Smart & Biggar
23 lawyers · Established 1890 · City of Toronto, Waterloo Region, Halton Region
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 195 handling Intellectual Property.
About Smart & Biggar
Smart & Biggar is one of Canada's largest firms working solely on intellectual property. It's a national firm, not a locally founded one, with six offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, and the Waterloo Region, and more than 180 lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents between them. The work covers the full range of IP: patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright, along with IP litigation and enforcement and advice on IP strategy and licensing. The firm files thousands of patent and trademark applications every year.
The practice traces its roots to 1890 and the patent agency Fetherstonhaugh & Co., started by Frederick B. Fetherstonhaugh. The Smart & Biggar name comes from Russel S. Smart and Oliver M. Biggar. In 2019 the related predecessor firms were brought together under a single Smart & Biggar banner, and in 2022 the firm joined the international IPH group. IPH later combined two other long-running Canadian IP firms, Ridout & Maybee, established in 1893, and Bereskin & Parr, established in 1965, with Smart & Biggar.
The Waterloo Region office sits in downtown Kitchener. Many of the professionals there have engineering backgrounds, in fields like electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering, along with software and communications, so the local team is set up for the region's software and high technology community.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- The firm traces its origins to 1890 and the patent agency Fetherstonhaugh & Co., founded by Frederick B. Fetherstonhaugh.
- The Smart & Biggar name comes from Russel S. Smart and Oliver M. Biggar.
- In 2019 the related predecessor firms were unified under the single Smart & Biggar name.
- In 2022 the firm joined the international IPH group.
- IPH later combined the Canadian IP firms Ridout & Maybee, established in 1893, and Bereskin & Parr, established in 1965, with Smart & Biggar.
- The firm works across six Canadian offices with more than 180 lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessibleLawyers 23
Alistair Simpson
Counsel
Intellectual Property
Bhupinder Randhawa
Principal
Intellectual Property
Brigide Mattar
Principal
Intellectual Property
Cameron Gale
Principal
Intellectual Property
Christian Bolduc
Principal
Intellectual Property
Daphne Lainson
Principal
Intellectual Property
Elliott Simcoe
Principal
Intellectual Property
Francois Larose
Principal
Intellectual Property
Gurbir Sidhu
Associate
Intellectual Property
Isi Caulder
Principal
Intellectual Property
Jeff Leuschner
Principal
Intellectual Property
John Knox
Counsel
Intellectual Property
Jonas Gifford
Principal
Intellectual Property
Mark Pidkowich
Principal
Intellectual Property
Matthew Zischka
Principal
Intellectual Property
Nancy Pei
Counsel
Intellectual Property
Patricia Folkins
Principal
Intellectual Property
Patrick Roszell
Principal
Intellectual Property
Reshika Dhir
Principal
Intellectual Property
Sunil Rao
Associate
Intellectual Property
Tony Orsi
Principal
Intellectual Property
Urszula Wojtyra
Principal
Intellectual Property
Yoon Kang
Principal
Intellectual Property
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 1990–2023 · median 24 years in practice 17 of 23 lawyers
- Law schools
- University of Toronto (8), Queen's University (2), University of British Columbia (2), Osgoode Hall Law School, Universite Laval, University of Ottawa and 2 more 17 of 23 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- English, French, German
Who handles what
-
Intellectual Property
Alistair Simpson, Bhupinder Randhawa, Brigide Mattar, Cameron Gale, Christian Bolduc, Daphne Lainson, Elliott Simcoe, Francois Larose, Gurbir Sidhu, Isi Caulder, Jeff Leuschner, John Knox, Jonas Gifford, Mark Pidkowich, Matthew Zischka, Nancy Pei, Patricia Folkins, Patrick Roszell, Reshika Dhir, Sunil Rao, Tony Orsi, Urszula Wojtyra, Yoon Kang
Offices 4
The neighbourhood
The Waterloo Region office works out of 101 Frederick Street in downtown Kitchener, near the centre of one of Canada's busiest technology regions. The blocks around it are dense with software companies, startups, and research that comes out of the University of Waterloo, and innovation hubs like Communitech support well over a thousand tech firms nearby. Google runs one of its larger engineering sites outside the United States in the same downtown, and homegrown companies such as D2L, Vidyard, and Miovision have grown up here too. For a team that spends its days on patents and trademarks, that concentration of software, hardware, and fast-growing companies is exactly the client base the office is built to serve.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Smart & Biggar do?
- It's a firm that works solely on intellectual property. The practice covers patents, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyright, plus IP litigation and enforcement and advice on IP strategy and licensing.
- Does Smart & Biggar have an office in the Waterloo Region?
- Yes. The Waterloo Region office is in downtown Kitchener at 101 Frederick Street, Suite 1004, and it's one of six offices the firm runs across Canada.
- Can the firm help a Waterloo Region startup protect its software or invention?
- The Waterloo team includes professionals with engineering and software backgrounds and works with the region's software and technology community on patents, trademarks, and related IP.
- Does Smart & Biggar handle patent and trademark filings?
- Yes. Filing and prosecuting patent and trademark applications is core to the practice, and the firm files thousands of applications every year alongside its industrial design and copyright work.
- How large is Smart & Biggar and where is it based?
- It's a national firm with more than 180 lawyers, patent agents, and trademark agents across offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Calgary, and the Waterloo Region, with roots going back to 1890.
- Does the firm handle intellectual property disputes and enforcement?
- Yes. The firm's work includes IP litigation and enforcement across patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, and anti-counterfeiting.
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Class ActionsListing compiled from the firm’s public website in July 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗