Bryan McLeese practises civil litigation with a focus on commercial and business-related litigation.

Prior to joining Chernos Flaherty Svonkin LLP in 2016, Bryan was a partner in the Toronto office of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. Bryan frequently acts on complex corporate/commercial, securities, oppression, insolvency, professional negligence and defamation matters. His practice spans a wide range of industries, and his regular client base includes established financial services, real estate, mining, consumer products and professional services firms as well as a number of start-up companies and entrepreneurs with businesses in a variety of sectors. He has appeared as counsel before all levels of court in Ontario and acted on complex matters before numerous other courts and tribunals including the British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec Courts of Appeal and the Ontario Securities Commission/Capital Markets Tribunal.

Bryan received his law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (with distinction) from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Bryan was called to the Ontario bar in 2008. Bryan is an adjunct professor for the "Protection of Intangible Business Interests" LLM course at Osgoode Hall Law School and a regular lecturer at the University of Toronto. He is also a committed mentor to young students and lawyers inside and outside the firm, volunteering his time at several organizations. He is a long-suffering Maple Leafs fan and committed craft beer devotee.

Recognitions

Best Lawyers in Canada – Corporate and Commercial Litigation, 2025

Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory – Repeatedly Recommended practitioner in various litigation categories across multiple prior years

Cases

Bryan has represented:

a global search engine and technology company in an appeal concerning the jurisdiction of Canadian Courts to regulate online content outside Canada

a Canadian investment bank in defending claims of negligence and breach of duty regarding the rendering of a fairness opinion

an Ontario power generation company, in its successful defence of an oppression claim seeking to unwind its acquisition of a cogeneration power facility in Northern Ontario commenced in the context of CCAA proceedings involving its parent company

a provincial Crown corporation defending several claims seeking, unsuccessfully, to assert that casinos owe a duty of care to problem gamblers

European, Middle Eastern, and African debtor companies in cross-border trial proceedings before the Ontario Commercial List and the Delaware Court of Bankruptcy concerning the allocation of approximately $7.5 billion of proceeds from the sale of the assets of a former major Canadian telecom company

a large potash mining company in a multi-billion dollar dispute of the ownership of certain potash reserves in Saskatchewan

a registered lobbyist in connection with an investigation by the Office of the Integrity Commissioner Toronto

a UK mining company in its successful defence through trial of a claim concerning a contested break-fee arising out of an unsuccessful take-over bid

a gold mining company defending cross-border securities class actions in Canada and the United States concerning alleged secondary market misrepresentations

a real estate investment trust which obtained approval of a novel plan of arrangement concerning investment trust unitholders

several shareholders of both public and private companies in connection with shareholder disputes and oppression claims

financial institutions in regulatory investigations

numerous litigation clients in confidential arbitration proceedings