About Ken Wise

Kenneth E. Wise

Principal — Ken Wise & Associates

Ken Wise has practised litigation in Ontario since 1981. Over more than four decades he has appeared before every level of court in the province — from the Small Claims Court to the Court of Appeal for Ontario — and before a wide range of administrative tribunals. His practice covers civil and commercial litigation, appeals and judicial review, estates and guardianship disputes, family law, employment matters, construction liens, and administrative law.

He founded Ken Wise & Associates to do the work he thinks matters most: acting for individuals, families, and small businesses who find themselves up against institutions, insurers, government bodies, or opposing counsel with deeper pockets. The firm has acted in thousands of matters for clients across Ontario.

How Ken Works

Free introductory email consultation. Send a short summary of your situation and Ken will tell you, at no charge, whether he can help.
Available anywhere in Ontario. The firm operates virtually. Consultations and meetings are held by video or telephone, so it makes no difference whether you are in Toronto, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, or a small town in between.
Limited scope retainers. If you are representing yourself and need help with one step — a motion, a factum, a settlement conference — Ken can take on that piece alone rather than the whole file.
Flat rates on defined services. Fixed pricing where the scope of work can be fixed, so you know the cost before you commit.
Files other lawyers have already handled. A substantial part of the practice is appeals and judicial review — matters that arrive after a decision has already gone the wrong way.
English, Yiddish and Hebrew.

Free introductory email consultation

info@kenwiseandassociates.ca · (647) 288-5531

Serving clients throughout Ontario by video and telephone

Education and Call to the Bar

Master of Laws (LL.M.) — Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 1988
Juris Doctor, with distinction — Queen's University, 1979
Bachelor of Arts, Political Economy, with distinction — University of Toronto, 1975
Called to the Ontario bar in 1981 — Law Society of Ontario

Four Decades of Practice

Ken began his career in litigation at Cassels Mitchell Somers Dutton & Winkler, and went on to practise at Laxton, Glass, Swartz and then at Smiley, Allingham, MacFarland & Stortini, where he appeared as junior counsel in the Ontario High Court of Justice.

From 1987 to 2001 he was Managing Partner of Walker Poole Milligan LLP, a Toronto litigation firm, handling commercial, municipal, and insurance litigation and appearing regularly before the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

He established Ken Wise & Associates in 2001 and has led the firm since.

Appellate Work and Judicial Review

A substantial part of Ken's practice involves appeals and applications for judicial review. Much of that work arrives after a decision has already gone the wrong way — files referred by other lawyers, or clients who lost below and need someone to assess whether the decision can stand.

That work has taken him before the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Divisional Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and the Federal Court, as well as the Landlord and Tenant Board, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Licence Appeal Tribunal, the Immigration and Refugee Board, and the Social Security Tribunal.

Reported Decisions

Appeals and Judicial Review

Singh v. Air Canada, 2026 ONSC 2983 (Div. Ct.) — Acting for the appellant. A woman bought flights for relatives travelling to a wedding, took an assignment of their claims after the flights were disrupted, and sued in her own name. The motion judge struck the claim as champertous and held that the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act reached only real property. The Divisional Court disagreed on every point: the Act applies to choses in action generally, a pre-existing financial interest negates any inference of champerty, and a court hearing a Rule 12.02 motion must consider amendments before striking. Appeal allowed.
McDonald v. Robb, 2025 ONCA 71 — Acting for the appellant at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, where the client's action had been dismissed without notice to her. The dismissal was set aside for procedural unfairness.
12001721 Canada Inc. v. Switzer, 2023 ONSC 2676 (Div. Ct.) — Acting for the appellant on whether a claim belonged in the Small Claims Court or before the Landlord and Tenant Board. Appeal allowed; the court declined to follow earlier authority.
Tarmac Canada Inc. v. Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, 1999 CanLII 2692 (ON CA) — Counsel in a leading Court of Appeal decision on public tendering, holding that a privilege clause does not displace the duty of fairness owed to bidders. The decision has been cited in more than nineteen subsequent cases.

Landlord and Tenant

Wright v. Lallion, 2024 ONSC 4132 (Div. Ct.) — Acting for tenants whose request for review the Landlord and Tenant Board had refused without holding a hearing. Appeal allowed, matter remitted, and costs awarded to the tenants.
Andre Edwards v. Centurion Property Associates Inc., 2026 ONSC 4071 (Div. Ct.) — Acting for the tenant on relief from eviction under s. 83 of the Residential Tenancies Act.

Construction Liens

R & V Construction Management Inc. v. Baradaran, 2020 ONSC 3111 (Div. Ct.) — Acting for the respondents in a construction lien matter that settled whether masters could exercise "Enhanced Powers" on summary judgment. The decision has since been cited in more than thirty subsequent cases — the most-cited decision in which Ken has appeared.
R & V Construction Management Inc. v. Baradaran, 2019 ONSC 1551 — Acting for the defendant and successful moving party at first instance. The ruling was reported by Law Times.

Estates, Guardianship and Family

Aplyn Estate v. Aplyn, 2023 ONCA 429 — Court of Appeal for Ontario, on joint accounts and whether a transfer was a gift or held on resulting trust.
Carey-Patel v. Carey, 2019 ONCA 960 — Court of Appeal for Ontario, on the guardianship of an elderly parent.
Alsous v. Shahin, 2024 ONCA 358 — Acting for the successful respondent at the Court of Appeal on a contested date of separation.
Chang v. Hsieh, 2023 ONSC 5895 — Acting for the applicants.
Paul v. Baker, 2025 ONSC 4097 — Acting for the applicant.

Earlier Career

Toronto Stock Exchange v. Regional Assessment Commissioner, Region No. 9, 1996 CanLII 913 (ON CA) — As junior counsel for the appellant. The Court of Appeal held the Exchange was not liable for business assessment, applying the preponderant-purpose test. Appeal allowed.
Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v. Ontario Veterinary Association, 1986 CanLII 2521 (ON HCJ) — Acting for the individual defendants.

Recognition

Ken's work has been covered in the legal press. Law Times reported on the R & V Construction ruling in April 2019 under the headline "Masters denied judges' 'enhanced powers'," quoting Ken on the decision's approach to statutory interpretation.

Talk to Ken about your case

The introductory email consultation is free and there is no obligation to retain the firm.

info@kenwiseandassociates.ca · (647) 288-5531

Serving clients throughout Ontario by video and telephone

Past results are not necessarily indicative of future outcomes. Every case turns on its own facts.

Speak With Ken Wise

Ken Wise has practised law in Ontario for more than 40 years and appears before all levels of court in the province, as well as before administrative tribunals. The firm acts for clients throughout Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, and works remotely with clients across Ontario.

We offer a free introductory email consultation. Send a short summary of your situation to info@kenwiseandassociates.ca and Ken will tell you, at no charge, whether he can help. You can also call (647) 288-5531.

The information on this page is general information only and is not legal advice. Contacting the firm does not create a solicitor-client relationship.