Andrew Bernstein > Torys > Toronto, Canada > Lawyer Profile
Torys Offices

79 WELLINGTON STREET WEST, SUITE 3000
BOX 270, TD CENTRE
TORONTO, ONTARIO
Canada
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Andrew Bernstein

Work Department
Intellectual Property
Position
Andrew provides clients with leading experience, deep knowledge and skilled advocacy to advance their interests in patent and commercial disputes, as well as appellate matters, in all levels of court.
Andrew helps clients involved in numerous types of disputes, including intellectual property, commercial and public law matters. A significant portion of his practice involves patents, copyright, trademarks arising in the life sciences, information technology, media and other industries.
Andrew’s commercial litigation practice includes considerable experience in class actions, licensing, contract and tort actions, frequently advising and defending traditional and new media clients on defamation and free expression issues. He also has a strong track record in public law matters, having acted for both public- and private-sector clients in administrative hearings, judicial reviews and constitutional law cases.
Andrew is an experienced appellate lawyer. He has helped numerous clients navigate difficult appeals before the Ontario and Federal Courts of Appeal, as well as other appellate courts across the country in a wide variety of areas of substantive law, including contracts, patents, copyright, class actions, administrative and constitutional law. He has also argued several appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Career
Ontario Bar, 1999
Memberships
Andrew is currently the Co-Chair of the Advocates Society’s Appellate Practice Group, which he founded. He has previously been the Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Intellectual Property section, a member of the Board of Directors of the Advocates Society and a member of the Board of IT.Can.
In 1997 and 1998, Andrew served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Lamer of the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2003–2004, Andrew obtained his LLM at the University of California (Berkeley), primarily focusing on intellectual property law.
Lawyer Rankings
Canada > Intellectual property
(Leading partners)IP lawyers at Torys stand out for being ‘very smart in the legal theory but also very practical’. The Toronto-based team strikes a balance between IP litigation and advisory work, with its expertise in the latter area considered particularly formidable. Historically recognized for its capability in transactional support matters, the team also excels in patent and trademark filing, prosecution and strategy; notably, it filed 780 patent and trademark applications during 2023/24. IP chair Eileen McMahon contributes thirty years of experience in IP law, with a focus on patent work. Other non-contentious specialists include Edward Fan, who advises on the acquisition, enforcement and exploitation of IP; Teresa Reguly, who has a focus on life sciences clients; and Michelle Nelles, who specializes in trademark law and branding. Andrew Shaughnessy heads the IP litigation area and recently paired up with Andrew Bernstein — who maintains a broad dispute resolution practice — to represent Sanofi-Aventis Canada in a complex patent case. Nicole Mantini is also noted for litigation.
Canada > Dispute resolution: Ontario
(Leading partners)The team at Torys‘ Ontario disputes department is well-versed in shareholder litigation and corporate-commercial litigation. The group’s client roster frequently features domestic and multinational companies in the financial services, insurance, tech, retail and manufacturing sectors. Practice co-head Linda Plumpton specializes in competition litigation, securities litigation, class action defence and corporate and commercial disputes. Also co-leading, Sarah Whitmore handles class actions, commercial litigation, employment law and media law. Also noted are Sheila Block
(commercial and securities litigation, IP, defamation and administrative law cases); Gillian Dingle (corporate and securities litigation); and Andrew Bernstein (public law and appellate work).
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners Canada > Dispute resolution: Ontario
- Leading partners Canada > Intellectual property
- Dispute resolution: Ontario Canada
- Intellectual property Canada
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Corporate and M&A
- Infrastructure projects
- Insurance
- Energy and natural resources > Oil and gas
- Energy and natural resources > Power
Firm Rankings
- Banking and finance
- Cannabis
- Capital markets
- Competition and antitrust
- Dispute resolution: Ontario
- Environment
- Intellectual property
- International expertise
- Energy and natural resources > Mining
- Pensions
- Real estate
- Tax
- Technology
- Dispute resolution: Quebec
- Indigenous law
- International trade
- Public procurement
- Restructuring and insolvency
- Labour and employment