Best Lawyers in Ontario, Canada for Labour and Employment Law
Carl Peterson is a partner of the firm and since his call to the bar in 1984, he has worked in all areas of labour law with special expertise in the construction industry and health and safety litigation. In addition to defending employers against health and safety charges, he has been quite active in developing policies and seminars for employers to prevent accidents and avoid litigation. Carl has a great deal of experience in assisting non-union and union employers develop positive employee...
Jackie VanDerMeulen practices all aspects of labour, employment and human rights law. She is a skilled advocate who regularly represents employers in labour arbitrations, interest arbitrations, federal and provincial labour board matters, human rights proceedings (including pay equity), employment litigation and applications for judicial review. She also supports employers with collective bargaining and day-to-day employment advice. Jackie has gained valuable experience in pay equity, employm...
Mr. Israel has practiced exclusively in the areas of Employment and Labour Law since his call to the Bar in 1978. He has appeared successfully before every level of Court including the Ontario Court of Appeal as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. He has been named as one of Canada’s Most Frequently Recommended employment lawyers by The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory every year since its inception in 1998 as well as by The Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 La...
Daniel Chodos, a senior partner at Whitten and Lublin, has 17 years of extensive experience in employment law. Engaged by both employees and employers, Daniel concentrates on finding the resolution that best meets the needs of his client. Daniel is thoroughly skilled in handling workplace disputes, severance negotiations, wrongful dismissals, harassment, and human rights issues. Daniel’s expert skill in wrongful dismissal cases is demonstrated in his courtroom victories. However, what s...
As a partner of the firm since 1996, Rob primarily advises private-sector employers on all aspects of labour and employment law. He frequently speaks on labour and employment law issues, and he has lectured on labour and employment law at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. Rob was elected and continues to serve as Canada’s representative on L&E Global’s six-person, international Board of Directors. Rob has also successfully represented a number of clients to adv...
Stephen Shamie is a senior labour and employment lawyer in Hicks Morley’s Toronto office. He has over 30 years of experience advising and representing employers on a wide variety of matters relating to human resources law. Stephen’s practice emphasizes the negotiation of collective agreements and the defence of employers in arbitration cases, human rights hearings, labour board proceedings and before the courts. He regularly negotiates collective agreements in the hospitality, med...
Jamie has more than 40 years of experience representing management in labour and employment law, working out of both the Hamilton and Toronto offices. Jamie regularly appears before the courts, arbitration boards, and federal and provincial labour relations tribunals, as well as before adjudicators in human rights, employment standards and health and safety matters. He has extensive experience in collective bargaining and in guiding employers through the process of responding to union organiz...
Martin Denyes serves as Fasken’s Chair, with responsibility for engagement with clients and in markets in Canada, the United States and internationally. Prior to being named Firm Chair, Martin served as Managing Partner in Ontario and as Firm Managing Partner over the course of 15 years. In practice, his focus has been on supporting employers and executives in solving their day-to-day issues in the workplace and the mission critical issues that drive their workplace strategies. Througho...
Mark Rowlinson advances the interests of workers in his international law, trade law and labour law practice. He also advocates in the area of climate and the environment. Mark joined the firm after a 26-year career with one of Canada’s largest private sector trade unions. He has decades of experience in litigating a wide variety of labour law cases before labour boards, arbitrators and in the courts across Canada. He has also litigated labour cases under Canada’s trade agreements...
J.D. Sharp is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labour and Employment Law. J.D., who practices law in Ottawa, Ontario, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which J.D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ted Kovacs is an experienced labour and employment lawyer in Hicks Morley’s Waterloo office. He regularly advises employers in all matters of employment and labour law, both in unionized and non-unionized workplaces. Ted provides strategic advice including assisting employers in the start-up of new operations and restructuring of current operations. His practice includes Ontario Labour Relations Board matters (with a particular emphasis on union organizing issues), collective agreement ...
Lorrie Por is a Partner with Harrison Pensa and Practice Lead of the firm’s Employment and Labour Law group. Her practice is restricted exclusively to employment law issues, and human rights law for employers and business owners. Employers and business owners in all industries and institutions turn to Lorrie for assistance with their employment and human right law issues and her advice and activities are valued by companies and business owners in all areas of Canada and internationally....
Bill Gale is a Partner at Grosman Gale Fletcher Hopkins LLP since 1989, where he practices in the area of employment law . He was selected by Lexpert’s Peer Review process as one of the “Top 500 Lawyers in Canada” for each year from 2012 to the present. He has appeared in court at both the trial and appellate levels to argue many reported decisions dealing with issues such as wrongful dismissal litigation , human rights , occupational health & safety, employment contract...
Tina Lie is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative and Public Law, Appellate Practice, Corporate and Commercial Litigation and Labour and Employment Law. Tina, who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Tina is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Mark Mason is a labour and employment lawyer in Hicks Morley’s Toronto office. His practice includes arbitration advocacy, employment litigation, human rights proceedings and the entire spectrum of collective bargaining, including interest arbitrations and strike management. Mark advises a variety of public and private sector employers and brings a practical and solution-focused approach to the legal services he provides. Mark is recognized as one of Ontario’s leading counsel in t...
Richard Charney is a senior partner in our Toronto office, where he practises management labour relations and employment law, a field in which he is widely recognized as an advocate on behalf of national and local clients. For more than 10 years, he was Norton Rose Fulbright's global head of employment and labour. Mr. Charney acts for numerous employers and employers’ organizations and appears at provincial and federal labour relations boards and the courts, including the Supreme Court ...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.