Karon C. Bales

Christopher Bryden is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Labour and Employment Law. Christopher, who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Christopher is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Clifton Prophet is a partner and head of the Financial Services Practice Group at Gowling WLG's Toronto office, practising in the areas of insolvency, pensions and employment benefits. Clifton advises and represents creditors, debtors, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in all types of reorganization, liquidation and realization proceedings. Clifton has specialized “nuts and bolts” experience in insolvency disputes. Clifton also provides advice with respect to pension...

Josh Phillips is the Managing Partner at Ursel Phillips Fellows Hopkinson LLP. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Relations from McGill University and subsequently earned a law degree from the University of Toronto. Josh is also a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada in the area of Technical Production. Josh's practice is concentrated in labour law, professional discipline and appellate work, with a particular emphasis in the educational, police and cultural sectors. ...

Claire Vachon assists clients in all areas of labour and employment law in both official languages. She is licensed to practice law in Québec and in Ontario. Claire is the former leader of Fasken’s Labour, Employment and Human Rights Practice Group. For close to two decades, Claire’s work has been focused on the education sector. Drawing on an extensive knowledge of this sector’s legal and political environment, Claire has become a trusted advisor to many Ontario scho...

Sean Maxwell is a highly experienced lawyer with, having worked on a wide range of legal issues relating to pension and employee benefit plans. In his practice, Sean advises on pension fund investments, plan terminations, ongoing plan administration and compliance issues, disputes over the use of plan assets, development and documentation of pension and employee benefit plans, issues arising from corporate transactions and commercial insolvencies, and adhering to fiduciary duties. Sean also h...

Elizabeth (Liz) Pillon is a partner in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group and Head of the Restructuring and Insolvency Group in the Toronto office. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation with an emphasis on complex and contentious restructuring and insolvency matters. Liz brings over 20 years’ experience to her restructuring and insolvency practice, which includes corporate statutory restructurings, Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), receivership and ba...

Ross Macdonal deals with all types of litigation in his varied legal practice: commercial litigation, family law matters such as divorce, custody and access, estate litigation, and other civil litigation such as contract disputes. He has extensive experience with both very large and complex files and simpler more straight forward matters which can be dealt with expeditiously and economically. He sees his skills as a negotiator as of equal importance to his skills as a litigator and he appreci...

Paul carries a practice of complex disputes that demand subject-matter experience and understanding. He has expertise in contract disputes, infrastructure and construction disputes, health law, employment law, shareholder disputes, oppression claims, professional negligence, and product liability matters. Paul has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario, including as trial counsel in jury and non-jury matters, at the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, and in a range of administ...

Renée Pelletier is a Partner at OKT. Her practice focuses on Aboriginal and Treaty Rights litigation and negotiation. Renée has extensive experience litigating Aboriginal title claims: having served as lead counsel both in Saugeen Ojibway Nation’s Aboriginal title claim to their water territory and currently in the Wolastoqey Nation’s Aboriginal title claim to their territory in New Brunswick. She has also developed significant experience in claims and legal matters ...

Ryder practises complex litigation and dispute resolution encompassing corporate-commercial disputes, securities, tax, competition, defamation and class action litigation. He has extensive courtroom experience, having appeared at every level of court in Ontario, as well as the Court of Queen's Bench in New Brunswick, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Tax Court of Canada as well as many administrative tribunals including the Competiti...