How long has Bell Temple LLP been practising law in Toronto?

Bell Temple LLP was founded in 1945 and reached its 80th anniversary in 2025. It has practised continuously in the city since then.

Does Bell Temple LLP represent policyholders as well as insurance companies?

Yes. The firm describes its litigation practice as serving insurers and their policyholders, alongside its work defending insurance claims.

Can Bell Temple LLP help with a data breach or privacy complaint?

The firm has a dedicated privacy and cybersecurity practice covering data breach response and regulatory compliance, and it has sponsored NetDiligence's Cyber Risk Summit in Toronto.

Does Bell Temple LLP handle employment and wrongful dismissal claims?

Yes, employment litigation, including wrongful dismissal disputes, is one of the areas the firm lists under its commercial and general litigation practice.

Is there a way for regulated health professionals to get free legal advice from Bell Temple LLP?

Members of participating professional associations can call the firm's pro bono hotline for confidential advice on issues that could lead to a College complaint or malpractice claim. The service is limited to health professionals such as physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers.

Bell Temple LLP | LawOnline Directory

About Bell Temple LLP

Bell Temple LLP is a Toronto litigation firm founded in 1945 that marked its 80th anniversary in 2025. It has practised continuously in the city since then, focusing on insurance defence and related civil litigation for insurers and their policyholders. The practice covers commercial and general liability, motor vehicle and occupiers' liability defence, construction and property disputes, statutory accident benefits, medical malpractice and health discipline matters, class actions, and privacy and cybersecurity claims. The team is built around senior counsel, partners, associates and articling students, and most of the firm's partners articled there and have stayed for their entire legal careers.

Bell Temple's lawyers travel throughout Ontario and appear at every level of court, from Small Claims Court to the Court of Appeal, and have argued matters before the Supreme Court of Canada. The firm has been recognized more than once among Canadian Lawyer Magazine's Top Insurance Litigation Boutiques list and was named to Best Law Firms 2026 (Canada). It also runs a dedicated pro bono hotline and representation program for regulated health professionals, including physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers, who face College complaints, discipline proceedings or malpractice claims.

Practice areas

Insurance Law

Personal Injury

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Class Actions

Construction Law

Administrative & Regulatory Law

Employment & Labour Law

Immigration Law

Business & Corporate Law

Real Estate Law

Wills, Estates & Trusts

Health Law

Milestones & recognition

Bell Temple LLP was founded in 1945 and marked its 80th anniversary in 2025.
The firm has been recognized more than once among Canadian Lawyer Magazine's Top Insurance Litigation Boutiques list, previously described as the Top 10 Insurance Litigation Boutiques.
Bell Temple LLP was named to Best Law Firms 2026 (Canada).
One of the firm's partners has been named to Best Lawyers in Canada for Insurance Law in successive years.
Another of the firm's partners has appeared on Post City Magazines and Streets of Toronto's Best Lawyers lists in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

In the community

Bell Temple LLP runs a pro bono hotline and representation program for regulated health professionals, including physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers, who face College complaints, discipline proceedings or malpractice claims.
The firm donated to Brantford Native Housing in observance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
It raised $3,500 for the Daily Bread Food Bank, and has also supported the food bank through the Blakes Law Firm Challenge and by running in the Toronto Marathon.
Bell Temple LLP sponsors the Canadian Osteogenesis Imperfecta Society's Charity Golf Classic.
The firm has supported the Young Women in Law Charity Gala, which raises funds for the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program, a service that provides free legal assistance to unrepresented appellants.
It sponsored NetDiligence's Cyber Risk Summit in Toronto in 2023, an event tied to its privacy and cybersecurity practice.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A calendar with a checkmark beside a clock

By appointment

Lawyers 49

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1980–2025 · median 7 years in practice 46 of 49 lawyers
Law schools: University of Windsor (12), Osgoode Hall Law School (9), University of Ottawa (7), Queen's University (3), University of Toronto (2), University of Western Ontario (2) and 10 more 45 of 49 lawyers

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

Bell Temple's office is at 70 York Street, Suite 900, in Toronto's Financial District. The tower was completed in 1990, but it incorporates the facades of commercial buildings dating to 1889 that once stood at the same address, and it carries a partial heritage designation because of them.

The address puts the firm among the banks, insurers and corporate head offices that make up the Financial District, a natural setting for a firm whose work centres on defending insurers and policyholders in litigation.

Frequently asked questions

How long has Bell Temple LLP been practising law in Toronto?: Bell Temple LLP was founded in 1945 and reached its 80th anniversary in 2025. It has practised continuously in the city since then.
Does Bell Temple LLP represent policyholders as well as insurance companies?: Yes. The firm describes its litigation practice as serving insurers and their policyholders, alongside its work defending insurance claims.
Can Bell Temple LLP help with a data breach or privacy complaint?: The firm has a dedicated privacy and cybersecurity practice covering data breach response and regulatory compliance, and it has sponsored NetDiligence's Cyber Risk Summit in Toronto.
Does Bell Temple LLP handle employment and wrongful dismissal claims?: Yes, employment litigation, including wrongful dismissal disputes, is one of the areas the firm lists under its commercial and general litigation practice.
Is there a way for regulated health professionals to get free legal advice from Bell Temple LLP?: Members of participating professional associations can call the firm's pro bono hotline for confidential advice on issues that could lead to a College complaint or malpractice claim. The service is limited to health professionals such as physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers.
What courts does Bell Temple LLP appear in?: Its lawyers travel throughout Ontario and appear at every level of court, from Small Claims Court to the Court of Appeal, and have argued matters before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Where to find them

70 York Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M5J 1S9 · 416-581-8204

Similar firms in City of Toronto

Miller Thomson LLP

28 lawyers

Miller Thomson LLP is a national, full-service business law firm with offices across Canada. Its lawyers work in corporate and commercial law, litigation, real estate, construction, insurance, tax, labour and employme…

Business & Corporate Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Construction Law

Insurance Law

Dickinson Wright

74 lawyers · Est. 1878

Dickinson Wright is a large North American law firm with more than 550 lawyers across roughly 40 practice areas, headquartered in Detroit and tracing its history to 1878. It has a Toronto office at Commerce Court West…

Business & Corporate Law

Real Estate Law

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Employment & Labour Law

Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP

122 lawyers · Est. 1973

Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP is a full-service law firm based in Vancouver, with additional offices in Toronto and Kelowna. Founded in 1973, the firm has more than 100 lawyers who handle litigation, dispute re…

Administrative & Regulatory Law

Employment & Labour Law

Family Law

Wills, Estates & Trusts

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