Drake Law
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.10 lawyers · Middlesex County (London), Lambton County (Sarnia), Waterloo Region and 5 more locations
One of 188 law firms listed in London, and one of 46 handling Family Law.
About Drake Law
Clients rate this firm highly on Google.
Drake Law is a London, Ontario firm built around three kinds of work: family law, estate planning and real estate. London is home to the head office, and the firm runs branches in Windsor, Sarnia, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Oakville, Mississauga and Toronto. It also takes on clients from places where it doesn't keep an office, St. Thomas, Woodstock, Cambridge and Brantford among them.
John C. Drake is the firm's president and founder. Drake grew up in London and took both a BA and an LLB at Western University. The founder's career has run through the courtroom, as a litigator on complex civil files and high-profile criminal cases, and through business: Drake was a partner in the private equity firm Drake Goodwin, helping it buy and sell companies, mostly in the United States, and co-founded Access Self Storage and Storage Vault.
The lawyers are senior counsel and associate lawyers, and they're supported by law clerks and legal assistants. English is the main working language, though some lawyers can also communicate in French, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian or German, and the office will pair a client with one of them if asked at first contact.
Backgrounds on the team vary. Avram Joseph was a Professional Regulation lawyer at the Law Society of Ontario before going back to private practice. Tinnish Andersen was called to the bar in Ontario in 2006 and in the Northwest Territories in 2023, and Preet Pannu acts as duty counsel in courthouses around the province.
History
John C. Drake founded the Drake Law Group, which brings together practices with long local roots and backs them with Drake Law's resources, technology and operations. The group works with established lawyers and sole practitioners who are weighing their next chapter; for them, that can mean an Of Counsel role at Drake Law and a retirement knowing their clients and staff are in good hands.
John Horn Law is one example. John D. Horn spent more than thirty years serving London-area clients in real estate, wills and corporate work, then moved the practice into Drake Law in 2024. It's now a Drake Law Group affiliate, and Horn stays on as Of Counsel, seeing clients on a reduced schedule.
Bates Law followed in 2026. Tom Bates had spent over fifty years serving the Westmount community in real estate and estate planning; the practice merged into Drake Law and became a group affiliate, and Bates carries on as Of Counsel with a lighter schedule. In Sarnia, Janet M. Whitehead chose Drake Law to carry on Whitehead Law & Mediation after more than thirty years of helping Sarnia and Lambton County families settle disputes, and the group still serves that community from the same Front Street office.
Practice areas
Collaborative law and mediation
In the firm's collaborative process, everyone signs a participation agreement at the start, and the lawyers work with clients, their former partners and outside professionals such as financial advisors to help families through divorce, parenting arrangements, child and spousal support, and property division. Family mediation is available too, with Avram Joseph acting as family lawyer and mediator.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Residential and commercial deals
The real estate group acts on both residential and commercial transactions, from condo purchases and investment properties to private sales and mortgage financing. Paul M. Siskind's work centres on real estate and mortgage financing, including secured lending.
Estate administration and planning
For executors and estate trustees, the firm handles administration at every step, from the probate application through debts, distribution and the tax filings an estate requires. On the planning side, Zach Remen has recorded a video on estate planning for blended families.
Commercial work
Zach Remen's practice centres on corporate-commercial and real estate work, and one of the firm's videos has Remen talking through commercial real estate transactions.
Good to know
Accessible parking
By appointmentFees & payment
Hourly
Flat feeHow Drake Law works
Drake Law's family lawyers try to settle things amicably, using mediation or a collaborative process where that suits the case, and they're ready to litigate hard when a situation calls for it. The firm's vision is to deliver family, real estate and estate planning services that are accessible and efficient, using new technology and client-centred strategies.
You set the general direction of your matter. Your lawyer explains each available option along with its pros, cons and costs, usually makes a recommendation, and leaves the final decision with you. Fees are usually charged by the hour or on a time basis.
Milestones & recognition
- Paul M. Siskind's call to the Ontario Bar came in 1962, and the Queen's Counsel appointment followed in 1977.
In the community
- Drake Law has established the Drake Law Future Lawyers Scholarship, a yearly $5,000 award for a student from Canada. Tenisha Noel received it in 2026, picked from nearly 90 applicants across the country.
- Thomas A. Bates has sat on the boards of the Cystic Fibrosis Society of London and Bethany's Hope Foundation.
- Preet Pannu has served on the board of Knights Table, a community group working on food insecurity.
- Pannu also teaches and mentors students training as legal assistants, law clerks and paralegals at Ontario colleges.
Affiliations & connections
- Middlesex Law Association: John C. Drake and Eyad Shhap of Drake Law are members of the Middlesex Law Association.
- York Region Law Association: Avram Joseph of Drake Law is a member of the York Region Law Association.
- Canadian Bar Association: John C. Drake and Eyad Shhap are both Canadian Bar Association members.
- London Chamber of Commerce: Drake Law is a member of the London Chamber of Commerce.
Lawyers 10
Avram Joseph
Senior Counsel, Family Law
Family Law
Evgenia Karakehayova
Associate Lawyer, Family Law
Family LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Eyad Shhap
Associate Lawyer, Family Law
Family LawWills, Estates & Trusts
John C. Drake
President & Senior Counsel
Business & Corporate LawWills, Estates & Trusts
John D. Horn
Senior Counsel, Real Estate & Estate Planning (Of Counsel)
Real Estate LawWills, Estates & Trusts
Paul M. Siskind
Senior Counsel, Real Estate Law
Real Estate Law
Preet Pannu
Associate Lawyer, Family Law
Family Law
Thomas A. Bates
Senior Counsel, Wills & Estates Law
Real Estate LawWills, Estates & Trusts
Tinnish Andersen
Senior Counsel, Family Law
Family Law
Zach Remen
Associate Lawyer
Real Estate LawWills, Estates & Trusts
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1962–2025 · median 20 years in practice 7 of 10 lawyers
- Law schools
- Western University (5), Osgoode Hall Law School, University of Nottingham, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Windsor 10 of 10 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- Arabic, Bulgarian, English, French, German, Spanish
Who handles what
Offices 8
Show all 8 offices
The neighbourhood
The Kitchener-Waterloo branch sits in Suite 324 at 137 Glasgow Street, the Catalyst137 building. It began as a Uniroyal-Goodrich warehouse, built in 1957 to hold tires produced next door, and has since been redeveloped into 475,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space.
In London, the head office is in Suite 104 at 256 Pall Mall Street. Hamilton clients go to the Regus building at 21 King Street West, Suite 518 on the fifth floor, while the Mississauga office works by appointment only and meets clients in person or virtually.
Frequently asked questions
- Drake Law doesn't offer free consultations, so is the intake call free?
- Drake Law doesn't charge for the intake call, where you give the team basic information and hear about next steps. A consultation with a lawyer is paid, and the fee is confirmed before you book.
- Does Drake Law have a family lawyer with Peel Region experience who speaks Punjabi or Hindi?
- Drake Law associate Preet Pannu practises family law and has represented clients across Peel Region and nearby areas for more than a decade. Pannu is fluent in English, Punjabi and Hindi.
- Is there an Arabic-speaking family lawyer at Drake Law who practised in Syria?
- Drake Law's Eyad Shhap speaks English and Arabic fluently and practised family law in Syria for seven years before moving to Canada, work that included litigation and client advocacy.
- Why does Drake Law draw on real estate and estate law when drafting cohabitation agreements?
- Drake Law brings its background in family, real estate and estate law to cohabitation agreements, with the aim of producing agreements that are legally sound and enforceable. It encourages both partners to get Independent Legal Advice as part of a balanced, collaborative process.
- Does Drake Law draft wills for a flat fee?
- Yes. Some Drake Law services are billed at a flat rate, and will drafting is one of them.
- Can I close my Drake Law real estate deal remotely?
- Yes. Drake Law offers secure remote closings, so you can handle a transaction from anywhere without travelling to an office. Zach Remen also talks through buying a condo in one of the firm's videos.
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Civil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionThis listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on the firm’s own website. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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