Birenbaum, Steinberg, Landau, Savin & Colraine, LLP
15 lawyers · Established 1947 · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 579 handling Family Law.
About Birenbaum, Steinberg, Landau, Savin & Colraine, LLP
Birenbaum, Steinberg, Landau, Savin & Colraine, LLP (BSLSC) is a small litigation and business law firm at Yonge and Bloor in downtown Toronto. The firm traces back to 1947, when it was founded by David A. Croll, a former mayor of Windsor who went on to become Canada's first Jewish senator, and Norman Borins, a trial lawyer and former assistant Crown attorney. Over the following decades the practice changed names several times, from Croll, Borins & Shiff in the 1950s to Borins, Goldberg & Birenbaum in the 1960s, before settling on its current name in the 1990s.
The firm handles family law, commercial litigation and insolvency, corporate and commercial law, real estate, estate planning, employment law, insurance litigation, and product liability, acting for individuals as well as manufacturers, financial institutions, insurance carriers, and real estate developers. It has stayed deliberately small, and partners work alongside associates across practice areas instead of handing clients between departments. Nicola Savin, whose name is now part of the firm's own, became its first female partner in the 1990s and built its family law and collaborative divorce practice from there.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Founded in 1947 in Toronto by David A. Croll, later Canada's first Jewish senator, and Norman Borins, a former assistant Crown attorney.
- Went through several names as the partnership changed: Croll, Borins & Shiff in the 1950s, then Borins, Goldberg & Birenbaum in the 1960s, arriving at the current name in the 1990s.
- Norman Borins chaired the Forest Hill Board of Education in the 1950s.
- Stephen Borins served as co-counsel to the Royal Commission Inquiry into Civil Rights in the 1960s.
- Nicola Savin became the firm's first female partner in the 1990s and later received the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation's Advanced Collaborative Professional accreditation and its James C. MacDonald Award.
- The firm is included in Best Law Firms 2026, and Nicola Savin is recognized in Best Lawyers.
In the community
- Nicola Savin is a guest instructor in Osgoode Hall Law School's Intensive Trial Advocacy course and its Master of Laws program in family law and alternative dispute resolution, and is a past president of both the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation and Collaborative Practice Toronto.
- Nicola Savin has served as a past president and director of Jessie's Non-Profit Homes and as a past vice-president and director of Jessie's Centre for Teenagers, a Toronto organization for pregnant and parenting teens.
- Craig Colraine is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the County of York Law Association, the Advocates Society, the Lawyers Club, and the Osgoode Society, and has served as a guest judge for Osgoode Hall Law School's Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessible
By appointmentLawyers 15
Bailey Duller
Partner
Family LawWills, Estates & Trusts
Craig Colraine
Partner
Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Freeman Choi
Associate
Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Jim Tan
Associate
Family Law
Kaitlyn Zarcone-Beam
Associate
Family Law
Mario Merocchi
Partner
Real Estate Law
Martyn Siek
Associate
Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Nicola Savin
Partner
Family LawWills, Estates & Trusts
Nikita Tanwar
Associate
Real Estate LawBusiness & Corporate Law
Olivia Mann-Foster
Associate
Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Sarah Smart
Associate
Real Estate LawWills, Estates & Trusts
Spencer Heath
Partner
Real Estate LawBusiness & Corporate Law
Stratis Blanas
Associate
Real Estate Law
Vladislav Lynsaght
Associate
Administrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Yunjae Kim
Partner
Family Law
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1982–2022 · median 12 years in practice 12 of 15 lawyers
- Law schools
- Osgoode Hall Law School (4), University of Toronto (2), University of Western Ontario (2), Amity Law School, Noida, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, University of Birmingham and 4 more 15 of 15 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- English, German, Korean, Mandarin, Russian
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
BSLSC's office sits at 33 Bloor Street East, right where Yonge and Bloor meet in downtown Toronto. The firm's contact page notes that the Yonge-Bloor subway station is directly beneath the building, so clients arriving by TTC can reach the office without stepping outside, and it lists several Green P parking lots nearby for anyone driving in.
It's a commercial stretch of the city rather than a residential one, lined with office towers and retail instead of a single courthouse or government building. That fits a practice built more around business, real estate, and family law clients coming downtown for a meeting than around proximity to any one institution.
Frequently asked questions
- How long has BSLSC been practising law in Toronto?
- The firm traces back to 1947, when Senator David A. Croll and Norman Borins opened a practice in the city. It went through several name changes over the following decades before becoming Birenbaum, Steinberg, Landau, Savin & Colraine in the 1990s.
- Does BSLSC only litigate divorces, or does it offer other options?
- The firm's family law group offers collaborative divorce, mediation, traditional negotiation, and litigation or arbitration, and describes trying to fit the process to what a family needs rather than defaulting straight to court.
- Can BSLSC help incorporate a small business?
- The corporate and commercial group works with clients ranging from national corporations to individual entrepreneurs, and describes supporting a business from incorporation through to a later merger or acquisition.
- Does the firm handle estate litigation as well as wills?
- Yes. Nicola Savin's practice covers family law and estate litigation, and the firm's estate planning group also prepares wills and handles the administration of estates.
- I'm a licensed professional facing a regulatory complaint, not a lawsuit. Can BSLSC help?
- Craig Colraine's practice includes representing professionals before regulatory bodies such as the Ontario College of Pharmacists and the Ontario College of Nurses, in addition to commercial litigation and insolvency work.
- Where is the office and how do I get there?
- BSLSC is at 33 Bloor Street East, Suite 1000, in downtown Toronto. Its contact page notes that the Yonge-Bloor subway station sits directly beneath the building, with several Green P parking lots nearby for those driving in.
Where to find them
33 Bloor Street East, Suite 1000, Toronto, ON M4W 3H1 · 416-961-4100
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