Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP
9 lawyers · Established 2006 · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 195 handling Intellectual Property.
About Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP
Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP is a Toronto entertainment and media law firm that also serves clients in Vancouver and elsewhere in Canada. Chris Taylor started the firm in March 2006, after running Last Gang, an independent record company that helped develop artists including Metric, Death From Above 1979, and Crystal Castles. In 2016, Taylor moved on to Entertainment One and passed the firm to its current partners, whose names it now carries.
The firm's nine lawyers work out of an office in Liberty Village and represent musicians, record companies, film and television producers, authors, and other creative professionals on transactional work such as recording, publishing, financing, and intellectual property agreements. Several partners bring their own industry backgrounds to the practice. Pat Leyland played guitar and co-wrote songs in a band signed to Arista Records before joining the firm at its founding, and Safwan Javed still drums for and co-manages Wide Mouth Mason, a Juno-nominated band Javed co-founded in 1995.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- The firm was founded in March 2006 by Chris Taylor.
- In 2016, Taylor sold the firm to its current partners and moved to Entertainment One, serving as global president of the music division.
- Partner Doug Murray was co-counsel in Wiseau Studio v. Harper, a copyright fair dealing decision.
In the community
- Partner Miro Oballa co-founded ADVANCE, Canada's Black Music Business Collective, and has also been a board member of CARAS, the Polaris Music Prize, and the Canadian Live Music Association.
- Partner Doug Murray is a director of the Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame and a board member of the Canadian Comedy Foundation for Excellence, and previously sat on ACTRA's National Commercial Agreement negotiating committee and its Agency Agreement Committee.
- Partner Safwan Javed is president of Fair Trade Music International and serves on the boards of the Songwriters Association of Canada and Canada's Music Incubator.
Good to know
Wheelchair accessibleLawyers 9
Adrian Barnardo
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Chris Taylor
Firm Founder
Business & Corporate Law
Colin Glazer
Associate
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Doug Murray
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Miro Oballa
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Pat Leyland
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Safwan Javed
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Sarah Falzon
Partner
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
Saralyn Purdie
Associate
Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate Law
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 2012–2022 · median 9 years in practice 3 of 9 lawyers
- Law schools
- Osgoode Hall Law School (2), University of Birmingham, University of Melbourne Law School, University of Toronto 5 of 9 lawyers
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The firm's office sits in Liberty Village, a former industrial area of west Toronto where former warehouses were converted into lofts and studio space starting in the early 2000s. The area grew into a corridor of production facilities, agencies, and tech firms, the kind of neighbours that suit an entertainment and media law practice. The firm's suite is near the Liberty Market Building, one of the neighbourhood's landmark redevelopments at 171 East Liberty Street.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP handle recording and publishing agreements for musicians?
- Yes. The firm's practice covers recording agreements, music publishing, licensing, and related contracts for musicians, songwriters, and labels.
- Can the firm help a film or television producer with financing and distribution deals?
- Yes. Partner Doug Murray's practice covers production legal work for film and television, including financing, distribution agreements, and international co-productions.
- Does TOML work with authors and book publishers, or only musicians?
- The practice extends beyond music. Partner Safwan Javed's work, for example, covers literary matters alongside music, film, and business law for authors and publishers.
- Is Taylor Oballa Murray Leyland LLP only based in Toronto?
- The firm is based in Toronto's Liberty Village and also serves clients in Vancouver and elsewhere in Canada.
- How long has the firm been practicing entertainment law?
- The firm was founded in March 2006, so it's been practicing entertainment and media law in Toronto since then.
Where to find them
149 East Liberty Street, Suite 286, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 0H7, Canada · 416-537-1529
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Intellectual PropertyBusiness & Corporate LawListing compiled from the firm’s public website in August 2026. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗