Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP

Managing Partner: Emily Lawrence

Number of Partners: 28

Number of Lawyers: 53

Languages: Cantonese, English, French, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish

Firm Overview: Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP was founded in 2001. The firm is a litigation boutique with a broad range of expertise and experience. It is routinely involved in Canada’s highest profile cases, whether complex commercial litigation or class actions, professional discipline or labour disputes. The firm is trusted to manage the most sensitive legal issues facing businesses of every size, individuals, labour unions, professional regulatory bodies, academic institutions and public interest organisations. Much of the firm’s work is referred to it from other law firms, in Ontario, across Canada and internationally.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate Commercial Litigation:

Paliare Roland represents public and private companies, partnerships, shareholders, directors, officers, boards, special committees and professional advisors in a wide range of complex business disputes.

■ Counsel to the successful defendant, a departing employee, in a claim for spoliation and breach of confidence in connection with the sale of WIND Mobile. Catalyst Capital Group Inc. v Moyse, 2016 ONSC 5271

■ Counsel to Barrick Gold in Barrick Gold Corporation v. Goldcorp. Inc., 2011 ONSC 3725, in a battle over ownership of a Chilean copper-gold mine

■ Counsel to Labatt in the ‘beer wars’ against the National Hockey League and Molson over the NHL’s sponsorship rights: Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. v. NHL Enterprises Canada L.P., 2011 ONSC 3219, 2011 ONCA 511 and 2011 ONSC 5652

■ Counsel to Aird & Berlis LLP at the Ontario Court of Appeal in Springer v. Aird & Berlis LLP, 2010 ONCA 287, which ruled that a law firm did not owe a former partner a fiduciary duty to inform him of where he fit in a new firm compensation system, or that his remuneration would be reduced under this new system

■ Counsel to the successful corporate defendant in a complex trial that dealt with the appropriate remedy for breach of fiduciary duty and oppression by its principal shareholder: Capobianco v. Paige, 2009 CanLII 29899 (Ont. S.C.)

Class Actions: Paliare Roland has a specialised class action group and our lawyers act on leading cases in this field. Distinguishing itself from many class action firms, the Paliare Roland team acts for both defendants and plaintiffs. This versatility brings with it unique insights into each case. Years of experience in both prosecuting and defending class actions affords our team of lawyers a significant advantage in developing litigation strategy and anticipating countervailing positions. The firm has acted as counsel on class proceedings at all stages of proceeding (certification including all levels of appeal; mediations; examinations for discovery; completion of common issues trials). It has acted as counsel on cases involving usurious interest rates, product liability, Competition Act violations, institutional abuse, auditor’s negligence, franchise disputes, cases involving foreign exchange charges, breach of trust, breach of contract, pensions issues, and others. Paliare Roland’s expertise and problem-solving on class actions is consistently recognised by members of the class action bar. In cases where the firm does not act for the parties, it has been retained by counsel to assist on issues that have arisen. In separate cases, the firm has represented both class counsel and defence counsel. It is also regularly retained to provide critical insolvency advice on class actions.

■ Class counsel to credit card holders who alleged MBNA Canada Bank had received a criminal rate of interest in certain circumstances. The claim settled (Markson v. MBNA Canada Bank, 2012 ONSC 5891), and the certification decision is one of the leading decisions on aggregate damages in Ontario (Markson v. MBNA Canada Bank, 2007 ONCA 334)

■ Class counsel to individuals who invested in an alleged charitable tax shelter opportunity sold through investor advisors. The claim was certified in 2012: Cannon v. Funds for Canada Foundation, 2012 ONSC 399

Bankruptcy & Insolvency Litigation: Paliare Roland acts regularly in transnational, national and local insolvency cases. The firm’s practice is independent of major financial institutions, permitting them to act as counsel to a full range of insolvency stakeholders, including court appointed officers, debtors, employee groups, unions, bondholders and governments.

■ Acted for United Steel Workers Union. Was in a lead position with respect to the restructuring of Stelco and it’s legacy liability pension obligations and other post employment benefits. This included finding and sponsoring the ultimate Purchase of Stelco, Bedrock Industries

■ Counsel to the representative plaintiffs in Sino-Forest’s CCAA proceeding commenced in March 2012, in the Ontario class action against Sino-Forest Corporation and some of its current and former officers and directors, auditors and underwriters

■ Counsel to the Canadian Federation of Pensioners at the Supreme Court of Canada in the appeal of Indalex Limited (Re), 2011 ONCA 265, a case which addressed the priority of pension funding obligations in a restructuring situation

■ Counsel to the Superintendent of Financial Services as Administrator of the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund in the Nortel CCAA insolvency proceedings. See e.g. Nortel Networks Corporation (Re), 2010 ONSC 5584

Employment: Paliare Roland provides advice and advocacy relating to all areas of the employment relationship for both employees and employers. Many of the firm’s most important cases remain confidential.

Appeals & Judicial Review: The lawyers at Paliare Roland have argued many important appellate cases including:

■ Counsel to Van Breda at the Supreme Court of Canada in Club Resorts Ltd. v.Van Breda, 2012 SCC 17 which established a new test for determining when an Ontario court is entitled to assume jurisdiction over a foreign defendant for a tort committed outside of Ontario

■ Counsel to the Canadian Police Association at the Supreme Court of Canada in the appeal of Fraser v. Ontario (Attorney-General), 2011 SCC 20, the leading decision from the Supreme Court of Canada on freedom of association and the process of collective bargaining protected by s. 2(d) of the Charter

■ Counsel to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) at the Supreme Court of Canada, in Bell Canada v. Bell Aliant Regional Communications, 2009 SCC 40

Securities Litigation: Paliare Roland acts for both investors and issuers in litigation involving public disclosure issues and provides assistance to investors, investment advisors and other registrants in proceedings before the Ontario Securities Commission, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association. In addition, the firm represents investors in negligence claims against investment advisers and dealers.

■ Counsel to a prominent lawyer accused of insider tipping and trading at the Ontario Securities Commission

■ Counsel to the Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights, an intervener, in the Reference re Securities Act, 2011 SCC 66 respecting the constitutionality of proposed federal securities legislation

■ Counsel to the minority common shareholders of Hollinger Inc. before the Ontario Securities Commission in Hollinger Inc. Re., (2005), 28 OSCB 3309

Constitutional Litigation: Paliare Roland has acted on a number of high profile constitutional cases and has long associations with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other public interest organisations such as Friends of the Earth, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Métis National Council, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Human Rights Watch and various specialised legal aid clinics.

■ Counsel to the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples and individual litigants in Daniels v. HMQ at the Federal Court, seeking a declaration that the Federal Government is constitutionally responsible for approximately 600,000 Métis and Non-Status Indians, under s. 91(24) of the Constitution Act, 1867

■ Counsel to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in R. v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186 in which the Ontario Court of Appeal struck down substantially all of the Criminal Code provisions regulating prostitution in Canada

Libel & Slander: Paliare Roland has expertise in all aspects of defamation law including litigation and litigation strategies, media strategies and pre-publication review. Recently, the firm was counsel to the Liberal Party of Canada in a defamation proceeding brought by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Product Liability & Tort Claims: Paliare Roland acts for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving product failure, negligence and economic torts. While these sensitive issues generally result in settlement, the firm’s lawyers have argued leading cases on international jurisdiction and insurance coverage.

Professional Discipline & Regulation: Paliare Roland represents both regulators and a wide range of professionals in connection with complaints, investigations and discipline proceedings.

Judicial Inquiries & Inquests: The lawyers at Paliare Roland have brought their expertise in advocacy and commitment to the public interest to their work for judicial inquiries.

■ Inquiry Counsel to the Honourable Mr. Justice Herman J. Wilton-Siegel who was appointed Commissioner of the City of Hamilton’s Red Hill Valley Parkway Inquiry in May 2019.