What kind of law does Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP practise?

The firm concentrates on commercial litigation: shareholder and oppression disputes, insolvency and corporate restructuring, professional liability, insurance coverage disputes, estates litigation, and arbitration and mediation.

I think I've been defamed online or in the media. Does the firm handle that?

Yes. Counsel Tycho Manson, a former journalist and former in house media lawyer, focuses on defamation and media law alongside the firm's broader commercial litigation practice.

Can the firm represent a shareholder in a dispute with other owners of a private company?

Shareholder and oppression disputes in family owned and closely held companies are a core part of several lawyers' practices at the firm, including founding partner David Chernos.

Does the firm handle insolvency or corporate restructuring matters?

Yes, insolvency and corporate restructuring are among the firm's practice areas, along with related director and officer liability and professional liability work.

Where is Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP located, and how do I contact the firm?

The firm is at 220 Bay Street, Suite 700, in downtown Toronto, and can be reached by phone at 416-855-0401.

Is the firm bilingual?

Partner Brendan Brammall is bilingual, and associate Julia D'Silva completed an undergraduate degree in a French immersion stream.

Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP | LawOnline Directory

About Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP

Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP is a commercial litigation firm based in downtown Toronto, with its office on Bay Street. It's named for founding partners David Chernos, Patrick Flaherty, and Stuart Svonkin, who worked together at Torys LLP before starting their own firm. Chernos and Flaherty each spent more than twenty years at Torys and were both called to the Ontario bar in 1993. Svonkin, who holds a PhD from Columbia and a JD from Harvard, spent over a decade at Torys, including six years as a partner, and was called to the bar in Massachusetts in 1999 and in Ontario in 2003.

The firm's lawyers handle corporate and commercial litigation, including shareholder and oppression disputes, insolvency, professional liability, insurance coverage, estates litigation, and arbitration. Counsel Tycho Manson, a former journalist who later worked in house at a Canadian media company on libel matters, focuses on defamation and media law, a niche not every commercial litigation practice in the city covers. Partner Brendan Brammall, who is bilingual, clerked for Justice Ian Binnie at the Supreme Court of Canada and worked at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York before joining the firm. Several lawyers at the firm also teach; Patrick Flaherty and Andrew Finkelstein have both lectured in Osgoode Hall Law School's LLM program on the protection of intangible business interests.

Practice areas

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Business & Corporate Law

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Wills, Estates & Trusts

Employment & Labour Law

Intellectual Property

Class Actions

Construction Law

Insurance Law

Milestones & recognition

David Chernos, Patrick Flaherty, and Stuart Svonkin left Torys LLP, one of Toronto's largest firms, to found Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP together.
Chambers Canada ranked David Chernos in its General Commercial Litigation category for Ontario in 2025.
Patrick Flaherty was named a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America in 2025 and has lectured in Osgoode Hall Law School's LLM program.
Stuart Svonkin is the author of "Jews Against Prejudice" (Columbia University Press, 1997).
Brendan Brammall clerked for Justice Ian Binnie at the Supreme Court of Canada before practising at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in New York and later joining the firm.

In the community

Stuart Svonkin has done pro bono work with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on constitutional matters and served on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association's Class Actions Section.
Bryan McLeese is pro bono supervising counsel at Osgoode Hall Law School's Investor Protection Clinic and mentors students and younger lawyers.
Brendan Brammall is a director of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History.
Julia D'Silva volunteered with the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund while in law school.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A calendar with a checkmark beside a clock

By appointment

Lawyers 10

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1993–2025 · median 20 years in practice 10 of 10 lawyers
Law schools: Osgoode Hall Law School (2), Queen's University (2), University of Toronto (2), Dalhousie Law School, Harvard Law School, University of Ottawa and 1 more 10 of 10 lawyers

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

The firm's office is in the tower at 220 Bay Street, in the heart of the Financial District, an office building completed in 1995 and designed by the architecture firm Page and Steele. "Bay Street" is used well beyond that one address as shorthand for Toronto's large, full service business law firms and for the Canadian financial industry generally, much the way "Wall Street" is used in the United States. It's a fitting address for a firm whose lawyers built their careers at one of the country's biggest Bay Street firms before starting a smaller practice focused squarely on commercial litigation.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of law does Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP practise?: The firm concentrates on commercial litigation: shareholder and oppression disputes, insolvency and corporate restructuring, professional liability, insurance coverage disputes, estates litigation, and arbitration and mediation.
I think I've been defamed online or in the media. Does the firm handle that?: Yes. Counsel Tycho Manson, a former journalist and former in house media lawyer, focuses on defamation and media law alongside the firm's broader commercial litigation practice.
Can the firm represent a shareholder in a dispute with other owners of a private company?: Shareholder and oppression disputes in family owned and closely held companies are a core part of several lawyers' practices at the firm, including founding partner David Chernos.
Does the firm handle insolvency or corporate restructuring matters?: Yes, insolvency and corporate restructuring are among the firm's practice areas, along with related director and officer liability and professional liability work.
Where is Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP located, and how do I contact the firm?: The firm is at 220 Bay Street, Suite 700, in downtown Toronto, and can be reached by phone at 416-855-0401.
Is the firm bilingual?: Partner Brendan Brammall is bilingual, and associate Julia D'Silva completed an undergraduate degree in a French immersion stream.

Where to find them

220 Bay Street, Suite 700, Toronto, ON M5J 2W4 · 416-855-0401

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