Starkman & Zhang Lawyers

About Starkman & Zhang Lawyers

Starkman & Zhang Lawyers is a litigation-only firm based in Markham, Ontario, serving clients across the Greater Toronto Area. Founding partner Paul H. Starkman's career began at Torkin Manes LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, continued at Stevensons LLP, and led to an independent practice that grew into the present-day firm. Starkman was called to the Ontario bar in 1994 and has since appeared before the Superior Court of Justice, the Divisional Court, and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Partner Calvin Zhang trained under Starkman's mentorship from a summer student position through articling, was called to the bar in 2020, and now appears as counsel of record at the Court of Appeal.

The practice concentrates on commercial, construction, real estate, and shareholder litigation, with particular depth in China-Canada cross-border disputes, including the recognition and enforcement of CIETAC arbitration awards in Ontario courts. Zhang is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese as well as English, so the firm can run these files directly rather than through a translator, and it also maintains a Chinese-language page describing the practice as a Toronto Chinese law firm (多伦多华人律师事务所), where the firm's name renders as Starkman & Zhang 诉讼律师事务所. It doesn't take on real estate closings, wills, or business incorporations. Its public record on CanLII includes more than 35 reported decisions, among them a 2024 CIETAC arbitral award enforcement and a 2026 Court of Appeal decision, Wei v. Ye-Hang Canada.