Advice & Opinions
Navigating legal disputes requires more than just adversarial, courtroom advocacy. Optimal solutions are often found outside the courtroom, before any formal legal process has been initiated. Whether you require an internal investigation, risk analysis, pre-litigation strategy, or advice on the merits of an appeal or judicial review, our lawyers bring their extensive experience as trial and appellate lawyers, strategic mindset, and practical approach to every case.
Our lawyers regularly provide guidance with legal advice and opinions in relation to:
- Risk assessment. Understanding the litigation risk associated with your current or contemplated business practices is crucial. Knowledge is power. Our lawyers regularly review contracts for enforceability and risk, conduct internal investigations, identify legal exposure, and develop tailored risk mitigation strategies, to inform decision-making and safeguard client interests.
- Internal investigations. Our pre-litigation advice is often informed by an internal investigation to figure out what actually happened, and why. Equipped with this understanding, we provide clients with clear, plain language, no-nonsense advice summarizing our findings and possible legal exposure, whether it be tortious, contractual, statutory, or regulatory. We are experienced at performing such investigations professionally and discretely, within the cone of solicitor-client privilege.
- Pre-litigation strategies. We regularly advise clients pre-litigation, offering strategic advice to plan a litigation strategy, or to position themselves favorably before legal proceedings. Litigation can be a blunt instrument with immense downstream consequences. We harness our experience with the litigation process and methodical analysis and to help clients understand what those may be, and to plan a tailored litigation strategy to achieve their specific objectives.
- Settlement negotiations. Sometimes settlement negotiations come in the course of a litigation matter, but others happen in advance, between business partners or competitors looking for an efficient, confidential, and cost-effective resolution that avoids the time, expense, and publicity of litigation. We regularly assist clients in such negotiations, helping them to understand their risk and exposure and their chances of success in contemplated litigation.
- Appeals and Judicial Review. We regularly provide clients with opinions on the merits of an appeal or judicial review proceeding. We do this for our existing clients (for whom we acted at first instance), and also for clients who had other representation and may be looking for a second opinion, or for new counsel to assist on appeal.
- Statutory Accountability Frameworks. We act as legal counsel to Integrity Commissioners for several municipalities and school boards in Ontario, providing legal advice in relation to their various statutory functions. We provide behind-the-scenes advice and opinions to assist their advisory, investigatory, and reporting functions. We also act under their delegated authority to undertake investigations and report on alleged code violations.