About Brown Dryer
Brown Dryer is a Toronto law firm built around three strengths: complex real estate deals, commercial litigation and land use planning. On the planning side, its team handles development applications across Ontario, whether they're straightforward or complicated.
Several of today's lawyers first came to the firm, then known as Sherman Brown, as students. Jake Newton started as a summer law student and later came back as an associate, Jessica Smuskowitz articled with the firm before returning as an associate, and Sean Brown arrived to article in the summer of 2022.
Alan B. Dryer's litigation team practises through Alan B. Dryer Professional Corporation, and Adam Brown's planning and land development team through Adam J. Brown Professional Corporation. You'll find the firm at 40 Holly Street, Suite 802, in Toronto, with Adam Brown at Suite 404 of the same address.
Called to the Ontario bar in 1982, Daniel Gold works mainly in commercial real estate law, handling the purchase, financing, development, leasing and sale of properties such as shopping centres and apartment buildings. Alan B. Dryer was called in 1987 and has practised civil litigation in Toronto, in real estate and commercial litigation, ever since.
History
Before it took the Brown Dryer name, the firm was Sherman Brown, and Cory G. Sherman was one of its founding members. Cory G. Sherman co-chaired the I.C.S.C. Canadian Law Conference in 2002 and again in 2003. By 2013 the lawyers were practising in association as barristers and solicitors under the name Sherman Brown Dryer Karol Gold Lebow.
Alan B. Dryer articled with Lang Michener in 1985 and 1986 and then practised with Diamond Fairbairn until 1994, when the association with Sherman Brown began. Orly Kahane-Rapport has worked closely with Alan Dryer and Sherman Brown since 1998.
Practice areas
Planning and land development
Adam Brown, Jessica Smuskowitz and Sean Brown work in Brown Dryer's planning group. It coordinates minor variances, rezonings, official plan amendments, draft plan and site plan approvals for projects from single family homes and townhomes to hi-rise condominiums and multi-use developments, for developers working in the commercial, residential and retail markets.
Civil and commercial litigation
The litigation team of Alan B. Dryer, Orly Kahane-Rapport and Jake Newton takes on real estate and corporate or commercial disputes for businesses and individuals, before the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court, the Court of Appeal for Ontario and administrative boards and tribunals. Alan B. Dryer's own matters reach into boundary fights, construction liens, mortgage enforcement, commercial leases, estates and professional discipline.
Real estate transactions
Real estate investment trusts, investors, developers and other clients rely on Brown Dryer when they buy and sell land, from shopping centres to industrial properties and apartment buildings, and on the construction, financing and subdivision registration that come with development. Its lawyers help clients pick and set up ownership structures such as joint ventures, co-ownerships, co-operatives and limited partnerships, and it acts for investors and individuals buying, financing and selling homes, condo units, multi-unit buildings and recreational properties.
Mediation and arbitration
Daniel Gold handles the firm's dispute resolution work, which covers mediation of commercial, personal injury, wrongful dismissal and family lawsuits in the Ontario courts, as well as mediation on appointment by Ontario's Ministry of Labour under the Labour Relations Act. Brown Dryer also offers accredited arbitration in real estate, commercial leasing and employment law.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessibleHow Brown Dryer works
Brown Dryer puts one goal ahead of the rest: getting the client's deal done. The firm commits to work that's prompt, personalized and cost-effective, and when a planning file can't be settled through consultation with the municipality, its planning group turns to mediation to negotiate a settlement.
Milestones & recognition
- Alan B. Dryer finished law school at the University of Toronto in 1985 on the Honours List, with the Borden & Elliott Prize, the Canada Law Book Prize, the Michael John Eccles Prize and the Cary S. Stern Prize.
- Orly Kahane-Rapport was appointed a Deputy Judge of the Toronto Small Claims Court in 2015 and certified as a mediator in 2021.
Lawyers 7
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Languages on the roster
- English, French, Hebrew
Who handles what
Frequently asked questions
- Can Brown Dryer mediate Treasury Board collective bargaining in French?
- Brown Dryer has mediated collective bargaining between the Treasury Board of Canada and union and professional groups, among them the Public Service Alliance of Canada, in both French and English. Daniel Gold's own mediation work includes bargaining in English and French.
- I'm fighting over a right-of-way at my cottage. Can Brown Dryer's litigators help?
- Brown Dryer's Alan B. Dryer litigates real property boundary disputes, including neighbour disputes, easements, prescriptive easements, rights-of-way, adverse possession and cottage properties.
- Does Brown Dryer handle Tarion warranty claims for new home buyers?
- Brown Dryer's Orly Kahane-Rapport has extensive experience with Tarion warranty claims, acting for both new home builders and buyers, and also represents landlords and tenants at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
- Can I work with a Hebrew-speaking litigator at Brown Dryer?
- Brown Dryer's Orly Kahane-Rapport is fluent in English and Hebrew and has practised in Toronto with a focus on civil litigation since being called in 1994.
- Will Brown Dryer act as counsel for another lawyer or professional?
- Yes. Brown Dryer's litigation team acts as counsel to lawyers and to other professionals in related fields.
Where to find them
40 Holly Street, Suite 802, Toronto, Ontario M4S 3C3 · 416-222-0344
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