List of Bay Street law firms

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The large, multi-service law firms in Toronto's financial district are often referred to as Bay Street law firms. Their transactional work involves large Canadian business firms as well as cross-border and international businesses. Many highly regarded lawyers practise at Bay Street firms; a number have links with politicians and other government officials.

1 Overview
2 The Seven Sisters
3 Other Bay Street firms

[edit] Overview

Toronto is Canada's business and financial capital. Many of Canada's largest companies and law firms are headquartered in buildings on or near Bay Street and thus Toronto's financial district is often referred to as simply Bay Street. Bay Street law firms tend to be disproportionately larger and more oriented towards corporate law than the majority of Toronto's many other law firms. Consolidation within Toronto and mergers at the national level to create multi-city firms have in recent years increased the competitiveness of these firms. Most now employ an increasing number of marketing and other in-house business personnel to build both business and brand name.

Bay Street law firms reflect what many view as a tiered structure. The top tier is generally referred as the magic circle of "Seven Sisters" firms. Yet other firms, notably other large firms and boutiques, lead the market in many individual specialty areas, particularly those not included in the eight core corporate areas measured by Lexpert to derive the annual Seven Sisters recount. Major firms based in Canada's other cities will often have an office in Toronto, as do some major international law firms such as Shearman & Sterling LLP and Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP, both based in New York.

Indeed, some firms considered important in Toronto are also considered market leaders in their headquartered cities, such as Ogilvy Renault in Montreal or Gowlings in Ottawa. To mistake Toronto rankings for national rankings, in other words, is not consistent with the structure of Canada's legal market.

[edit] The Seven Sisters

The seven large Toronto firms most typically involved in significant corporate transactions are referred to informally as the "Seven Sisters". Although the wave of law firm consolidations both in Toronto and at the national level has made this grouping a relatively malleable one, annual rankings compiled by Canadian legal information service Lexpert are generally regarded as authoritative. A notable exception to Seven Sisters firms being based in Toronto is Stikeman Elliott, which originated in Montréal. The rankings are based on a weighted compilation of law firms' performance in eight practice areas: banking, competition, corporate commercial law, corporate finance, corporate litigation, corporate tax, insolvency and corporate restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions.[1] In 2005, Lexpert placed the following firms in this grouping (in alphabetical order):