Brown & Burnes
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.6 lawyers · Established 1998 · City of Toronto
About Brown & Burnes
Brown & Burnes is a Toronto litigation firm that works only on insurance-related disputes, and most of the people it acts for are insurers. Its litigators advise and advocate for insurers and commercial clients, and they bring significant experience at trial and on appeal to that work.
John Burnes is now the senior partner, with more than 30 years spent solely on insurance litigation. The team also includes Dena Oberman, called to the bar in 1985, and an associate who joined in 2025 after articling at the Crown Law Office, Civil. Partner Grant Walsh has been at the firm since articling there and has done nothing but insurance defence since a 2006 call to the bar.
That work has taken the team into mediation and arbitration rooms, inquests, tribunal hearings and full trials, at levels from the Small Claims Court and the Ontario Court of Justice up to the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal.
History
Lyle Brown, Q.C. was called to the bar in 1964 and started out at a firm doing insurance litigation. In 1980 Brown set up Brown & Forbes, the predecessor of today's firm, and insurance-related litigation has been the work ever since.
John Burnes began practising at Brown & Forbes and was made a partner there in 1988. A decade later, in 1998, Burnes and E. Lyle Brown, Q.C. became the founding partners of Brown & Burnes.
Practice areas
Motor vehicle and personal injury defence
Adrian King, Grant Walsh and Stephanie Sales each name the defence of motor vehicle accident claims as a focus of their practices. Personal injury and motor vehicle accident tort files are part of the firm's insurance practice.
Occupiers' liability
Claims against property owners and occupiers are part of the defence practices of Adrian King and Stephanie Sales. Grant Walsh has written papers and spoken at continuing legal education sessions on how to defend unusual occupier claims.
Coverage and subrogation
Brown & Burnes advises insurers on coverage questions, litigates coverage disputes and pursues subrogation. Since joining the firm in 2007, Dena Oberman has handled coverage and subrogation matters among other files.
Product and general liability
The firm defends product liability claims and takes on commercial general liability matters for its insurer and business clients. Product liability claims are also a particular focus for partner Grant Walsh.
Property, construction and negligence claims
Property damage files, builder's risk and construction matters, and real estate errors and omissions claims all fall within the practice, as does professional negligence. The firm also deals with environmental issues and with injuries from recreation and sports.
Mediation
John Burnes works as a mediator alongside the firm's litigation, drawing on a practice weighted toward personal injury, property damage (including serving as umpire in insurance appraisals) and construction claims. Burnes took the Harvard Mediation Workshop, offered through the Advocates' Society, in 1995.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessibleHow Brown & Burnes works
Brown & Burnes works hand in hand with its clients' claims handlers and commits to keeping clients up to date at each stage of a lawsuit. Its defence work is meant to be proactive and carefully considered, with every reporting requirement met along the way, and the firm commits to solutions that are cost-effective and innovative.
Milestones & recognition
- John Burnes chaired the Insurance Law Section of the Ontario Bar Association in 2007 and 2008.
- Grant Walsh served on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association's Insurance Law Section from 2008 to 2011.
- Adrian King has won election to the Ontario Bar Association's Council for three consecutive terms since 2008, and chaired the association's Awards Committee in 2011 and 2012.
- In 2020 John Burnes was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
In the community
- John Burnes chaired the Banting Research Foundation from 2000 to 2009.
- From 2007 to 2009 John Burnes was president of Mary Centre, a non-profit that supports adults and seniors with developmental challenges.
Affiliations & connections
- Canadian Defence Lawyers: John Burnes, Dena Oberman, Adrian King and Grant Walsh are members of Canadian Defence Lawyers.
- The Advocates' Society: John Burnes, Dena Oberman and Grant Walsh are members of The Advocates' Society.
- Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals: John Burnes of Brown & Burnes is a Diplomate member of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.
Lawyers 6
The neighbourhood
The firm's office is in Suite 1400 of 390 Bay Street, the Munich Re Centre, in downtown Toronto's financial core. WZMH Architects designed the 31-storey tower, which was completed in 1973, and an underground walkway connects the building to Queen Street subway station.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I reserve a mediation date with John Burnes of Brown & Burnes online?
- Brown & Burnes lets parties pick an open date online to request a mediation with John Burnes, and the firm's staff get in touch once the Appointment Request form comes in. Video conferencing is available.
- Besides mediation, does John Burnes offer fact finding or neutral evaluation?
- Brown & Burnes senior partner John Burnes offers fact finding and neutral evaluation as other ADR services, and the Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Academy of Distinguished Neutrals recognizes Burnes for civil and commercial mediation.
- Which Ontario tribunals have Brown & Burnes lawyers appeared before?
- Brown & Burnes lawyers have handled matters before the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and the Landlord and Tenant Board, as well as the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal.
- Does Brown & Burnes handle liquor liability and condominium liability claims?
- Brown & Burnes takes on liquor liability and condominium liability matters as part of its insurance and commercial practice.
Where to find them
390 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y2 · 416-366-7927
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