Does SOM Law represent employees or employers?

SOM Law is a management side firm. It advises and represents non-union and unionized employers, from small businesses to large corporations, rather than acting for employees generally. A separate part of the practice does advise senior management and executive employees on compensation and severance.

Can SOM Law help with a unionized workplace and collective bargaining?

Yes. The firm advises on collective bargaining strategy and negotiation, represents employers before labour arbitrators, and handles grievance arbitration and related labour relations matters, including the construction industry's own labour relations framework.

Does the firm handle workplace investigations and human rights complaints?

Yes. SOM Law guides employers through harassment and discrimination investigations and provides training and defense before human rights tribunals.

Does SOM Law defend wrongful dismissal claims?

Yes. The firm defends employers in wrongful dismissal litigation across Ontario's courts and on appeal, and also advises on restrictive covenant enforcement and other non-union employment disputes.

Does SOM Law work with federally regulated employers?

Yes. The firm advises federally regulated employers, including those in transportation, banking, and telecommunications, on Canada Labour Code compliance and adjudications.

Does SOM Law take on articling students or summer students?

Yes. The firm takes part in the Toronto Summer Student Recruitment Program and mentors law students and articling candidates interested in labour and employment law.

Shields O'Donnell MacKillop LLP | LawOnline Directory

About Shields O'Donnell MacKillop LLP

Shields O'Donnell MacKillop LLP, known as SOM Law, is a small management side labour and employment law firm in downtown Toronto. Founding lawyers Daniel Shields and Julie O'Donnell built the firm around a single focus: advising employers, not employees, on the full range of workplace law. The firm's site marks 25 years in the workplace and describes lawyers with more than 100 years of collective litigation experience between them.

The practice covers both unionized and non-union workplaces, from small businesses to large corporations, across sectors that include construction, manufacturing, retail, technology, and the federally regulated industries governed by the Canada Labour Code. Lawyers appear before labour arbitrators and the Ontario Labour Relations Board, defend human rights and wrongful dismissal claims, run workplace investigations, and negotiate collective agreements. A separate part of the practice advises senior management and executive employees on compensation and severance. The firm has been listed among the Globe and Mail's Best Law Firms and in Lexpert and Best Lawyers rankings for its labour and employment work.

Practice areas

Employment & Labour Law

Milestones & recognition

Daniel Shields and Julie O'Donnell are the firm's founding lawyers.
The firm's site marks 25 years in the workplace, with lawyers who together bring more than 100 years of collective litigation experience.
The firm has been recognized in the Globe and Mail's Best Law Firms list, Lexpert's rankings, and Best Lawyers, in each case for labour and employment work.
Partner Malcolm MacKillop received the Ontario Bar Association Labour and Employment Law Section's Randall Echlin Mentorship Award in 2016, recognizing mentorship of students and young lawyers in Ontario's labour and employment bar.

In the community

The firm hosts Rock for Life, an annual event raising funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and World Vision to support awareness of child poverty.
Malcolm MacKillop supports Bikes4Kids, a program that refurbishes bicycles for children across the Greater Toronto Area. In June 2022 the program gave 50 bicycles to an entire third grade class at a Toronto District School Board school.
The firm contributes to a Merit Bursary Award program that has distributed more than 2,000 bursaries since 1996 to students who show commitment to academics, extracurricular activities, and community involvement.
The firm takes part in Ride for Heart for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Lawyers Feed the Hungry through the Law Society Foundation, and Walk A Mile In Her Shoes, a violence prevention event.
The firm mentors law students and articling candidates and takes part in the Toronto Summer Student Recruitment Program.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A calendar with a checkmark beside a clock

By appointment

Fees & payment

A clock beside gold coins with a dollar sign

Hourly

A shield with gold coins, a dollar sign and a checkmark seal

Contingency

Lawyers 14

Certified Specialists

A designation granted by the Law Society of Ontario, not a self-declared area of focus.

Malcolm MacKillopCivil Litigation

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1978–2025 · median 12 years in practice 14 of 14 lawyers
Law schools: Osgoode Hall Law School (4), Queen's University (3), University of Leicester (2), University of New Brunswick, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto and 2 more 14 of 14 lawyers
Languages on the roster: English, French

Who handles what

Employment & Labour Law
Brandin O'Connor, Charlie Donovan, Daniel Shields, Hendrik Nieuwland, Joel Smith, Jozef Hadlaw-Murray, Julie O'Donnell, Malcolm MacKillop, Mary Diemert, Nicole Jakobek, Philip Wolfenden, Rafeea Abdulla, Rochelle Allen, Todd Weisberg

The neighbourhood

SOM Law's office is at Suite 1800, 65 Queen Street West, Toronto, according to the firm's contact page. The office is in the downtown core of the city, an area that is also home to Osgoode Hall, headquarters of the Law Society of Ontario and the Superior Court of Justice, and Old City Hall, which has served as a courthouse. For a firm whose lawyers spend much of their time in front of labour arbitrators, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and the courts, working from downtown Toronto puts the firm within the same part of the city as much of the litigation and tribunal work central to its practice.

Frequently asked questions

Does SOM Law represent employees or employers?: SOM Law is a management side firm. It advises and represents non-union and unionized employers, from small businesses to large corporations, rather than acting for employees generally. A separate part of the practice does advise senior management and executive employees on compensation and severance.
Can SOM Law help with a unionized workplace and collective bargaining?: Yes. The firm advises on collective bargaining strategy and negotiation, represents employers before labour arbitrators, and handles grievance arbitration and related labour relations matters, including the construction industry's own labour relations framework.
Does the firm handle workplace investigations and human rights complaints?: Yes. SOM Law guides employers through harassment and discrimination investigations and provides training and defense before human rights tribunals.
Does SOM Law defend wrongful dismissal claims?: Yes. The firm defends employers in wrongful dismissal litigation across Ontario's courts and on appeal, and also advises on restrictive covenant enforcement and other non-union employment disputes.
Does SOM Law work with federally regulated employers?: Yes. The firm advises federally regulated employers, including those in transportation, banking, and telecommunications, on Canada Labour Code compliance and adjudications.
Does SOM Law take on articling students or summer students?: Yes. The firm takes part in the Toronto Summer Student Recruitment Program and mentors law students and articling candidates interested in labour and employment law.

Where to find them

65 Queen Street West, Suite 1800, Toronto, ON M5H 2M5 · 416-304-6400

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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 ↗