

Strong Representation
The strength and reputation of our profession rests upon education, mentorship, diversity and the ability to adapt to the needs of our members. Creating programs which support small firms and sole practitioners is essential to protect the public interest.
Throughout my career I have been a small firm practitioner living in York Region. Most of these years have been spent in a practice in Vaughan, so I have always held a unique connection to the Central East Region. I have appeared throughout the province on very serious and some very high profile cases, and have developed a strong and direct manner of communication. I will bring this strong and direct voice to Convocation. In addition, if elected, I will develop ongoing communication with membership through local law associations to foster updates, input and feedback on current and continuing issues before Convocation.
Strong Record
My practice has touched on almost every aspect of criminal litigation. I have appeared in all levels of Court throughout Ontario as well as the Supreme Court of Canada. I have also acted as a Federal Crown Attorney. As a small firm practitioner for over 23 years, I understand the challenges of practicing law and managing your own business. I am committed to ensuring that the needs and voices of small firms and sole practitioners are heard.
I began my career in the profession during a recession in the early 1990s, and can readily identify with the challenges of making a fair living. I understand the concerns of both barristers and solicitors.
Strong Mentor
Today there is a thirst for education and mentorship. Education is essential to the continued success of our profession and to honouring and maintaining our profession’s reputation. I have been a speaker and contributor at CPD engagements but, my greatest pride comes from an initiative I pioneered in 2010 called the “Garage Series”. The aim of the Garage Series is to deliver high quality CPD seminars in the Ethics and Practice of Criminal Law. The series is free and open to Criminal Defence Practitioners, Crown Attorneys and Judges, and its goal is to engage new members and mentors. With more than 40 prominent speakers, 18 programs and in excess of 4000 participants since its inception, I have hosted this grassroots program to give back to the legal profession while connecting and educating junior counsel, and to help those struggling in practice.
I have had the benefit of mentorship from some of the top lawyers in Canada and I continue the tradition by mentoring those in need.
Strong Platform
I believe there is currently a disconnect between the Law Society and its base membership. The Law Society must be the voice of membership, it should take direction from its membership, and also support its membership. It is my belief that in achieving these goals, a stronger Bar will follow. It is only through a strong Bar that the public interest is properly served.
- Education/Mentorship
- Alternative Business Structures
- Equality and Diversity
- Small firm/Sole Practitioner Support
- Discipline and Regulation
- Legal Aid
As a resource and tool for its membership, the Law Society must launch an education portal. The portal will be free and available to all members and will contain content from archived events one year and older. This would enable up to date information to be shared, as well as provide membership with the necessary practice resources. The implementation of this portal will not compete nor inhibit revenue stream derived by the Law Society from current CPD events.
Current CPD events provided by the Law Society must allocate a portion of their programs to have free registration for young members at the Bar. This will promote and facilitate young members’ access to continuing education and the opportunity to network with mentors. These events must also provide free webcast accessibility to young members not located in large urban centres so that education is accessible throughout the province.
I believe mentorship is our profession’s greatest resource. Providing quality education and guidance to junior members of the bar is necessary for the betterment of the profession and the protection of the public. Individuals who undertake this vital role should be able to submit their mentorship hours to qualify for CPD credits.
NO! I am absolutely against the introduction of Alternative Business Structures. It is my position that such a proposal is fraught with potential pitfalls and threatens the independence of counsel.
Alternative Business Structures do not ensure access to justice, but rather support the delivery of the most cost efficient representation. ABS will result in the loss of quality representation to the detriment of our profession and service to the public.
My platform centres on promoting initiatives that help improve the quality of the Bar through education, mentorship, and civility. Creating a stronger Bar will ensure that the public’s interests are protected. Alternative Business Structures run contrary to this notion and will reduce the competency level and independence of the legal profession.
I will strongly lead initiatives at the Law Society to help with the retention of women in private practice, as well as promote and assist racialized lawyers in entering and remaining within our profession. It is my platform that the stronger these program initiatives are, the stronger and more representative our profession will be.
I will push to establish a fulsome parental leave program through the Law Society. I will also lead the Law Society to lobby Legal Aid to create a supplementary parental leave program for lawyers who have a legal aid practice.
Beyond programs we need stronger encouragement and support for our membership, especially women and diverse individuals. There must be a strong and clear message from the Law Society so that the Law Society Benchers actually promote diversity amongst their membership. Implementing education programs and mentorship programs to help all members succeed in practice is the first step. What is also required is a unanimous stand on issues that offend the principles of diversity, such as the Benchers lack of unanimity on the vote against accreditation of Trinity Western Law School.
In order to protect small firms and sole practitioners, the Law Society needs to develop programs that support individuals who work on the front lines. To assist with the unique challenges that these practitioners face, it is my position that a new support system should be undertaken by an office independent of practice advisory to focus solely on new members and sole and small firm practitioners. This support office would help with the various challenges these practitioners face on a day to day basis, from ethical concerns, to education, to technology and accounting.
We also need to improve on programs for matching retiring lawyers and young lawyers (in both rural and urban areas) to provide an opportunity for seamless transition and continued viability of established sole/small practices. It is important to ensure that workable exit and succession strategies for retiring practitioners are considered. I recommend the establishment of an opt-in retirement plan for members. The Law Society has the ability to leverage the present infrastructure with LawPro to create a separate division to manage such an asset pool.
The Benchers must make it a priority to review the current disciplinary process. As part of this process, the Law Society must adopt a proactive and preventative stance on discipline as a fundamental principle. Education should be the priority long before discipline ever sets in. It is my view that many disciplinary actions can be prevented if membership is provided with proper education, tools and support.
The Law Society must also recognize the importance of the principle that counsel be independent. Discipline must be fair and proportionate. A fair process is not a weak process. We must include for the benefit of all our members the implementation of a full time duty counsel to augment the volunteer roster.
To avoid overregulation, the Law Society as a self-governing regulator, needs to implement an office of an independent Ombudsman.
Since July 2010, lawyers in Ontario have collected and remitted billions of tax dollars to our government through the payment of HST charged on legal fees. The province has not yet been called upon to account for the provincial portion of the HST collected. The province has collected its fair share of resources and has a direct responsibility to equitably support access to justice, which includes a properly funded Legal Aid system.
As the Law Society has the right to appoint two Directors to Legal Aid Ontario, these appointed directors must have a mandate that recognizes this inequity. Their mandate must recognize the limits the Legal Aid tariff puts on users and providers of those services. We must call for an expansion of the eligibility requirements and a higher tariff for those providing these valued services.
Greenspan Partners LLP
Bernstein Newman
Lafontaine & Assoc
Law Office Of Rudi Covre
Cooper Barristers
Addario Law Group
Darren S Sederoff & Associates
Law chambers of Sachak and Jamshidi
Berstein Newman
Barrister & Solicitor
Di Luca Barristers
Burstein Bryant Barristers
James Silver and Associates
KM Law PC
CACEIS (Canada) Inc.
Michael DeRubeis LLB
MInistry of the attorney General
Law Office of Juan Lopez
Ricardo G. Federico Barrister-at-Law
Deakin Law Office
Koskie Minsky LLP
Taro Inoue, Barrister
Weisberg Law PC
Goodman Berman, Barristers
Caramanna, Friedberg LLP
Peter Connelly Professional Corporation
Daoud Law PC
Joanne C. McLean Law
Sharon Worthman/ Barrister & Solicitor
Singla Law Office
Criminal Defence Law
Cydney Israel Professional Corporation
Bernstein Newman and Associates
Jeffrey L. Fisher, Barrister
Sole Practitioner
Derstine Penman
Marsha Kideckel
McArthur Law Office
BTZ
Wigderson & Associate
Neuberger & Partners LLP
Hassell Trial Counsel
Neuman & Grant
Yossi Schochet
Lockyer Law Firm
MacDonald Law PC
PPSC
Thomas S. Dungey
Joseph Castaldo Professional Corporation
Hobson & Reeve
Arvin Ross Professional Corporation
Joseph H. Kappy – Barrister
Kathryn L. Smithen, Barrister, Solicitor & Notary Public
Hechter Criminal Defence
John Abrams Law Office, Hamilton
David Cohn
Cudjoe Law Office
Lonny Mark Criminal Law Office
Romain Law Professional Corporation
Matt Hickey Law
ORKIN LAW OFFICE
Laurence Cohen & Associates
John Liss
Burstein Bryant Barristers
Jordan Weisz criminal lawyers
Jacqueline An Law Office
Grill Barristers
Ann Brailsford-Child, Barrister, Solicitor, Notary
Lafontaine & Associates
Barrister & Solicitor & Bencher Candidate
KM Law PC
James Silver and Associates
Addario Law Group
Law chambers of Sachak and Jamshidi
Todd Brett White, Barristers
PERSAUD LAW GROUP
Law Office of David Zbarsky
Rigobon Carli
Crown Attorney’s Office, St. John’s
Legal Aid Sasktachewa