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60 www.canadianlawyermag.com TOP LITIGATION LAW BOUTIQUES 2026 sometimes that is the approach you have to take. MB: What's in the best interests of the client is the strategic advice we want to give. To be hard on the issues when it's in the client's best interest, or to take a step back and look stra- tegically when the analysis favours a different approach. It's an ongoing conversation with the client, keeping their best interests and desired outcome in mind. Q: Associate development and firm culture came up often in the feedback. What does that actually look like day to day at the firm? MB: I remember one of my first days at the firm, Ed and Cynthia taking me through how I'd be staffed on a matter, very much in the traditional model of a senior and a junior splitting responsibility, developing right at the limit of where I was comfortable, and maybe a bit further, because that's the only way to get better. We're not a big firm, so you're going to have responsibility as a junior earlier, and we want that for our associates. CS: We think that to be a great litigator, you need to be in court getting experience, so we actively look for opportunities to develop our associates' skills and get them on their feet litigating early. On firm culture, we care deeply about our team, and we're very careful about who we hire. Ed's tradition is being hard on the issues but soft on the people where we can, and we take that in spades with our associates. We have a really great group of associates and partners who enjoy working together. It's a very collaborative culture. Woods LLP Woods LLP is the sole Montreal-based firm among the Eastern Canada winners, recog- nized in every report since 2012. Respondents point to the firm's scale and the calibre of its senior litigators, including a former Supreme Court of Canada judge. "Number of top litiga- tors, complexity of the files handled, [having a] former Supreme Court of Canada judge and a former Court of Appeal judge, quality of the entire team," says one. Ross Nasseri LLP earns recognition among the Eastern Canada winners. The firm formed in February 2021 when Justin Nasseri's Goddard Nasseri merged into Mark Ross' Ross Barristers, a firm that had been practising since 2006, making this year's recognition new for the combined firm even though the underlying practice is well established. Peer feedback points to the firm's growth trajectory under its current name. "The lawyers support and promote one another and are building a great new firm with smart strategic hiring," says a respondent. Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP (AGM) earns recognition among the Eastern Canada winners for the first time in this report's history, though the Toronto firm itself has practised since 1992. Peer feedback points to the firm's combination of senior-level depth and boutique focus, with directory recog- nition across competition, corporate, and construction litigation. "What makes AGM exemplary is that it offers clients the strategic firepower of a top- tier litigation shop without the structural dilution of a large full-service firm," says one survey respondent. In praise of Western Canada's top litigation law boutiques Hunter Litigation Chambers Hunter Litigation Chambers is recog- nized among Western Canada's top litigation law boutiques, with wins in every edition since 2012. Respondents point to the depth of talent across seniority levels and the firm's reputation with the courts. "The depth of talent, all the senior people are recognized as leading counsel, mid- level practitioners are highly regarded by the courts and administrative tribunals," says one. Randal Kaardal, KC, counsel at Hunter Litigation C hambers in Vancouver, spoke with CL about what has sustained that recognition. Q: Your chambers has won recogni- tion going back to 2012. What has "What's in the best interests of the client is the strategic advice we want to give. To be hard on the issues when it's in the client's best interest, or to take a step back and look strategically when the analysis favours a different approach" Michael Bookman, Babin Bessner Spry LLP SPECIAL REPORT