Torys

A Toronto institution since 1941, Torys today commands an enviable level of acclaim and reverence from its peers on Bay Street and beyond. “Torys really does have a kind of pedigree that is tough to beat,” observes one peer, “but they’ve earned every bit of their prestige. That is a very serious group of litigators who love to be at trial.” Clients are not short on accolades either; one insists, “The firm does outstanding work. They are efficient, responsive, strategic and pay great attention to detail, while at the same time maintaining focus of the big picture. They staff appropriately and are a pleasure to work with.” With its Toronto headquarters being its only Canadian operation for many years, Torys has expanded westward into Alberta and opened an office in Calgary, bridging the east-west divide and now establishing itself as a litigation resource for the two most dynamic Canadian business epicenters. Through its New York location, the firm is also poised to attend to matters bridging the cross-border divide. Most recently, the firm expanded into Québec, opening a Montréal office to be headed by a new hire, class-actions specialist Sylvie Rodrigue, who splits her time between Toronto and Montréal.

In the firm’s flagship office, senior-level “paragons of trial excellence,” Sheila Block and James Tory continue to command respect. “Sheila Block just continues to bring the goods,” declares a peer. “She recently was brought in to handle a patent case on appeal! IP is not her bag at all, but arguing a case is, and everyone knows it, in private practice and among a growing level of corporate in-house.” Tory is championed by a client as “the consummate professional - thoughtful, strategic and always a pleasure to work with. He is patient in explaining the differences between US and Canadian jurisprudence.” This pair represents CIBC in a securities class action that alleges that the client did not properly disclose its exposure to the US residential mortgages market during the credit crisis of 2007. After certain preliminary issues were litigated up to the Supreme Court of Canada, the case is now in the discovery stage. Linda Plumpton also represents CIBC in the class-action capacity, this one focused on overtime pay. “Linda Plumpton is the biggest name for class action defense right now, and has the broadest practice for this,” asserts a peer. “She does everything from competition to employment to privacy breach cases.” Torys is also noted for its intellectual property practice, with Andrew Bernstein and Andrew Shaughnessy being the most noted stars. This pair represented Amgen in a patent case that is said to be the first case under the new Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, which provide that litigation under the Regulations is to be done as an action as opposed to an application.

Long a firm whose only Canadian operations were in Ontario, Torys has, as of April 2013, penetrated the Québec market as well, with a Montréal office established by class action authority Sylvie Rodrigue, who for years was the firm’s only partner. However, within the past two years, the firm has been able to broaden up to other types of litigation beyond class actions, including employment matters, libel actions, regulatory disputes dealer/broker litigation and general commercial litigation. To this end, the firm recently lured Christopher Richter to its ranks from the esteemed Montréal litigation boutique Woods. “Chris is new at Torys but he comes with a great reputation from Woods and is poised to take them beyond to take that firm beyond class actions.” Richter’s arrival has facilitated the diversification of this office’s practices and also provided greater flexibility for Rodrigue to split her time between this office and the firm’s Toronto flagship. Richter acted to defend an application for an interlocutory injunction against an American multinational manufacturer of casino gaming products, following its purchase of a small Québec manufacturer.