Shepherd Rubenstein
2 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 369 handling Administrative & Regulatory Law.
About Shepherd Rubenstein
Shepherd Rubenstein Professional Corporation is a small Toronto firm built around two lawyers who focus entirely on regulatory law and litigation. Its work splits into three areas: energy, economic and environmental regulation, and public and administrative law. In its energy practice, the firm represents consumers, Indigenous communities, landowners, and competitive energy businesses in disputes with electricity and natural gas distributors, transmitters, generators, and marketers, before the Ontario Energy Board, the Canadian Energy Regulator, other federal and provincial tribunals, and the courts. The office is at 120 Eglinton Avenue East in midtown Toronto, close to the Ontario Energy Board's own offices.
Founder Jay Shepherd was called to the Ontario bar in 1980 after several years working as a banker, and spent the 1980s as a tax lawyer before shifting into energy and technology law. Shepherd has been lead counsel for the School Energy Coalition since 2003 and regulatory counsel for the HVAC Coalition since 1995, and helped found what is now the Association of Power Producers of Ontario in 1985. Co-founder Mark Rubenstein holds a B.A. from Carleton University and a J.D. from Queen's University, chaired the Ontario Bar Association's Natural Resources and Energy Law Section, and sits on the Ontario Energy Board's Adjudicative Modernization Committee. Rubenstein was named Best Lawyers' 2023 Energy Regulatory Lawyer of the Year in Toronto and has appeared in the Chambers Canada Guide's energy regulatory rankings.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Jay Shepherd was one of the founders, in 1985, of what is now the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, and later served on its board for ten years, including a term as President.
- Jay Shepherd wrote The Law of Fiduciaries, published by Carswell in 1981, and later spent more than a decade as an adjunct professor teaching tax law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University.
- Mark Rubenstein was appointed Chair of the Ontario Bar Association's Natural Resources and Energy Law Section for the 2020 to 2021 term.
- Mark Rubenstein was named Best Lawyers' 2023 Energy Regulatory Lawyer of the Year in Toronto.
- Mark Rubenstein is ranked nationally in Energy: Power (Regulatory) in the Chambers Canada 2026 guide.
- Jay Shepherd was recognized in the 2021 Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Energy (Electricity).
In the community
- Jay Shepherd has served on the Ontario Energy Board's Integrated Resource Planning Working Group and as a member of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association.
- Jay Shepherd has sat on the boards of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, the Atlantic Wind Test Site, and the Conservation and Renewable Energy Industry Council, and served a term as President of the Responsible Investment Association of Canada.
- Jay Shepherd takes part in charity cycling rides for the MS Society of Canada.
- Mark Rubenstein is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Ontario Bar Association, and The Advocates' Society, and sits on the Ontario Energy Board's Adjudicative Modernization Committee alongside other working and advisory groups.
Lawyers 2
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1980 · median 46 years in practice 1 of 2 lawyers
- Law schools
- Queen's University 1 of 2 lawyers
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The firm's office is in Suite 1000 of a midtown Toronto building on Eglinton Avenue East, near Yonge Street. Its own energy practice page puts the choice of location in plain terms: the office sits just steps from the Ontario Energy Board, the tribunal its lawyers appear before more than any other. For a two-lawyer practice built around energy regulation, being within walking distance of the regulator it deals with routinely is a practical fit rather than an incidental address.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Shepherd Rubenstein represent individual consumers, or only utilities and companies?
- Both. The firm's energy and public law practices describe representing individual consumers and landowners as well as businesses, associations, and Indigenous communities before the Ontario Energy Board and other tribunals, not just the utilities and generators on the other side of those cases.
- Can Shepherd Rubenstein help with a matter before the CRTC or under the Competition Act?
- Yes. Alongside its energy work, the firm's economic and environmental regulation practice covers CRTC proceedings under the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act, as well as complaints and compliance issues under the Competition Act and the Canada Transportation Act.
- Does the firm handle environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation issues?
- Yes. The firm's environmental regulation work includes federal and provincial environmental assessments and project approvals, appeals and judicial reviews of environmental decisions, carbon pricing compliance, and Indigenous consultation obligations under the Crown's duty to consult.
- I'm a professional facing a complaint from my regulator. Does Shepherd Rubenstein do that kind of work?
- The firm's public and administrative law practice includes defending and advocating for professionals before their regulators, along with appeals and judicial reviews of government and tribunal decisions.
- How big is Shepherd Rubenstein, and where is it located?
- The firm is built around two lawyers, Jay Shepherd and Mark Rubenstein, working from a single office on Eglinton Avenue East in midtown Toronto.
- Does Shepherd Rubenstein publish anything on changes in Ontario's energy regulations?
- Yes. The firm posts a quarterly Energy Regulatory Update tracking Ontario Energy Board decisions and related developments, along with an annual year in review, on the insights section of its website.
Where to find them
120 Eglinton Ave. E. Suite 1000, Toronto ON M4P 1E2 · 416-483-3300
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