How long has Babin Bessner Spry been in Toronto?

Edward Babin founded the firm in 2009. Cynthia Spry became a partner in 2010 and Ellen Bessner joined in 2014, which is when the firm took its current name.

Does Babin Bessner Spry handle securities regulatory matters?

Yes. The firm's securities litigation practice includes matters before the Ontario Securities Commission and CIRO (formerly the MFDA and IIROC).

Can Babin Bessner Spry represent a company or shareholder in an oppression claim?

Yes, shareholder oppression and derivative actions are a listed practice area, alongside broader corporate governance disputes such as director and officer liability.

Does the firm take on class actions?

Yes, class actions are one of the firm's practice areas, alongside its wider commercial and securities litigation work.

Babin Bessner Spry LLP | LawOnline Directory

About Babin Bessner Spry LLP

Babin Bessner Spry LLP is a litigation firm based in downtown Toronto, at 185 Frederick Street in the city's St. Lawrence neighbourhood. Edward Babin founded the firm in 2009, after working as a partner at Torys LLP and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. Cynthia Spry joined as a partner the following year, and Ellen Bessner joined in 2014 after 25 years of practice at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Gowling WLG, giving the firm its current three name form. It has since grown to six partners and nine associates.

The firm's practice covers commercial and securities disputes, class actions, shareholder oppression and corporate governance claims, insolvency, employment matters, and competition proceedings. Chambers and Partners places Babin Bessner Spry in its Highly Regarded band for General Commercial Litigation in Canada, and Canadian Lawyer magazine included the firm on its 2022 list of Top Litigation Boutiques. Partner Ellen Bessner also hosts the Financial Prosperity Podcast, a show about communication between investors and their financial advisors.

Practice areas

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Class Actions

Employment & Labour Law

Insurance Law

Indigenous Law

Business & Corporate Law

Administrative & Regulatory Law

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Milestones & recognition

Edward Babin founded the firm in 2009, after working as a partner at Torys LLP and Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP.
Cynthia Spry joined as a partner in 2010, after practising in the litigation groups at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP.
Ellen Bessner joined the firm in 2014 after 25 years of practice at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Gowling WLG, giving the firm its current name.
Chambers and Partners places the firm in its Highly Regarded band for General Commercial Litigation in Canada.
Canadian Lawyer magazine included the firm on its 2022 list of Top Litigation Boutiques.

In the community

Firm founder Edward Babin has served for many years as board chair of the Pollution Probe Foundation.
Babin founded the Tyson Bailey Fund, a Toronto based charity that provides support and financial assistance to disadvantaged and at risk youth.
Babin has coached minor football and hockey in the North Toronto area, including years on the board of the North Toronto Hockey Association.
A partner at the firm helped raise more than $125,000 for a public interest bursary at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A laptop showing a video call

Virtual appointments An office interior with a desk and chairs

In-person services

Lawyers 15

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1987–2025 · median 8 years in practice 15 of 15 lawyers
Law schools: Osgoode Hall Law School (4), University of Windsor (3), Queen's University (2), McGill University, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and 3 more 15 of 15 lawyers
Languages on the roster: French, Spanish

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

The firm's office is on Frederick Street in Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood, an area bounded by Yonge, Front, and Parliament Streets and the rail corridor. It's one of the city's oldest districts, once the first industrial part of the town of York, and it's kept a public market going at Front and Jarvis since 1803, the market that grew into today's St. Lawrence Market a short walk from the firm's door.

In the 1970s the neighbourhood went through an urban renewal project that mixed commercial and residential uses and both subsidized and market housing, instead of the large scale demolition common in that era, and it became a reference point for how other Canadian cities planned new downtown neighbourhoods afterward. It's a quieter, older stretch of downtown than the bank towers most Toronto commercial litigation firms work out of, closer in feel to a market town than a financial district.

Frequently asked questions

What areas of law does Babin Bessner Spry handle?: The firm focuses on litigation: commercial and securities disputes, class actions, shareholder oppression and corporate governance claims, insolvency, employment matters, and competition proceedings. It doesn't offer a general practice outside litigation.
How long has Babin Bessner Spry been in Toronto?: Edward Babin founded the firm in 2009. Cynthia Spry became a partner in 2010 and Ellen Bessner joined in 2014, which is when the firm took its current name.
Does Babin Bessner Spry handle securities regulatory matters?: Yes. The firm's securities litigation practice includes matters before the Ontario Securities Commission and CIRO (formerly the MFDA and IIROC).
Can Babin Bessner Spry represent a company or shareholder in an oppression claim?: Yes, shareholder oppression and derivative actions are a listed practice area, alongside broader corporate governance disputes such as director and officer liability.
Does the firm take on class actions?: Yes, class actions are one of the firm's practice areas, alongside its wider commercial and securities litigation work.
Where is Babin Bessner Spry located?: The firm's office is at 185 Frederick Street in Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood, close to St. Lawrence Market.

Where to find them

101-185 Frederick Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 4L4 · 416-637-3244

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Listing compiled from the firm’s public website in July 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗