Waddell Phillips

Waddell Phillips is a relatively new addition to Toronto’s legal community. The firm came into being when Margaret Waddell, who decamped from Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein to launch the firm with seasoned barrister John Kingman Phillips as a purely litigation-centric boutique free to take on a diverse spectrum of work in either the plaintiff or defense capacities. Peers are enthusiastic about the firm’s promise; “Marg Waddell was a star at Paliare Roland, which is a great litigation boutique in its own right, and so she’s sure to bring that same energy to this firm. And she has youth on her side, which brings great ‘upside’ to the firm, which is a great complement to John’s senior stature and experience. The firm is sure to do well with referrals, getting work that many others are conflicted out of or, frankly, too expensive.” Waddell is lead counsel for plaintiffs in an ongoing case concerning the approval of a unique form of third-party funding, with an underlying issue of defective medical device and failure to warn. She is also lead counsel in an ongoing case concerning systemic negligence and breach of fiduciary duty regarding a teacher at an esteemed ballet school taking nude photographs of students and selling them online. A peer supports Waddell’s stature, “She was on the other side of a securities class action from us, and we found her bright, thoughtful and credible. She has the respect of the bench, which is incredibly important on the plaintiff side. She had a big win in the Winnipeg Ballet action, which I believe was the first win in her new space.” Phillips has his own fan base as well. “John Phillips is a true dyed-in-the-wool barrister, with a lot of strength and heart. He does a lot of the First Nation work, which are big, long, complicated cases, and you often have to wait a while to get paid on them.”