39 lawyers · Established 1980 · Waterloo Region, Wellington County (Guelph), York Region
One of 54 law firms listed in Waterloo, and one of 28 handling Business & Corporate Law.
Virtual appointmentsClients rate this firm highly on Google.
SorbaraLaw brings more than 35 lawyers, practising across all major service areas and a range of industry specialties, to individuals, businesses, institutions and governmental bodies across Ontario and around the world. Sam Sorbara founded the firm in 1980 and is its managing partner.
Clients based in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, China and Australia regularly turn to SorbaraLaw for help with their Canadian interests.
Business clients can draw on corporate and commercial work, commercial real estate, construction, franchising, tax, technology, immigration and municipal and land development, plus employer-side employment law and commercial litigation. For individuals there's family law (with mediation and collaborative options), residential real estate, personal injury, wills, estates, trusts and elder law, and help for employees. Banks and credit unions have also brought the firm lending, collection, operational and regulatory matters.
You'll find SorbaraLaw in Waterloo, Guelph, Fergus and Markham. The Markham office is meant to widen the firm's practice area and help it better serve clients in Markham, Richmond Hill, Toronto and the surrounding region.
SorbaraLaw's story starts in April 1980, when the partners of Flynn & Sorbara began practising together. Under that name it was a general practice firm with offices in Kitchener and Guelph.
Brian McCann, a founding partner of Sorbara, Schumacher, McCann LLP, joined in 1989 after many years in a small Guelph partnership and was responsible for managing the firm's Guelph office.
In 2026 Clarke Melville and Jennifer Krotz moved their practice and team to SorbaraLaw from Melville, Krotz Lawyers in Kitchener.
Business & Corporate Law
Immigration Law
Real Estate Law
Employment & Labour Law
Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Administrative & Regulatory Law
Construction Law
Tax Law
Personal Injury
Family Law
Wills, Estates & Trusts
Technology & Startups
Corporate clients run from entrepreneurial start-ups and multi-generational family businesses to multinational corporations, in industries as varied as animation and effects production, cannabis, churches and school boards. Sam Sorbara's own practice now emphasizes corporate reorganizations and tax-driven transactions.
Susan Liu heads the Business Immigration department and leads a full-service immigration practice for companies and individuals, covering intra-company transfers, entrepreneur streams, Ontario's provincial immigration programs and permanent residence. Labour Market Impact Assessment applications are handled too, and a free online immigration assessment offers general guidance for anyone weighing a move.
This group regularly acts for public bodies such as municipal governments, school boards, hospitals and conservation authorities, as well as developers and property owners. Its work includes subdivision, cost-sharing and front-ending agreements, and proceedings before the Assessment Review Board.
On the project side the firm advises on delivery options and how risk is allocated and managed, and on the dispute side it handles matters such as procurement and tendering disputes. Justin Heimpel frequently acts for owners, contractors, subtrades and materials suppliers on lien, breach of trust and deficiency claims.
Mark Schumacher's practice covers commercial and residential development, condominiums and whole subdivisions among them, and Slonee Malhotra oversees initial sales on new developments for the firm's condominium department. Residential real estate clients have the lawyers' commitment to timely service, including outside regular office hours.
Along with divorce, custody and support, the family group takes on access claims by grandparents and stepparents. When a file gets complicated, it can bring in the firm's tax, real estate, estates and corporate lawyers.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Employers come to the firm on union certification, bargaining and grievances, while employees get help that extends to wrongful dismissal lawsuits. Justin Heimpel also appears before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Labour Relations Board.
Partner Elikem Deley leads the Wills, Estates and Trusts Team. Apeksha Jain's estate litigation covers will challenges, capacity disputes and passing of accounts, and Clarke Melville is often asked to mediate or to serve as an estate trustee, including during litigation.
The technology law group handles IP due diligence, freedom-to-operate reviews and opinions on whether a patent is invalid. Jahdiel Larraguibel holds the CIPP/C privacy designation.
Franchise work includes checking a franchisor's disclosure document against the Arthur Wishart Act and acting for franchisees who disagree with what their franchisor is asking of them.
Commercial litigation covers insolvency, lease disputes, mortgage recovery, shareholder remedies and title insurance litigation, for clients that include builders, hospitals, insurers, engineers and lenders.
Anyone hurt and considering a claim gets a free consultation, and the work is done on contingency, so there are no legal fees unless money is recovered. The team has handled hundreds of claims, from car, pedestrian and bicycle accidents to slip and falls, dog bites, disability benefits and sexual abuse. If getting to an office isn't possible, a meeting can be arranged at home or another more convenient spot.
Clients have retained the firm's lawyers for tax advice on everything from executive compensation and retention to cross-border financing and sales tax.
Wheelchair accessible
Free parking
Virtual appointments
By appointment
In-person servicesAs a regional firm, SorbaraLaw keeps a cost structure designed to let it offer its legal services at a competitive price. It works as a team, making the most of the experience and skills of each member, and it serves clients in several languages.
In family matters its lawyers make every reasonable effort to settle disputes without the time and expense of court, and on workplace files they encourage negotiation, mediation and arbitration when there's a realistic chance of success.
Personal injury clients have the firm's commitment to prompt replies to every call and message, and to an honest assessment of their case rather than what they might want to hear.
Justin Heimpel acted for the appellant employer, Stahle Construction. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal and sent the question of whether Mr. Soave qualified for long-term disability benefits back to the Superior Court to be decided again.
Decisions where the firm's lawyers appeared as counsel, from public court records. Past cases don't predict future results.
Construction on 31 Union Street East began in the fall of 1913: an English manor house in red brick, built for Thomas W. Seagram as a wedding gift from Joseph E. Seagram, founder of the Seagram distillery and Thomas's father. Toronto architect Eden Smith designed it, and the property is a listed heritage building.
Sorbara, Schumacher, McCann LLP bought the house in 2009 for use as a law office, refurbished it and put an addition on the back. Original rooms such as the games room, lounge, study and board room were kept wherever possible.
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Family LawThis listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on the firm’s own website. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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