Headquarters:

4130-77 King St. West, Toronto, ON

Year founded:

1979

Number of employees:

Phone:

416 593 7200

Email:

reception@stockwoods.ca

Website:

stockwoods.ca

LinkedIn:

ca.linkedin.com/company/stockwoods-llp

Luisa Ritacca

Managing Partner

Brian Gover

Partner

Andrea Gonsalves

Partner

Leadership

Luisa Ritacca has been the managing partner of Stockwoods LLP since 2018. Her practice encompasses a wide variety of areas, including administrative law and commercial litigation. From 2016 until 2021, she was a part-member of the Licence Appeal Tribunal. She is counsel for Sport Integrity Canada and acts as independent legal counsel for several regulated health colleges and administrative tribunals across the province. In that role, she provides substantive and procedural advice during hearings as well as ongoing training for adjudicators. In 2013, she was appointed by former Chief Justice Warren Winkler to act as court monitor in the administration of two pan-Canadian settlements involving the tainted blood scandal, as well as the settlement involving water contamination in Walkerton, ON. In addition, Ritacca is frequently retained to conduct workplace investigations for law firms and other private companies.

Managing Partner

Luisa Ritacca

Brian Gover is currently recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada™ in seven categories: Criminal Defence, Health Care Law, Appellate Practice, Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Aboriginal Law/Indigenous Practice, and Administrative and Public Law. In recognition of his excellence as an advocate and his service to clients, Gover was inducted into the Order of Ontario in 2025 and awarded the Law Society Medal in 2022 and the Advocates’ Society Medal in 2026. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Partner

Brian Gover

Andrea Gonsalves is a partner at Stockwoods LLP. Clients value her sound judgment, strategic advice, and strong courtroom advocacy. Her practice spans defamation and media law, commercial litigation, administrative and regulatory law, and appeals, often where they intersect. She appears before Ontario and federal courts, and regulators have retained her for sensitive enforcement proceedings. Gonsalves clerked at the Court of Appeal for Ontario and for Justice Louis LeBel of the Supreme Court of Canada. She has taught administrative law for over a decade. Best Lawyers named her 2022 and 2026 Toronto Lawyer of the Year for Defamation and Media Law.

Partner

Andrea Gonsalves

Gerald Chan

Partner

Gerald Chan practises criminal, regulatory, and professional liability litigation. Chan has been named White-Collar Crime/Enforcement Litigator of the Year (Benchmark Litigation, 2023), Criminal Defence Lawyer of the Year, Toronto (Best Lawyers, 2024), and Administrative & Public Law Lawyer of the Year, Toronto (Best Lawyers, 2027). Chan is equally adept at trials and appeals. He is a fellow and board member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is also an advocacy advisor with the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, having been counsel in over 25 appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada. Chan is an elected bencher of the Law Society of Ontario. He also serves as chair of the Law Foundation of Ontario and vice-chair of the Law Society Tribunal, Appeal Division.

Partner

Gerald Chan

Paul Le Vay

Partner

Paul Le Vay’s practice is focused on corporate-commercial and securities litigation, professional liability, employment law, and professional discipline and regulation. He has acted for companies and individuals in complex commercial trials and arbitrations, shareholder disputes, class actions, and in proceedings before securities regulators. He has represented corporate officers and directors in both civil and regulatory litigation. He has advised on and conducted internal investigations. Le Vay acts for lawyers and other professionals in errors and omissions claims. He is bilingual and conducts trials and appeals in both French and English. He also acts as an arbitrator and mediator. Le Vay is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Partner

Paul Le Vay

Brendan van Niejenhuis

Partner

Samuel Robinson

Partner

Nader R. Hasan

Partner

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Brendan van Niejenhuis practises complex civil and regulatory litigation, including intellectual property disputes. He regularly acts on matters of public significance, including as counsel in Canada v. Vavilov, the Supreme Court’s restatement of the law of judicial review; as senior counsel to the Government of Canada before the Public Order Emergency Commission and the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference; prosecuting police misconduct arising from the Toronto G20; representing First Nations in claims against the Crown; and enforcing federal privacy legislation against Meta (Facebook). He has taught administrative law for nearly 20 years and is a senior fellow of Massey College.

Partner

Brendan van Niejenhuis

Samuel Robinson practises corporate/commercial litigation and class action defence. He regularly represents shareholders, officers, and directors of both public and private corporations. Robinson has extensive experience in disputes related to the interpretation and enforcement of contractual rights. Robinson advises both dissident shareholders and boards of directors in fights for control of public corporations. His practice includes shareholder oppression proceedings, securities litigation, class action defence, commercial arbitrations, contractual disputes, fiduciary duty claims, fraud litigation, real estate finance disputes, and insurance coverage matters.

Partner

Samuel Robinson

Nader R. Hasan is a partner at Stockwoods LLP in Toronto, where he practises criminal, regulatory, and constitutional law. His practice spans trial advocacy and appellate litigation, and he works as a special advocate in national security proceedings. Hasan teaches at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and serves as vice-chair of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Partner

Nader R. Hasan

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Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

“Swimming is more than a sport – it is an essential life skill that can save lives. Aquastar Swim Schools believes every child deserves the skills, confidence and awareness to stay safe around water, regardless of their background or access to private lessons”

Gareth Cope, Aquastar Swim Schools

“Aquastar Swim Schools strives to be a genuine extension of each school community, delivering safe, organised and flexible programs tailored to individual needs. Great service goes beyond swimming lessons – it means building trust, supporting families and creating positive outcomes for students”

Peter Smith, Aquastar Swim Schools

Stockwoods LLP has been a leading Toronto-based litigation boutique since its founding in 1979. The firm’s practice is unique among top-ranked litigation firms, ranging from high-stakes commercial litigation through all forms of regulatory and administrative matters, to sophisticated criminal litigation. Its lawyers appear regularly before Ontario and Federal Courts, the Supreme Court of Canada and in other jurisdictions across Canada, as well as before a wide range of administrative tribunals. The firm is highly regarded for consistent top-quality lawyering throughout its ranks, from senior partners to junior associates, as well as for outstanding individual practice expertise in areas such as professional regulation and liability, securities law, defamation and media law, appeals and judicial reviews, regulatory and public law, class actions, national security matters, and intellectual property enforcement. The firm’s lawyers appear routinely in high-profile public disputes before the courts, and they also frequently advise and represent clients on difficult challenges outside the public eye.

Water safety for every child For some families, where cost or access is a barrier, a school program may be the only structured swimming and water safety education their child receives, which is why Aquastar’s School Swimming and Water Safety Program goes beyond swimming lessons. Each swimmer is assessed against age- and ability-appropriate skills and receives certificates and water safety education resources, giving schools measurable evidence of progress alongside the harder-to-measure gains in confidence and independence. Aquastar’s commitment to children extends past the lessons themselves, with scholarships, fundraising, Giving Days and employment opportunities for young people carrying Aquastar's community focus beyond the pool. The company's read on the future stays close to that purpose: expanding practical learn to swim and water safety, reaching more children through school partnerships, and continuing to invest in the next generation of teachers and supervisors. Recognition in The Educator’s Service Provider Awards for 2026 reflects a business that has grown quickly while keeping its founding priorities intact – helping more children become confident, capable and safe in the water.