Lenczner Slaght

Firm Details:

Managing Partner: Monique Jilesen

Number of Partners: 33 (plus 10 counsel) Number of lawyers: 92

Languages: English, Estonian, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish

Firm Overview:

Widely recognised as Canada’s leading litigation practice, Lenczner Slaght has successfully represented clients’ interests in complex, high-profile cases across the country. Trial and appeal lawyers are distinguished by their depth of courtroom experience and have honed their skills through years of challenging cases at all levels, before every kind of tribunal and in mediation and arbitration proceedings. Senior litigators — ranked among the best of their peers nationally — lead a recruitment and mentoring program that attracts bright, accomplished young lawyers committed to upholding the highest professional standards. From commercial disputes, class actions and cross-border disputes to administrative law and professional regulation, Lenczner Slaght has the expertise and experience to position a case for success, enhance the prospect of a favourable resolution and achieve positive results in a hearing or trial.

Main Areas of Practice:

Appeals: A broad range of disputes arising in virtually every aspect of commercial and professional activity. Senior litigators are well known and respected in the appellate courts and are frequently retained as counsel to provide opinions on and argue appeals.

Arbitration: Complex cases in multiple, often competing jurisdictions in a wide range of business sectors that include infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, technology and financial services representing Canadian and international clients in disputes governed by all of the widely recognised rules of arbitration.

Class Actions: Canadian, cross-border and multi-jurisdictional cases involving shareholder and securities claims, negligence, product liability, health and medical malpractice, insurance, pensions and environmental liability.

Commercial Litigation: Complex corporate and securities matters, contract disputes, regulatory proceedings, competition matters, defamation, oppression and other statutory claims, franchising matters and real property litigation.

Competition & Antitrust: Individual and class actions alleging breaches of the Competition Act such as misleading advertising, price fixing and conspiracy and all types of regulatory and criminal investigations, including those conducted by the federal Competition Bureau.

Construction & Infrastructure: Acting for owners and developers, contractors and subcontractors, lenders and underwriters, and architecture and engineering firms in the full spectrum of construction matters, from insurance and liability claims, to progress payments and holdbacks, to defects, omissions and other performance issues on projects ranging from residential developments to multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects across Canada and internationally.

Defamation & Media: Acting as litigation or advisory counsel in libel issues arising across print, broadcast and digital media channels and representing plaintiffs and defendants through libel trials, on appeal and before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Employment: Employment strategy, policies and practices, employment standards, restrictive covenants, confidentiality, wrongful dismissal and workplace management.

Insolvency & Restructuring: Commercial reorganisations and restructurings, receiverships, bankruptcies and other facets of insolvency litigation, creditors’ rights and secured transaction disputes.

Injunctions: Obtaining and responding to a variety of injunctions on an urgent basis, across a wide variety of industries and practice areas such as commercial litigation, employment law, public law, and intellectual property.

Insurance: The full spectrum of insurance, re-insurance matters and coverage including expected or intended damage or injury; known loss; trigger of coverage; allocation among insurers; sudden and accidental, as well as the absolute, pollution exclusion; late notice; clean-up costs as damages; owned property exclusion; alienated premises exclusion; post-acquisition coverage; drop-down issues and the obligations owed by a primary insurer to an excess insurer.

Intellectual Property: Matters involving patents, trade-marks, copyright and competition law — acting for national and multinational clients in the pharmaceutical (both generic and innovators), biotech, medical devices, nutrition, media, recording and broadcasting industries, among others.

Product Liability: Liability litigation support to makers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, processed food and beverages, personal care products, motor vehicles, trains, boats, and planes, elevators and escalators, heating and plumbing systems, construction and building materials, industrial equipment, and computer hardware and software in cases involving multiple insurer claims that often cross borders.

Professional Liability & Regulation: Representation or prosecution of various regulated professionals including physicians, psychologists, dentists, engineers, nurses, lawyers, investment advisors and others before investigative and disciplinary tribunals, as well as boards and committees of professional organisations, self-governing bodies and in civil proceedings.

Public Law: Acting as counsel for all levels of government, for government agencies and Crown corporations and for companies conducting business with governments and their agencies, as well as for individuals and organisations dealing with specific regulators and/or overall regulatory regimes.

Securities Litigation: The defence of claims against investment dealers and advisors, class proceedings alleging breach of public disclosure requirements, representation before securities commissions and other regulators and directing internal investigations.

Trusts & Estates Litigation: Complex, high-profile disputes and volatile emergency situations where preservation of assets is a priority, especially in estates disputes over incapacity and related issues.