Baker & Company
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.4 lawyers · Established 1989 · City of Toronto
One of 2,276 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 462 handling Business & Corporate Law.
About Baker & Company
Baker & Company began with a simple aim: give the owners and managers of privately held companies a small team of business-minded lawyers of their own. Mark G. Baker founded the Toronto firm in 1989 after working in a big-firm setting, where smaller and mid-sized businesses soon found they didn't belong. More than 30 years later it's still serving clients across Toronto and the surrounding area, and it acts for more than 400 active Canadian companies.
The practice covers corporate and commercial law, real estate, employment, wills and estates, expropriation and hotel law, along with a dedicated service for foreign companies doing business in Canada. In expropriation matters, Baker & Company acts only for the people affected, such as property owners and business owners, and never for the government or another expropriating body. Hotel owners and franchise owners are a long-standing client group, and the firm's lawyers have represented hotel industry clients throughout Ontario for many years.
Mark G. Baker, the firm's principal, holds an LL.M. from Cornell, was called to the Ontario bar in 1981 and is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Corporate and Commercial Law. Counsel David Hamilton, also called in 1981, previously practised at a large international firm, advising banks and other financial institutions, companies and real estate investors. Counsel Eric Kay, called in 1983, earlier worked as a major financial institution's district counsel and now practises employment law and commercial litigation. Associate Liana Rossi was called in 2014, earned a J.D. at Bond University in Australia and joined the firm in January 2016.
Teranet lets Baker & Company complete real estate transactions anywhere in Ontario, so a cottage purchase can close without the client leaving town.
Practice areas
Corporate and commercial work
Baker & Company offers business consulting as well as legal work, helping owners write a business plan, incorporate, set a tax strategy, brand a product and plan for growth. Its mergers and acquisitions clients include public and private enterprises in fields such as hospitality, manufacturing, construction and retail. Ongoing corporate files run from partnership and shareholder agreements to share purchases and professional corporation services.
Charities and not-for-profits
Charities and not-for-profit organizations turn to the firm for help with everything from applying for charitable status and incorporating to employment questions and defamation.
Doing business in Canada
For more than 30 years the firm has guided companies that want to set up business in Canada. Planning starts with a corporate structure built to be tax efficient, shield owners from personal liability and split authority and profit fairly among stakeholders and key staff.
Employment law for both sides
Baker & Company acts for employers and employees alike, on matters from contracts and workplace policies to WSIB issues and wrongful dismissal. Eric Kay's practice includes drafting workplace documents and policies, advising on discipline and terminations, enforcing restrictive covenants, and acting in wrongful dismissal and human rights proceedings.
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Residential, commercial and lender work
Residential clients get help buying or selling a home, cottage, investment property or vacant land, from start to finish. On the commercial side, the firm has advised on purchases and sales of development land, hotels, condos, shopping centres and other property, and its lender-side work supports large financial institutions with secured and asset-based loans and commercial mortgages.
Estates and trusts
Estate planning here draws on the firm's corporate and real estate experience as well as wills and estates law. Its lawyers design trusts of many kinds, including alter-ego, cottage, Henson and insurance trusts, plan succession for family-owned businesses, and handle lifetime transfers of homes and estate administration.
Expropriation
Baker & Company's expropriation lawyers have more than 30 years of experience acting for those affected. They explain clients' rights, meet notice deadlines, challenge low compensation offers and take claims to the Ontario Land Tribunal when needed, for residential, commercial, agricultural and industrial properties.
Hotel law
Hotel owners and prospective owners get advice on property improvement plans, franchise and license agreements, staff, and financing an acquisition. The firm acts for owners and franchisees of small and large hotels, franchised or not, across Ontario, and its employment lawyers can advise unionized hotel employers on collective bargaining and discipline.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessible
By appointmentHow Baker & Company works
Files at Baker & Company are handled by teams of lawyers and law clerks with complementary skills. Senior lawyers design a solution for each client, an associate supports them with research, and clerks look after documents and logistics. The model is meant to keep senior lawyers free to talk with clients, deal with surprises and keep matters on track, and it lets the firm charge blended hourly rates that lower the total bill.
When a corporate dispute comes up, the firm's practice is to work toward negotiation, mediation or arbitration and keep the matter out of court, and its style in negotiations is non-confrontational, with weight on relationships and a positive corporate culture. Overhead stays lean too: the boardroom is professional, but there's no art collection, circular staircase or grand lobby of the kind that shows up in larger firms' hourly rates. Lawyers carry smartphones or iPads tied to client email, so urgent messages reach them when the office is closed or they're out on an assignment.
Affiliations & connections
- Ontario Expropriation Association: Mark G. Baker and Liana Rossi are members of the Ontario Expropriation Association.
- Toronto Lawyers' Association: Eric Kay and Liana Rossi are members of the Toronto Lawyers' Association.
Lawyers 4
Certified Specialists
A designation granted by the Law Society of Ontario, not a self-declared area of focus.
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1981–2014 · median 44 years in practice 4 of 4 lawyers
- Law schools
- Queen's University (2), Bond University, Western University 4 of 4 lawyers
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The office is Suite 2101 at 130 Adelaide Street West, the address of Oxford Tower. Completed in 1979 and named for its landlord, Oxford Properties, the tower is part of the Richmond-Adelaide Centre, stands 137 metres tall with 33 storeys above ground, and links to Toronto's underground PATH network.
City Hall, the courts and most provincial government offices are close by. Osgoode Hall, which houses the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court and the Law Society of Ontario's Great Library, is a single block away. Public transit serves the location, and drivers can reach it from the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it cost anything to get Baker & Company's help with an expropriation?
- A first consultation on an expropriation matter is free. After that, an owner's legal help is often of no cost to them, because by statute the expropriating authority has to pay reasonable legal costs tied to the expropriation process.
- Can Baker & Company help my franchised hotel comply with its property improvement plan?
- Baker & Company's hotel lawyers advise franchisees on meeting their franchise obligations, including compliance with a property improvement plan (PIP). The firm also helps owners get ready for upcoming capital improvements and replacements while the business keeps running.
- My company is based outside Canada. Can Baker & Company introduce me to bankers, accountants and immigration lawyers here?
- Baker & Company acts as a local representative for businesses coming into Canada and can introduce them to realtors, leasing agents, accounting firms and bankers so they can secure the space they need. If work permits or visas are required, the firm will introduce clients to immigration lawyers who can guide them through it.
- Does Baker & Company really get back to clients the same day?
- Baker & Company's service commitment is a reply to every phone call or email on the day it arrives, frequently within two hours of contact. Once engaged, the firm talks through the client's timing, sticks to agreed deadlines and keeps the client updated as the matter moves forward.
- On a Baker & Company real estate deal, will I deal with my lawyer or only a law clerk?
- Baker & Company makes sure real estate clients can reach and work with their own lawyer, rather than only the law clerks, for the whole transaction.
- Can Baker & Company incorporate my business online the same day I ask?
- Baker & Company incorporates companies online on the same day the service is requested. Documents go to clients by email, and closings often happen without a formal closing meeting.
Where to find them
130 Adelaide St W, Suite 2101, Toronto, ON M5H 3P5 · 416-777-0100
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Employment & Labour LawBusiness & Corporate LawConstruction LawThis 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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