Sotos Services

We provide a comprehensive range of corporate, commercial, litigation, intellectual property, and real estate services to entrepreneurial businesses and their owners. Working primarily with businesses in the franchising, licensing and distribution industries. We help a wide-range of businesses and entrepreneurs to expand, grow and protect their brands and wealth.

Our Services

Corporate / Commercial

Our business lawyers represent a primarily entrepreneurial client base across every aspect of business law. From delivering strategic business advice to facilitating start-up business organization, ownership structures, sophisticated purchases and sales, reorganizations, financings and legal disputes.

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Employment Law

We provide practical and cost-effective strategic advice and representation for businesses, executives as well as other senior employees in a wide range of employment law matters.

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Franchise Law

Representing franchisors and franchisees, Sotos LLP is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs develop, grow, and protect their business in franchising, licensing, distribution, and almost every other commercial activity. We are Canada’s most experienced franchise law firm; widely recognized for having the country’s leading practitioners and litigators in the field of franchise law.

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Litigation

Our expertise in commercial and franchise litigation has resulted in many high-profile victories for our clients. Our advocacy extends across multiple disciplines and takes place at all levels of Ontario’s judicial system.

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Mergers and Acquisitions

Whether you are a large public company, a small family business or anything in between, we can provide you with strategic advice on how to best structure the transaction.

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Real Estate

Our commercial real estate lawyers negotiate on behalf of landlords and tenants in every legal aspect of buying, selling, owning, transferring and leasing commercial property.

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Secured Transactions

Whether you’re an individual borrower, developer, private corporation, bank or other lending institution, the lawyers at Sotos LLP are well-versed in negotiating, securing, and enforcing your lending and business planning transactions.

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Intellectual Property

From trade-marks, to straightforward technology licensing agreements to collaborative arrangements with research and teaching institutions, your intellectual property is fundamental to the success of your business goals which is why it should be managed and protected appropriately.

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Wills and Estates

How your assets are managed and distributed, and by whom, is as important as having a legal will in securing your family’s financial stability; be it during your lifetime, or after your death. Our wills and estates lawyers will assist you with all of your planning requirements.

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Our Services Include the Following

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Corporate and Commercial Law

Services Include

  • Advisory on business structures
  • Incorporations, shareholder agreements, partnership and similar agreements
  • Secured and unsecured financings
  • Tailored drafting of disclosure documents, franchise agreements, license and distribution agreements
  • Employment agreements
  • Regulatory compliance
  • M & A transactions
  • International expansion
  • Supplier agreements
  • Franchisee associations
  • Marketing law and CASL compliance
  • Corporate governance
  • Corporate reorganizations

Employment Law

Services Include

  • Executive compensation and agreements
  • Employment agreements
  • Termination advisory
  • Wrongful dismissal litigation
  • Collective bargaining negotiations
  • Employee benefit plans
  • Labour grievances
  • Employment standards
  • Human rights complaints
  • Occupational health and safety

Team Leader

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LOUIS SOKOLOV
P: 416-572-7316
E: lsokolov@sotos.ca

  • 25+ years of experience
  • First-rate counsel in employment law

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Franchise Law

Services Include

  • Conversion of a successful business to a successful franchise model
  • Area development and master franchising
  • Tailored drafting of disclosure documents and franchise agreements
  • Franchise system mergers, sales and acquisitions
  • Expansion and finance strategies, including international expansion
  • “Canadianizing” of foreign disclosure documents
  • IP and Trademarks
  • Real estate transactions, including leases, purchases and sales
  • Effective commercial litigation, dispute mediation and resolution, and arbitration
  • Related employment law
  • Personal wealth planning
  • Succession planning

Litigation

Services Include

  • Franchising licensing and distribution
  • Commercial contracts
  • Commercial leasing
  • Corporate and partnership disputes
  • Trade-marks
  • Insurance
  • Copyrights
  • Employment
  • Regulatory charges
  • Competition law including price-fixing
  • Privacy
  • Professional negligence
  • Defamation and anti-SLAPP
  • Franchise terminations
  • Franchise law expert witnesses
  • Opinions
  • Class and group actions
  • Local and international arbitrations
  • Mediations
  • Appeals
  • Appearances before all Canadian courts
  • Consumer complaints

Mergers and Acquisitions

Services Include

  • Private equity advisory and transactions
  • Asset and share sales
  • Unit franchise transfers
  • Franchise system purchases and sales
  • Franchise system due diligence
  • Cross-border mergers and acquisitions
  • Competition law

Real Estate

Services Include

  • Hotel/motel development and financing
  • Retail and industrial plaza financing and leasing
  • Commercial leasing
  • Joint ventures advisory and drafting
  • Landlord consents
  • Mortgage financing and enforcement
  • Construction financing and agreements
  • Construction lien registration and enforcement
  • Residential purchase and sales
  • Condominiums

Team Leader

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LOUIS ALEXOPOULOS
P: 416-977-5024
E: lalexo@sotosllp.com

  • 35+ years of experience
  • Expert in all aspects of acquisitions and financings
  • Hotels and restaurants
  • Commercial leasing expertise

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Secured Transactions

Services Include

  • Secured loan structuring and agreements
  • Registrations and enforcement
  • Debt consolidation
  • Government-sponsored small business loans
  • Refinancings
  • Trustee-in-bankruptcy opinions
  • Insolvencies

Intellectual Property

Services Include

  • Audit of existing registered and unregistered marks
  • Availability opinions
  • Applications to register marks in Canada and abroad
  • Interaction with trade-marks office
  • Opposition proceedings
  • Copyright advice
  • Intellectual property litigation
  • Drafting and litigation of non-compete and non-solicit agreements
  • Patent litigation
  • Counterfeit proceedings
  • Data sharing agreements
  • Technology transfers
  • Trade secret protection

Team Leader

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JOHN YIOKARIS
P: 416-977-3998
E: jyiokaris@sotos.ca

  • 20+ years of experience
  • Expert in all aspects of trademarks
  • Registered trademark agent for Canada
  • Advisor to brands looking to establish and protect their trademarks

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Trademarks

Services Include

Trademark

  • Applications and registration of trademarks
  • Due diligence
  • Licensing of trademarks
  • Transactions involving IP

Litigation

  • Trade secret litigation
  • Trademark litigation
  • Defending trademark rights
  • Trademark opposition matters

Team Leader

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JOHN YIOKARIS
P: 416-977-3998
E: jyiokaris@sotos.ca

  • 20+ years of experience
  • Expert in all aspects of trademarks
  • Registered trademark agent for Canada
  • Advisor to brands looking to establish and protect their trademarks

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Private Client Services

Services Include

  • Estate planning
  • Will drafting (including living wills)
  • Powers of attorney
  • Wealth management and protection
  • Business succession planning
  • Trusts
  • Wills and trust administration
  • Off-shore holdings
  • Estate litigation
  • Charitable giving

Team Leader

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LOUIS ALEXOPOULOS
P: 416-977-5024
E: lalexo@sotosllp.com

  • Strategic advisor on estates and trusts
  • Estate and trust administration

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Unit Franchisee Services

Services Include

  • Disclosure document review
  • Franchise agreement negotiation
  • Incorporations, shareholders agreements
  • Franchisee associations
  • Transfers
  • Commercial leases
  • Real estate purchases and sales
  • Government-sponsored small business loans
  • Secured loans
  • Wills, estates and succession planning
  • Litigation and arbitration of disputes
  • Employment law