Sheldon Barris

Toronto native Sheldon Barris has enjoyed success in not one, but two careers for more than three decades. In addition Sheldon Barris has carried on a multitude of other personal and business ventures. As owner and president of Jorlee Holdings Limited, the Toronto-based private mortgage lending corporation he founded in 1992, he and his team provide financing for a range of construction and development projects, throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Sheldon Barris graduated from the University of Toronto, with a Bachelor of Science degree, and, thereafter, Osgoode Hall Law School, when he graduated in the top third of his class. Although he jokes today that he excelled in “pushing teachers’ buttons,” he was in fact always a consistent top ten percentile student. Sheldon then opened his first law practice immediately upon graduation.

Sheldon was quickly making a name for himself as a sole practitioner when in 1987, the prestigious law firm Spencer Romberg came calling. He was personally recruited by Sheldon Esbin, the firm’s iconic senior partner, to serve as a junior attorney specializing in real estate, finance and corporate commercial law. Considering Esbin something of a mentor, Sheldon worked side by side with Sheldon Esbin until 1992 when Spencer Romberg was dissolved.

By that time, Sheldon had gained a substantial amount of knowledge in corporate, commercial and real estate law and private financing and had earned a reputation for excellence and integrity amongst both his peers and clients. He was widely regarded as fair, honest and always looking for a win for all sides. In 1992, with his Spencer Romberg days behind him, he established a new law firm, Sheldon Barris Barrister and Solicitor, and his finance lending company, Jorlee Holdings Limited while preserving a consistent close connection with Sheldon Esbin.

In 2006, with his finance business demanding more of his time, Sheldon made the decision to put his Law Society of Upper Canada license on hold so as to devote himself solely to Jorlee. Sheldon’s record with the Law Society has been an unblemished one as he continues to receive great praise from his clientele in the years since.