Employment & Labour | Canada

This highly respected employment and labour team operates on both a provincial and federal level. Fasken's Toronto office has established a deep practice able to service high-profile national clients including private corporations and government entities. The group is active across a range of sectors, including transportation, telecommunications and banking, and often assists clients with international labour issues. It has extensive experience working with the government and employers on provincial labour and employment legislation, as well as handling significant mandates for noteworthy education and healthcare industry clients.

McCarthy Tétrault is a respected law firm noted for its employment practice in Toronto and nationally. The firm wins recognition for its strength in employment and labour issues relating to transactional work, as well as advising on a range of other matters including employment and labour disputes, collective agreement negotiations and compliance issues. It is particularly notable for its work in the transportation and education sectors. The group advises a variety of public sector clients, including provincial authorities, institutions and Crown corporations, and is highly reputed for its representation of the government of Ontario in major union negotiations.

Norton Rose Fulbright operates a top-notch employment and labour team combining its strengths in Ontario with a solid national practice. With offices in Toronto and Ottawa, the firm often represents federally and provincially regulated employers in large-scale contentious matters, including judicial review cases, labour relations board representations and defence of union certification attempts, as well as advising on human rights issues and non-compete agreements. The team is favoured by clients from the construction and infrastructure industries. It offers experience representing employers and associations in the electrical and energy sectors and an array of public sector clients including educational institutions, Crown corporations and professional bodies.

Borden Ladner Gervais is a robust law firm recognised for its strong national footprint in employment. Its Ontario team based in Toronto and Ottawa advises on a range of employment and labour mandates, including employment and labour issues arising from major M&A transactions. The team is involved in a substantial volume of alternative dispute resolution proceedings including arbitration, and possesses notable experience representing employers in the healthcare, education, retail and construction sectors. From collective bargaining to mental health, the team has experts across many areas. It is particularly experienced in representing clients before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti is a large employment and labour law boutique which enjoys a stellar reputation in the Ontario market, with offices in Toronto, London and Hamilton. The firm handles high-profile work throughout the province, acting for a diverse client base ranging from SMEs to large multinational corporations, with an active presence in both the private and public sectors. It has notable expertise in collective bargaining, labour arbitration, wrongful dismissal cases and human rights issues, acting for clients in the manufacturing, entertainment and retail sectors, among others.

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt's employment department advises a range of regional, national and international clients from various sectors, including software, manufacturing, retail and food and drink. Lawyers from its Toronto and Ottawa offices regularly assist employers with workplace investigations, severance and compensation arrangements and employment-related litigation. The team is noted for its experience advising on employment and labour issues stemming from corporate transactions and internal restructurings, including workforce reductions.

Blake, Cassels & Graydon is a stellar national firm with a compact, highly effective employment team based in Toronto and Ottawa that climbs a tier up this year. It provides significant capabilities in both transactional and contentious employment matters for a range of provincial, federal and international clients. It is capable of advising on all employment aspects of M&A, including drafting contracts and handling occupational health and safety matters. Furthermore, its experience encompasses constructive dismissals, harassment claims and human rights issues.

Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark is a management-side workplace law firm with a strong presence in Ontario and throughout the country. It maintains a strong focus on the private sector, typically representing manufacturing, retail and construction clients, as well as advising government-owned companies. The team's experience includes an array of employment and labour matters, from workplace incident investigations to wrongful dismissals and collective bargaining negotiations. It also has expertise in occupational health and safety and compensation issues. The firm has offices in Toronto, Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie.

Miller Thomson provides a full-service employment law offering, acting for both provincial and national employers from industries such as healthcare, food and beverages, retail and finance. Its expertise spans labour relations, occupational health and safety, collective agreements, grievances, workplace safety and pay equity, among other matters. Additionally, the team offers expertise in restructuring, insolvency and alternative dispute resolution, representing clients in a variety of contentious employment matters, and is equipped to advise clients on the employment aspects of M&A. The firm has a suite of offices across Ontario, in Toronto, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Vaughan and Markham.

Rae Christen Jeffries is an increasingly prominent employment and labour boutique based in Toronto. It represents major provincial and national employers in collective agreement negotiations, and is also well placed to advise on grievance arbitrations, most significantly concerning labour relations in the construction industry. The firm's employment practice covers severance negotiations and employee benefits.

Dentons is a major international firm with notable employment capabilities based in Ontario, with partners in both Toronto and Ottawa. The department provides a broad offering with experience ranging from wrongful dismissal litigation to labour arbitration. Its non-contentious practice includes advising major national clients in the transport and life science sectors on employment matters relating to corporate transactions. The team is also accomplished in health and safety matters.

Stikeman Elliott is a full-service national firm with a solid bench of employment experts in Toronto who service an impressive list of domestic and multinational clients. The team has worked on significant mandates for well-known employers in the food production, consumer products and e-commerce sectors. It advises on a broad range of employment litigation, including workplace disputes and wrongful termination claims, and also advises on the employment aspects of M&A transactions.

Ontario-based employment practice of Aird & Berlis assists with a wide range of matters, including contract drafting, compliance and contentious matters. The group handles disputes in various ways, including arbitration, human rights and civil litigation as well as representation before the civil courts and employment tribunals. The team also advises on matters related to collective bargaining and unionised activity. The team's clients include multinationals as well as notable Canadian names.

Toronto-based employment team at international firm Baker McKenzie is regularly seen assisting with a variety of disputes, including wrongful dismissals, human rights, discrimination claims and grievance. The lawyers also advise on union organising matters. The team represents a number of academic institutions, state employers and commercial clients, including multinationals.

Cassels Brock & Blackwell is a large Toronto-headquartered firm with a significant employment and labour practice group. The team regularly advises clients from the finance, aviation and food and drink sectors on the employment aspects of corporate transactions. It also handles human resources issues, employee relations, and employment standards compliance, and employment litigation involving wrongful dismissal claims.

Gowling WLG is an international firm commanding an impressive provincial footprint, with offices in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton and Waterloo. The team acts as employment counsel to both major provincial and national clients on international corporate transactions. It is equally skilled in employment disputes, most significantly in wrongful dismissal litigation. Its expertise cuts across industry sectors including healthcare, insurance and food and beverages.

Rubin Thomlinson is a Toronto-based boutique employment practice particularly renowned for its advice in the area of workplace and institutional investigations and assessments. Its expertise in harassment and misconduct includes experience advising on workplace human rights issues and wrongful dismissal cases. The firm acts for a varied client base that includes healthcare providers, public sector entities and private corporations.

Torys fields a well-regarded group from its Toronto office that provides coverage on the full range of employment and labour matters. The team regularly advises clients on discrimination and harassment claims as well as collective bargaining agreements. Its lawyers also provide counsel to companies on employment issues relating to acquisitions or sales.