Torys

Sheila Block

Sheila Block is one of the most recognized litigators in Canada. The depth of her experience, the exceptional quality of her advocacy skills, and her dedication to clients’ interests make her a highly sought-after advocate across all manner of disputes.Sheila is a senior trial and appellate counsel with a broad civil litigation practice, including corporate/commercial and securities litigation, intellectual property, defamation and administrative law cases. She has appeared as counsel at all levels of court in Canada and before international arbitrations and other tribunals.Sheila is the former chair of Torys’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice and a former chair of Torys’ Executive Committee.

Linda Plumpton

A highly accomplished advocate in commercial dispute resolution, class actions and competition and securities litigation, Linda Plumpton is known for her work in bet-the-company litigation and for her long track record defending clients in their most important disputes.Chair of the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice, Linda is a recognized leading practitioner for her vast experience across competition litigation, class action defence, corporate/commercial disputes and securities litigation. Linda has appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada, in all levels of court in Ontario and in the Federal Court, as well as before the Competition Tribunal and the Ontario Securities Commission. She also advises clients in the areas of public law, constitutional law and employment.Linda is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL).

Andrew Bernstein

Andrew provides clients with leading experience, deep knowledge and skilled advocacy to advance their interests in patent and commercial disputes, as well as appellate matters, in all levels of court.Andrew helps clients involved in numerous types of disputes, including intellectual property, commercial and public law matters. A significant portion of his practice involves patents, copyright, trademarks arising in the life sciences, information technology, media and other industries.Andrew’s commercial litigation practice includes considerable experience in class actions, licensing, contract and tort actions, frequently advising and defending traditional and new media clients on defamation and free expression issues. He also has a strong track record in public law matters, having acted for both public- and private-sector clients in administrative hearings, judicial reviews and constitutional law cases.Andrew is an experienced appellate lawyer. He has helped numerous clients navigate difficult appeals before the Ontario and Federal Courts of Appeal, as well as other appellate courts across the country in a wide variety of areas of substantive law, including contracts, patents, copyright, class actions, administrative and constitutional law. He has also argued several appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Gillian Dingle

A sophisticated and business-minded litigator with deep market insight, Gillian guides clients through the legal and regulatory developments on matters ranging from securities litigation to class actions.Gillian is the practice group leader for Torys’ litigation department and co-head of the firm’s securities defence practice. Her practice focuses on securities litigation and corporate disputes.On the securities side of her practice, Gillian frequently acts for capital market participants in securities class actions, professional liability claims and regulatory investigations involving the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Mutual Fund Dealers’ Association and the Ontario Securities Commission. As a complement to her securities regulatory work, she advises financial institutions on investigations involving consumer protection matters.Gillian also maintains an active commercial litigation practice, representing corporations in contested transaction matters, shareholder disputes, breach of contract claims and other business torts. She has appeared as counsel in all levels of court in Ontario, the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Yukon Court of Appeal.

Sarah Whitmore

From precedent-setting employment class actions to defamation and public law litigation, Sarah brings broad experience and skilled advocacy to her work with clients on all aspects of their disputes. Sarah maintains an active disputes practice with an emphasis on class actions, employment law, commercial litigation, public law and constitutional litigation. She has appeared as counsel at all levels of court in Ontario, in various administrative tribunals in Ontario (including the Human Rights Tribunal), the British Columbia Supreme Court, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Québec Superior Court, the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. Sarah is counsel to the defendants in a number of leading and precedent-setting employment national class actions, including the Canadian Hockey League, Canada Cartage and Livingston International, as well as a Canadian Schedule I bank in its defence to the first common issues trial to proceed on the merits in an employment class action in Canada. Sarah also assists clients in resolving claims involving allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment and related allegations of wrongful and constructive dismissal, frequently speaking and writing on legal matters related to sexual harassment and discrimination class actions. Sarah is also frequently involved in complex contract disputes, providing representation in all avenues of dispute resolution, as well as proactive advice to mitigate disputes in commercial transactions, joint venture relationships, shareholder arrangements and significant projects. Sarah also has a robust defamation practice and is an advocate for expansive protection for free expression, regularly representing media companies, authors, and individuals in a variety of defamation matters. In particular, Sarah acts on a number of cases engaging the right of complainants to report allegations of misconduct.