Gibson & Barnes LLP

About Gibson & Barnes LLP

Gibson & Barnes LLP is a small union-side labour law firm in downtown Toronto that represents trade unions, with a particular focus on construction trade unions. Founded in 2005 by Rob Gibson and Ben Barnes, the firm appears before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, other administrative tribunals, private arbitrators, and the courts on certification applications, grievance referrals, jurisdictional disputes, and unfair labour practice matters. It also takes on employment litigation for its union clients, including wrongful dismissal cases, plus appellate work and enforcement of tribunal decisions.

Both founding partners built their careers in union-side labour work before starting the firm together. Rob Gibson was called to the Ontario bar in 1997 and had worked as an associate and partner at another Toronto-area labour law firm, then as in-house counsel to a major Ontario construction trade union. Ben Barnes earned a BA (Hons.) from Queen's University in 1995 and an LLB from the University of Toronto in 1999, was called to the Ontario bar in 2000, and worked in a Toronto union-side practice before serving as in-house counsel to a major construction trade union, prior to the two co-founding Gibson & Barnes.