the client misused his public office to provide services to various individuals in exchange for millions of dollars’ worth of loans. Midway through this trial, the prosecution has since dropped three out of the five original counts. The more senior talent at Stockwoods continues to generate widespread acclaim as well. The universally revered
Brian Gover represented Laurentian University in its dispute with the Auditor General of Ontario over the Auditor’s right to compel privileged information from audit subjects. He then represented Laurentian in a motion to stay a Speaker’s Warrant of the Ontario Legislature, and were partially successful, the first time in Canada that a court has stayed a speaker’s warrant. Burnishing his pedigree further, Gover was chosen to act for Canada’s Prime Minister at the Commission of Inquiry regarding the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act for the purposes of halting further progress of the controversial “Freedom Convoy” revolt against vaccination requirements. This inquiry also involved
Andrea Gonsalves, who acted for the Minister of Justice, and
Brendan van Niejenhuis, who was responsible for the Minister of Public Safety. “It is such an honor that they were on that,” marvels a peer. “That’s a rare opportunity for lawyers in private practice.”
Paul Le Vay, a leading figure in the securities litigation sphere, represented Bell Canada in a class proceeding related to the rates that Bell charged prisoners while providing telephone services at prison facilities in Ontario pursuant to a contract with the Government of Ontario. The class sought damages of $150 million from Bell Canada and the Government. The claims against Bell included breach of the Consumer Protection Act, unconscionability, unjust enrichment and breach of the Telecommunications Act. Le Vay successfully obtained a stay of the action on a cross motion wherein it urged the Ontario Superior Court to decline to exercise jurisdiction because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission was the appropriate forum to determine the issues. Ultimately, the Superior Court of Justice agreed and stayed the class proceeding.
