2026 TLA Awards Gala

2026 TLA Honsberger Award Recipient - Gerald Chan

Gerald Chan, who has earned a stellar reputation for his work in criminal, regulatory and professional liability litigation, will receive the Toronto Lawyers’ Association’s Honsberger Award on February 26, 2026 at the Omni King Edward Hotel.

“Gerald is a force in and outside the courtroom,” said TLA president Anna Wong. “He has been recognized by the legal community for his work as a leading public law practitioner. He is also a lovely person who is generous with giving his time to the legal profession.”

The Honsberger Award is presented to a mid-career Toronto lawyer or Toronto organization in recognition of a single unique accomplishment or ongoing contributions to the legal community and the community at large, exemplifying the association’s three pillars of Knowledge, Advocacy and Community.

Chan, a partner at Stockwoods LLP, practises public law litigation with expertise in criminal, constitutional and regulatory law. He defends clients in cases investigated by the RCMP Integrated Market Enforcement Teams, Ontario Securities Commission, Competition Bureau, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Labour. 

During his career, Chan has been lead defence counsel in significant white collar criminal trials and has served as a special prosecutor. He has acted on behalf of corporations, regulators and directors/officers in a range of regulatory and internal investigations dealing with such issues as price fixing, foreign corruption, integrity/ethics, corporate governance and audit practices.

Chan has served a variety of lawyers and law firms, from sole practitioners to boutiques to large corporate firms. He is called upon to deal with sensitive matters, including partnership disputes, conflict-of-interest litigation and negligence claims.

Chan is a former President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers and a former member of the Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee for the Ontario Court of Justice. As well, he is an advocacy advisor with the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, appearing in more than 20 appeals at the Supreme Court of Canada.

In 2024, Chan was inducted as a Fellow into both the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America. He is Chair of the Law Foundation of Ontario, a Law Society of Ontario Bencher as well as Vice-Chair of the Appeal Division of the Law Society Tribunal.

Chan was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada in 2019 by Canadian Lawyer, Benchmark Litigation’s White-Collar Crime/Enforcement Litigator of the Year in 2023 and Best Lawyers’ Criminal Defence Lawyer of the Year, Toronto, in 2024.

Sponsorship Opportunities

For inquiries about becoming a sponsor of the TLA Awards Gala 2026, please contact Joan Rataic-Lang at jrataiclang@tlaonline.ca.