Silcoff Shacter
5 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 425 handling Immigration Law.
Accepts Legal Aid
Accepts Legal AidAbout Silcoff Shacter
Silcoff Shacter is a Toronto immigration and refugee law firm led by partners Maureen Silcoff and Ronald Shacter. Silcoff was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1988 and has practiced refugee and immigration law since then, including five years as a decision maker at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Shacter holds a law degree from the University of Sherbrooke and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University, and worked as a staff immigration lawyer at Parkdale Community Legal Services from 1990 to 1997. Both are members of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and Silcoff served as the organization's president from 2019 to 2021.
The firm's five lawyers handle the full range of immigration and refugee work: work permits, study permits, sponsorships, citizenship applications, and refugee claims, along with litigation before the Immigration and Refugee Board, the Federal Court, and higher courts, including public interest interventions and challenges to government policy. It conducts legal work in English and French, arranges interpreters for most other languages, and accepts legal aid certificates. In 2025, The Globe and Mail's Report on Business ranked Silcoff Shacter first among Canada's immigration law firms in its Canada's Best Lawyers rankings.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Maureen Silcoff received the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers' Advocacy Award in 2013 for advocacy and leadership in refugee law.
- Silcoff served as president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers from 2019 to 2021 and continues to sit on its litigation committee.
- In 2025, The Globe and Mail's Report on Business ranked Silcoff Shacter first among Canada's immigration law firms in its Canada's Best Lawyers rankings.
- One of the firm's associates is a graduate of Yale Law School and served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
- One of the firm's associates won Queen's University's Fasken Martineau Prize in Public Law and the Queen's Law Prize in International Law.
In the community
- Maureen Silcoff is Lawyer in Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University's Lincoln Alexander School of Law, where Silcoff designed and teaches courses on public interest litigation and the business of lawyering.
- Silcoff co-founded the Jewish Refugee Action Network and chairs the Refugee Lawyers Association's Access to Justice Committee.
- Silcoff was a founding steering committee member of the Canada-US Border Rights Clinic and has held board or executive roles with the Canadian Bar Association's Immigration Law Section, the FCJ Refugee Centre, Sojourn House, and the Rexdale Community Microskills Development Centre.
- Ronald Shacter sits on the boards of directors of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants and MIDAYNTA, an organization that supports Somali family reunification.
- Adam B. Sadinsky is Vice President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers and represents the organization on the Immigration and Refugee Board's Consultative Committee.
- Grace Acan was president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers' student chapter at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and worked on the school's UNHCR Legal Clinic research team.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessible
By appointmentFees & payment
Legal aidLawyers 5
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1988 · median 38 years in practice 1 of 5 lawyers
- Law schools
- Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, Queen's University, Yale Law School 4 of 5 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- French
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
Silcoff Shacter's office is on Mount Pleasant Road in Toronto, a street that runs straight through the cemetery it's named for and that was commissioned in 1915, with its first stretch opening to traffic in 1919. The stretch near the firm sits by Blythwood Ravine, one of several ravines that break up the corridor.
Being reachable without a car matters for an immigration and refugee practice. Clients travel in from across the Greater Toronto Area, and newcomers who don't yet drive can use Toronto's public transit to reach the office.
Frequently asked questions
- Can Silcoff Shacter help me sponsor my spouse or parent to come to Canada?
- Yes. The firm handles inland and overseas spousal sponsorships as well as parental sponsorships as part of its immigration practice.
- My refugee claim was refused. Does the firm handle appeals?
- Yes. Silcoff Shacter represents clients in Refugee Appeal Division appeals, as well as judicial reviews and stay applications at the Federal Court.
- I'm facing a removal order. Can the firm help me stay in Canada?
- The firm's services cover inadmissibility and removal matters, including pre-removal risk assessments, detention issues, and Humanitarian and Compassionate applications.
- Does Silcoff Shacter accept legal aid certificates?
- Yes, the firm accepts legal aid certificates, and members of the team are empanelled with Legal Aid Ontario for refugee cases.
- Do I need to speak English to work with the firm?
- No. Silcoff Shacter conducts legal work in English and French and arranges interpreters for most other languages.
- How big is Silcoff Shacter and what does the firm focus on?
- The firm has two partners and three associates who work in immigration and refugee law, including litigation before the Immigration and Refugee Board and the courts.
Where to find them
951 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2L7
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