What kind of law does Stockwoods LLP practise?

Stockwoods focuses entirely on litigation. Its work spans commercial litigation and arbitration, administrative and public law disputes such as judicial review and professional discipline, and criminal and regulatory defence, along with class actions, health law, and Indigenous rights matters. It doesn't offer transactional or general practice services.

Does Stockwoods handle appeals, including at the Supreme Court of Canada?

Yes. Appellate work is a significant part of the firm's practice, and its lawyers regularly argue cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, in addition to trial and tribunal work.

Can Stockwoods defend a business facing a class action?

Yes. The firm's class actions practice includes defending corporations, governments, and public sector bodies, with particular experience in cases involving alleged Securities Act or Competition Act breaches, as well as some plaintiff-side work.

Is Stockwoods a full-service law firm?

No. It's a firm of about two dozen lawyers built specifically around litigation, a model it has followed since its founding in 1979. Clients with corporate, real estate, or other transactional needs are generally referred elsewhere.

Where is Stockwoods LLP located?

The firm is in the Toronto-Dominion Centre at 77 King Street West, Suite 4130, in Toronto's Financial District.

How long has Stockwoods been practising in Toronto?

David Stockwood founded the firm in 1979, making it one of the longer-standing litigation-focused firms in Toronto. It marked its 40th anniversary in 2019.

Stockwoods LLP | LawOnline Directory

About Stockwoods LLP

Stockwoods LLP is a litigation-focused law firm based in Toronto's financial district, at the Toronto-Dominion Centre. David Stockwood founded the firm in 1979, leaving a senior counsel role at Goodman & Goodman, now Goodmans LLP, to do it. Stockwood practiced alone for a year before Nancy Spies joined in 1980 as the firm's second lawyer. Spies later became a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Stockwood built the practice around a single idea, that Toronto needed a litigation-only firm able to compete with, complement, and support the city's larger firms rather than try to match them across every area of law. It became one of the first firms in the city built that way.

The firm now has roughly two dozen lawyers working across three main areas: commercial litigation and arbitration, administrative and public law, and criminal and regulatory defence, with related work in class actions, health law, and Indigenous rights matters. Several lawyers at the firm hold Fellowships in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers or the Litigation Counsel of America, honorary societies for trial lawyers admitted by invitation. The firm also publishes a recurring Administrative & Regulatory Law Case Review tracking Canadian case law on judicial review and Charter litigation.

Practice areas

Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Intellectual Property

Class Actions

Indigenous Law

Administrative & Regulatory Law

Health Law

Criminal Defence

Milestones & recognition

Founded in 1979 by David Stockwood, formerly senior counsel at Goodman & Goodman (now Goodmans LLP).
Nancy Spies joined the firm in 1980, a year after it was founded. Spies later became a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Canadian Lawyer magazine named the firm one of Canada's Top Ten Litigation Boutiques in 2012.
David Stockwood received the Law Society Medal in 2005 in recognition of a career of professional achievement, and was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Two current partners have been selected as Fellows of the Litigation Counsel of America, an honorary society limited to a small fraction of practising trial lawyers.

In the community

David Stockwood established the Trial Advocacy program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and taught there for many years.
David Stockwood founded The Private Court, an early alternative dispute resolution program in Ontario.
The University of Toronto Faculty of Law maintains the David Stockwood Q.C., L.S.M. Bursary, named for the founder.

Good to know

Wheelchair accessible A calendar with a checkmark beside a clock

By appointment

Lawyers 27

This firm’s lawyers at a glance

Called to the bar: 1983–2025 · median 3 years in practice 10 of 27 lawyers
Law schools: University of Toronto Faculty of Law (6), Osgoode Hall Law School (5), University of Toronto (2), University of Calgary, University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Western University 16 of 27 lawyers
Languages on the roster: French

Who handles what

The neighbourhood

Stockwoods' office sits inside the Toronto-Dominion Centre on King Street West, in the heart of the Financial District. The complex was designed by the modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, working with local firms John B. Parkin Associates and Bregman and Hamann, and its towers, plaza, and banking pavilion were built between 1967 and 1969. The City of Toronto designated the TD Centre a heritage property under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 2003, recognizing it as one of the country's most significant works of modern architecture.

The neighbourhood is Toronto's densest concentration of banks, securities firms, and corporate head offices, which fits a firm built around commercial litigation, securities disputes, and regulatory work for both financial institutions and the businesses that deal with them.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of law does Stockwoods LLP practise?: Stockwoods focuses entirely on litigation. Its work spans commercial litigation and arbitration, administrative and public law disputes such as judicial review and professional discipline, and criminal and regulatory defence, along with class actions, health law, and Indigenous rights matters. It doesn't offer transactional or general practice services.
Does Stockwoods handle appeals, including at the Supreme Court of Canada?: Yes. Appellate work is a significant part of the firm's practice, and its lawyers regularly argue cases before the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, in addition to trial and tribunal work.
Can Stockwoods defend a business facing a class action?: Yes. The firm's class actions practice includes defending corporations, governments, and public sector bodies, with particular experience in cases involving alleged Securities Act or Competition Act breaches, as well as some plaintiff-side work.
Is Stockwoods a full-service law firm?: No. It's a firm of about two dozen lawyers built specifically around litigation, a model it has followed since its founding in 1979. Clients with corporate, real estate, or other transactional needs are generally referred elsewhere.
Where is Stockwoods LLP located?: The firm is in the Toronto-Dominion Centre at 77 King Street West, Suite 4130, in Toronto's Financial District.
How long has Stockwoods been practising in Toronto?: David Stockwood founded the firm in 1979, making it one of the longer-standing litigation-focused firms in Toronto. It marked its 40th anniversary in 2019.

Where to find them

TD North Tower, 77 King Street West, Suite 4130, P.O. Box 140, Toronto-Dominion Centre, Toronto, Ontario M5K 1H1 · 416-593-7200

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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 ↗