Canada’s Intellectual Property Firm

Rankings & Recognition

Smart & Biggar named ‘Top Tier’ IP firm for the tenth consecutive year in The Legal 500 Canada 2024

Smart & Biggar is pleased to share the firm’s ongoing recognition as a ‘Top Tier’ firm for Intellectual Property in the latest edition of The Legal 500 Canada, for the tenth consecutive year.

Editors of the guide affirmed Smart & Biggar’s status as “the leading intellectual property boutique in Canada”. The firm was also ranked for its multi-disciplinary expertise working with clients in the Cannabis sector and noted as an “intellectual property powerhouse [who] leverages its firm-wide focus on life sciences, regulatory law, IP strategy, and marketing and advertising to excel in representing cannabis clients on compliance and IP-related issues”.

In addition to the firm rankings, a total of 18 principals were recognized for their expertise in advising clients on a wide range of matters related to Trademarks, Patents and Designs, Copyrights, and including specialty areas of Life Sciences and Regulatory Compliance. Four lawyers are recognized as ‘Leading Individuals’, and two are highlighted as ‘Next Generation Partners’, while nine more individuals are included as ‘Recommended Lawyers’ or ‘Key Lawyers’. Additionally, three of our most accomplished IP litigators are included in the ‘Hall of Fame’ category. 

Congratulations to all our Smart & Biggar lawyers who earned recognition in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500 Canada:

Hall of Fame:

Mark Evans – Intellectual Property

  • “Mark Evans is a go-to specialist for contentious and non-contentious trademark matters.”

Steven Garland – Intellectual Property

  • “Steven Garland is a 30-year veteran in IP litigation.”

François Guay – Intellectual Property

  • François Guay is “highly regarded.”

Leading Individuals:

Mark Biernacki – Intellectual Property

  • “IP litigator Mark Biernacki contributes strong experience in an array of patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs.”

Yoon Kang – Intellectual Property

  • Yoon Kang “specializes in life sciences patent litigation and prosecution.”

Nancy Pei – Intellectual Property

  • Nancy Pei is a “life sciences expert.”

Alice Tseng – Cannabis

  • “Alice Tseng is highly sought after for her life sciences expertise, including cannabis-related matters.”

Next Generation Partners:

Graham Hood – Intellectual Property, also “Recommended” for Cannabis

  • Graham Hood is “noted for [his] brand protection and trademark-related work.”

Urszula Wojtyra – Intellectual Property

Key Lawyers:

Jean-Sébastien Dupont – Intellectual Property

Jonas Gifford - Intellectual Property

Sheldon Hamilton – Intellectual Property

  • Sheldon Hamilton is an “IP disputes expert.”

Daphne Lainson – Intellectual Property

Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie – Intellectual Property

Elliott Simcoe – Intellectual Property

  • Elliott Simcoe “draws on over two decades of experience in electrical and computer-related matters.”

Kohji Suzuki – Intellectual Property

  • Kohji Suzuki “utilizes a mastery of strategic IP enforcement.”

Jeremy Want – Intellectual Property

Matthew Zischka – Intellectual Property

Smart & Biggar’s complete listing in The Legal 500 can be viewed online.

About The Legal 500 Canada

The Legal 500 rankings highlight practice area teams that provide the most cutting-edge and innovative advice to corporate counsel. The guide’s research is based on feedback from 300,000 clients worldwide, submissions from law firms interviews with leading private practice lawyers, and a team of experienced legal market researchers.

The full intellectual property rankings for The Legal 500 Canada are available to view now.

About Smart & Biggar

Smart & Biggar is widely recognized as Canada’s leading intellectual property firm, with offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. We are leaders in intellectual property and have been serving clients for over a century. Smart & Biggar operates as part of the IPH Limited group, under its own brand and independent from other IPH member firms.