Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP

The Canadian standard of trial court tenacity, public inquiry leadership, and comprehensive advocacy across both commercial and public law is embodied by Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP. Founded in Toronto in 2001 by four of Canada's most distinguished advocates—Chris Paliare O.Ont, LSM, Ian Roland, Ken Rosenberg, and Linda Rothstein O.Ont, LSM—the firm was established as an independent litigation powerhouse free from the institutional transactional constraints of large corporate full-service firms. Operating out of a single office on the 35th floor of the RBC Centre at 155 Wellington Street West, Paliare Roland fields more than 40 litigators and consistently commands top-tier Band 1 rankings in Chambers Canada for Dispute Resolution: Litigation (Ontario) and Labour & Employment (Ontario), while earning perpetual distinction from Benchmark Litigation and Lexpert.

Paliare Roland occupies a unique position in the Canadian legal landscape by maintaining premier practices in commercial litigation, regulatory defence, and public law alongside its historic labour and administrative law strengths. The firm's partners are routinely appointed as lead counsel to major public inquiries and royal commissions—including the Walkerton Water Inquiry, the Cornwall Inquiry, the Elliot Lake Inquiry, and the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry. The firm's advocates appear regularly before the Supreme Court of Canada, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Federal Court, and administrative tribunals, prosecuting and defending bet-the-company corporate disputes, professional liability claims, securities enforcement proceedings, and high-impact constitutional challenges.

On the recruitment front, Paliare Roland hires 4-6 second-year summer law students each November. The curriculum is built on direct apprenticeship and early courtroom immersion: students draft pleadings and motion materials, attend cross-examinations, witness interviews, and trials, and gain hands-on experience running their own Small Claims Court files. The firm occasionally participates in the LSO-regulated Toronto articling recruit, which takes place in July and August, rather than running a standing articling program every year. Operating from 155 Wellington Street West, Paliare Roland pairs rigorous advocacy standards with an unpretentious, highly collegiate culture.