Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP

The Canadian model of specialized trial advocacy, conflict-free commercial counsel, and high-intensity courtroom training is personified by Lax O'Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP (LOLG). Founded in Toronto in 1997 by Clifford Lax QC, Michael O'Sullivan, Jonathan Lisus, and Matthew Gottlieb, the firm was established as an elite trial and appellate practice operating independently of transactional full-service firms. Housing more than 30 litigators out of a single office at 145 King Street West, LOLG consistently commands top-tier Band 1 rankings in Chambers Canada for Dispute Resolution: Litigation (Ontario) and is routinely recognized among the country's top dispute resolution practices by Benchmark Litigation and Lexpert.

Because the firm does not operate transactional corporate or lending practices, LOLG acts as specialized dispute counsel to domestic and international corporations, boards of directors, special committees, and public figures facing high-stakes litigation where full-service firms are conflicted out. The firm's partners and associates appear regularly before the Commercial List, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Federal Court, the Supreme Court of Canada, and international arbitration panels. Matters range from complex shareholder disputes and contested corporate transactions to high-exposure securities litigation, class actions, restructuring battles, and administrative hearings.

On the recruitment front, LOLG runs an exclusive, boutique-scale student program, hiring cohorts of approximately 3 to 4 2L summer students. The student experience is characterized by direct apprenticeship and immediate immersion in trial preparation: students draft pleadings and motion records, attend client examinations and trial proceedings, assist with legal strategy on active files, and argue motions in court. Operating from the 27th floor of 145 King Street West, LOLG pairs rigorous courtroom standards with an open-door, collegiate culture.