Precedent Magazine — Spring 2023

A CAREER AND LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR TORONTO LAWYERS

THE 2023 PRECEDENT SETTER AWARDS Plus

A lawyer’s guide to building a sustainable wardrobe And

Bay Street’s billable-hour targets

SPRING 2023

Darian Baskatawang Associate, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP

Congratulations to all the partners who were recently announced on the Precedent A-List! a-list.lawandstyle.ca The Precedent A-List is your online source for awards, promotions, new hires and other legal news

Lerners announces partner Lindsay Abercrombie

Fogler, Rubinoff announces partner Hailey Abramsky

Hicks Morley announces partner David Alli

Thomson Rogers announces partner Camelia Amiri

Stockwoods announces partner Stephen Aylward

Lerners announces partner Kathryn Ball

Torkin Manes announces partner Robert Barbiero

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Rachael Belanger

Smart & Biggar announces principal Andrea Berenbaum

Minden Gross announces partner Steven Birken

Lerners announces partner Debbie Boswell

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Colin Cameron-Vendrig

Get more news online at a-list.lawandstyle.ca

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Jeffrey Coghlan

Rae Christen Jeffries announces partner Evan Daikov

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Laura Day

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Laura Delemere

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Gautam Dhillon

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Michelle Dion

Torkin Manes announces partner Cody Dolgay

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Melissa Eldridge

WeirFoulds announces partner Shawn English

Lerners announces partner Mark Evans

Smart & Biggar announces principal Ryan T. Evans

Smart & Biggar announces principal Lionel Fishman

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Roberto Ghignone

Minden Gross announces partner Ryan Ghuman

WEL Partners announces partner Bryan Gilmartin

Paliare Roland announces partner Danielle Glatt

Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel announces partner Catherine GleasonMercier

WeirFoulds announces partner Micah Goldstein

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Amélie Gouin

DMG Advocates announces partner Corey Groper

Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel announces partner Edmundo P. Guevara

Thornton Grout Finnigan announces partner Andrew Hanrahan

Paliare Roland announces partner Glynnis Hawe

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Lindsey Hornland

Torkin Manes announces partner Gillian Howe

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Parisa Gerami Hurst

Thomson Rogers announces partner Lucy Jackson

Lenczner Slaght announces partner Colin Johnston

Hicks Morley announces partner Sunny Khaira

Smart & Biggar announces principal Jamie-Lynn Kraft

Dickinson Wright announces partner Lucie Kroumova

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Christine Laviolette

Mathews Dinsdale announces partner Jackie Laviolette

Hicks Morley announces partner Amanda LawrencePatel

Torkin Manes announces partner James Leech

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Shelby Liesch

Smart & Biggar announces principal Kwan T. Loh

Hicks Morley announces partner Allison MacIsaac

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Laura Mensch

Lenczner Slaght announces partner Sarah Millar

Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb announces partner Zain Naqi

Thornton Grout Finnigan announces partner Rachel Nicholson

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner François NoletLévesque

Mathews Dinsdale announces partner Kim Nusbaum

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Odessa O’Dell

Hicks Morley announces partner Edward O’Dwyer

Thomas Gold Pettingill announces partner Natasha O’Toole

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Laura Poppel

Lenczner Slaght announces partner Aoife Quinn

Mathews Dinsdale announces partner Stephanie Ramsay

Lenczner Slaght announces partner Margaret Robbins

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer announces partner Aaron Rogers

Loopstra Nixon announces partner Brendan Ruddick

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Hugo Saint Laurent

Lerners announces partner Jane Scholes

Loopstra Nixon announces partner Christophe Shammas

Owens Wright announces partner Kiren Sihota

WeirFoulds announces partner Abbey Sinclair

Smart & Biggar announces principal Guillaume Lavoie Ste-Marie

Lerners announces partner Renée Zatzman Stein

Get more news online at a-list.lawandstyle.ca

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Samantha Stepney

Thomson Rogers announces partner Matthew Sutton

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Jonathan Thoburn

Thornton Grout Finnigan announces partner Adrian Visheau

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Pierre Visockis

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Laura Wagner

Owens Wright announces partner John Wallace

Lerners announces partner Greg Willson

Gilbert’s announces partner Andrea Rico Wolf

Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers announces partner Michael Wolkowicz

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Andrew Reid Workman

Waddell Phillips announces partner Tina Yang

Borden Ladner Gervais announces partner Richard Yehia

Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer announces partner Janna Young

To share your news, contact us at alist.support@precedentmagazine.com 416-929-4495

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12th Human Rights Summit

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6th Motor Vehicle Litigation Summit

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Law Society of Ontario

CONTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

S P R I N G 2 02 3. VO LUM E 17. I S S U E 1 .

As a lawyer, you have this form of knowledge and power and access that’s unlike anything else.

I can’t squander that.”

08

Behind the Scenes We pull back the curtain on the judging process of the Precedent Setter Awards

11

Opener The massive billable-hour targets on Bay Street have a cost

Precedent Setter Award winner Sarah Beamish

13

Advice How the busiest lawyer can take a restful vacation

← P.29

18

IMAGES BY: ISTOCK (SUITCASE). HAIR AND MAKEUP BY: JASMINE MERINSKY (SARAH BEAMISH)

Profile As chief legal counsel at EY Canada, Shara Roy is leading an in-house revolution

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Events Photos from this year’s Toronto Lawyers Association Awards Gala

14

Homes Stefanie Holland of Cassels invites us into her Lawrence Park house, the ideal place to raise a young family

ON THE COVER:

Precedent Setter Award winner Darian Baskatawang, an associate at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP. Photograph

by Daniel Ehrenworth

FEATURES

The Precedent Setter Awards How the profession’s junior talent is setting a new standard for legal excellence and community work P. 24

Fashion conscious Meet three Toronto lawyers who’ve built professional wardrobes that are as stylish as they are sustainable P.3 2

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL EHRENWORTH

22

Culture This Bay Street partner’s office reflects the busy life of a new parent

BACKPAGE

38

The Interview Osler’s managing partner opens up about everything from his insomnia to his pet canary

7

BEHIND THE SCENES

SPRING 2023. VOLUME 17. ISSUE 1.

PUBLISHER Melissa Kluger EDITOR Daniel Fish MARKETING COORDINATOR Wednesday Bell CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ASSOCIATE Maureen Barnes ART DIRECTOR Nicola Hamilton ACCOUNTING Cathy Blewett CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Liza Agrba, Jeremy Freed, Rebecca Gao, Danielle Groen, Simon Lewsen, Odessa Paloma Parker

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS Daniel Ehrenworth, Brent Gooden, Sam Island, Melinda Josie, Arthur Mola, David Pike, Matt Tibbo Photography, May Truong, Christie Vuong

How we picked this year’s Precedent Setter Award winners

DIGITAL IMAGING SPECIALIST Paul Jerinkitsch Imaging FACT-CHECKER Catherine Dowling PROOFREADERS Dustin Dyer, Lazarus James, Jennifer Marston, Anna Maxymiw, Sarah Munn

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HST NUMBER 84476 9398 RT0001 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADRESSES TO: Precedent Magazine, 2 Berkeley Street, Suite 205, Toronto, ON M5A 4J5

Over lunch at the University Club, Precedent’s editor, Daniel Fish, moderated the judges’ meeting for our annual Precedent Setter Awards

SUBSCRIPTIONS Canada: $35.95 per year (4 issues) International: $74.95 per year (4 issues) Visit precedentmagazine.com/subscribe to order a subscription.

Selecting the winners of our annual Precedent Setter Awards is a mighty undertaking. First, we ask the legal community to nominate lawyers in their first 10 years of practice who have a track record of legal excellence and community involvement.

Next, we assemble a panel of four leading lawyers to serve as judges, a job that involves poring over the submissions and determining the winners.

This year, Precedent’s editor, Daniel Fish, moderated the judges’ meeting over lunch at the University Club in Toronto. “In the previous two years, we held the meeting

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A MAJOR OVERHAUL

Precedent is a career and lifestyle magazine for Toronto lawyers, published twice a year

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All rights reserved. No part of Precedent may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written consent of Law and Style Media Inc. The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor, or staff of Precedent magazine.

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SPRING 2023

You might have noticed that Precedent has a fresh look. Over the past six months, we’ve redesigned the magazine from top to

over Zoom,” says Fish. “But there’s nothing quite like getting together in person with a group of first-rate lawyers to talk about the next generation of legal leaders.”

The judges—whom you can meet by heading over to our Precedent Setter Awards package on page 24—left the lunch with a similar feeling of optimism. “It was fascinating to me to watch how other lawyers have woven their individual legal journeys,” says Warda Shazadi Meighen, a partner at Landings LLP and one of this year’s judges. “I was inspired by the integrity of the lawyers in our profession.”

bottom. In this issue, you’ll find original story formats, more content and—for any typography aficionados— a whole new slate of fonts.

The magazine’s structure has changed, too. In the past, we devoted the first half of each issue to newsy topics and the second half to culture.

But why relegate all the fun stuff to the back? We’re now mixing up the content, with hard-hitting stories on the

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTHUR MOLA

profession sitting next to our lifestyle journalism.

We’ve also worked to make the magazine delightful.

Our art director, Nicola Hamilton, encouraged us to add “whispers” to every page.

So, we packed this issue with pull quotes, detail-rich photo captions, punchy sidebars and other bonus content.

We hope you have as much fun reading the new Precedent as we had making it.

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IDEAS. BUSINESS. CULTURE.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TARGETS Sky-high billable-hour targets are rampant throughout the legal world. Is reform possible? • By Daniel Fish • The history of the modern law firm—a peculiar business that asks its workforce to bill by the hour and devote themselves to daunting annual targets—is surprisingly uncomplicated. The story begins in the 1950s, a time when law firms typically charged set rates for discrete tasks. Prices were high, but clients begrudgingly accepted the cost. ¶ In 1960, however, the legal world started to transform. Throughout the decade, new regulations—in employment, banking, human rights—triggered a spike in corporate legal work. To meet the demand, law firms swelled in size and built up specialized practice groups. Billing practices, too, underwent a historic reform. “General counsels demanded a better method for determining the cost of legal work, and fixed fee schedules simply could not account for the ever growing and complex list of services that firms provided,” according to an article in the Stanford Law Review that chronicles this period. The billable hour came to dominate the industry. ¶ That did not, on its own, lead to a spike in workload. In the 1960s, most lawyers thought it reasonable to bill between 1,200 and 1,500 hours a year—or roughly five to six hours per workday, a manageable amount. Then the 1980s arrived. Salary competition became fierce. As the Stanford paper explains, lawyers “sought to improve their 11

IDEAS

position relative to their colleagues and to other high-status workers,” particularly those in finance, who became wealthier near the beginning of the decade. To afford higher salaries, law firms pushed lawyers to work longer hours and drive up profits.

The proliferation of aggressive annual targets arose at this historical moment.

Fast-forward to today. At many of Bay Street’s top firms, the average associate lives under an annual billable-hour target between 1,750 and 1,900. Those figures translate to about seven and seven-anda-half billable hours each workday. Let’s assume, though, that a lawyer wants to mentor a summer student. Attend seminars on the latest legal trends. Have lunch with potential clients. Now, in the vast majority of cases, the only way to hit that target is to work regularly over the evening and weekend. (In some instances, associates can allocate tasks like mentorship and professional development toward their yearly targets, but policies of this kind are by no means universal.)

Such long hours can exact a toll. In 2022, a research team at the University of Sherbrooke published a landmark study on the mental health of lawyers in Canada. The report found that 68 percent of lawyers who have to bill more than 1,800 hours per year have experienced psychological distress, an umbrella term that includes a range of potential health issues like fatigue, anxiety and insomnia. Among those with an annual target between 1,200 and 1,800 hours, that number is still far too high—at 60 percent—but the data is clear. Working long hours puts lawyers at a heightened risk of mental anguish. As one lawyer told the authors, “The pressure to meet billable hours and the expectation to be constantly available to senior lawyers have caused me serious mental health problems. I am exhausted all the time.” How can the profession tackle this dilemma?

In his nearly decade-long legal career, Nathaniel Marshall has seen the inside of all kinds of workplaces: boutiques and large firms, on the East Coast and in Toronto. He also knows what it’s like to chase an immense target, having on more than one occasion billed about 2,100 hours in a single year. Looking back, he has no regrets. “It’s a great way to learn,” says the 36-year-old. But he didn’t see that sort of volume as sustainable.

At the start of 2022, he launched his own practice, Marshall Workplace Law, in the

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SPRING 2023

area of workplace investigations. Partly to keep costs down, but also for lifestyle reasons, he decided to run the firm remotely, with access to shared office space in downtown Toronto. When building a team—which, about a year after the firm opened, included an assistant and three staff lawyers—he prized work-life balance.

Together, Marshall and his team agreed on an annual target of 1,300 to 1,500 hours.

The lawyers also accepted salaries that sit below what they would earn with a higher target at a large Bay Street firm. In the future, Marshall is open to increasing his team’s compensation in exchange for a heavier workload, but he intends to tread carefully. “I never want my staff to feel like

ILLUSTRATION BY SAM ISLAND

I never want my staff to feel like they have onerous targets.”

PRECEDENTMAGAZINE.COM

IDEAS

they have onerous targets,” he says. “I want people coming in feeling refreshed, mentally well and in a good space.”

Faren Bogach has adopted the same philosophy. In January 2022, she took what she calls “a leap of faith.” Fifteen years into her legal career—during which she’d made partner at a leading Bay Street firm and become an expert in construction law—she opened her own practice: Construct Legal.

In short order, she hired three lawyers and took on the same kind of work she always had, including contracts, risk management and complex litigation.

Her long-term plan is to rethink much of the private-practice business model. But, in the firm’s early days, she took aim at one

tradition in particular: the billable-hour target. Bogach, now 40, wanted to avoid one altogether. In her view, no matter how low she set the bar, her committed team would simply blow past it.

Instead, she implemented a billable-hour maximum. Collectively, the team agreed on an annual cap of 1,750 hours. “I would’ve done, like, 1,600, to be honest,” says Bogach.

But her colleagues thought that a slightly higher number was reasonable and would still prevent deleterious overwork.

Putting that rule into practice was a challenge. For one thing, construction law is a time-intensive area. “I’m not just working nine to five,” says Paul Conrod, a fourthyear lawyer at the firm. “I do regularly start earlier than that and end later.”

And, as Bogach explains, the demands of litigation are no less intense: “You’re in trial? It’s hard. It’s brutal. We don’t go, ‘Oh, it’s 5:00. We have our maximum billable hours. Okay, we’re out of here!’ You have to keep working.”

But the firm is serious about its maximum-hours policy. The team meets often to talk about workload, upcoming deadlines and whether anyone is stretched too thin. That approach has worked. Last year, no one billed beyond the 1,750-hour ceiling. Conrod could “quite regularly” close his laptop on Friday and not open it again until Monday. In a profession beset by overwork, he considers that a meaningful accomplishment.

That accomplishment has involved a compromise: Bogach pays each lawyer a slightly below-market base salary. At the year-end, though, she divvies up any surplus profit and disburses it through bonuses. In 2022, no one earned less than they had the year before at their previous firms—in part, says Bogach, because of the firm’s low overhead and its first-rate work on behalf of clients—but there’s no guarantee that subsequent years will be so prosperous. “Everyone was content to have a pay cut to work here,” she says. “That was the opening offer.”

Money, however, was never the point.

Bogach wanted her team to have the freedom to enjoy evenings with friends and family or take a weekend trip without worrying that such time would be better spent accumulating hours. “I’m a believer that we can make law better for more people,” she says. “The first step was dealing with workload.”

Daniel Fish is the editor of Precedent.

A DV I C E

HOW TO TAKE VACATION

Bay Street lawyers serve up practical tips on getting away

NADIA CAMPION Partner, Lax O’Sullivan

Once you identify a period in your calendar that works, book the vacation immediately.

Do not procrastinate. Importantly, put money down: pay for the flights and the deposits for accommodations up front.

This encourages “calendar discipline.” You’ll be less likely to let the vacation be derailed if a cancellation will cost you money.

MARIAM MOKTAR Associate, Paliare Roland

Before your vacation, meet with your assistant to make a plan. Decide how to address emergencies in your absence, so you can stay off email—as much as possible—while you’re away.

And try to take a two-week vacation. It’s such a challenge to fully disconnect in a single week.

WARREN CASS Partner, Gowling WLG

Vacation is important to stay sane, focused and effective.

If you want to truly enjoy your time off, you should contribute to a healthy vacation culture year-round. When your colleagues are on vacation, cover for them and respect their boundaries. After all, what goes around comes around.

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HOMES

Midtown magic In Lawrence Park, Stefanie and Brad Holland found the perfect home for a growing family

BY JEREMY FREED

THE OWNERS

In 2019, Stefanie and Brad Holland decided to move

Stefanie and Brad Holland

out of their downtown condo. The couple’s three-anda-half-year-old daughter, Gwenyth, was about to start kindergarten, and they wanted to find a home that was closer to a top-rated public school. Stefanie was also pregnant, so the family would soon need more space.

Ultimately, the Hollands bought a detached house in Lawrence Park with four bedrooms, an open-concept living room and a well-respected elementary school in the neighbourhood. It was an ideal upgrade. “We’d seen a lot of houses,” says Stefanie, a partner in the litigation group at Cassels. “When we found this one, it was the closest to having everything that we wanted.”

Today, the Hollands have two more children—John and Leo, ages three and one-and-a-half—and their Midtown home is full of life. “We truly love just being in our living room,” says Stefanie. With the music of, say, Elton John, Led Zeppelin or Johnny Cash blasting out of the turntable speakers, the family loves to dance and sing along.

Family time at home has become especially precious.

In 2015, Brad left Goodmans LLP, where he’d worked as a litigation associate, to manage logistics and internal communications with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He later joined the Edmonton Oilers to become a scout. And he’s now an assistant general manager with the team. In that role, he works under his father, Ken Holland, a former NHL goaltender and the team’s current general manager. And Brad has to travel—a lot—throughout North America and Europe in search of fresh talent. “I’m still learning every day,” he says. “But I wouldn’t be where I am without the skills and experience I gained while training to be and working as a lawyer.”

The Hollands aren’t the only lawyers in Midtown.

“Within a few blocks, there are about five or six partners that I work with,” says Stefanie. “We see each other at parks and on walks. And there’s a partner in my office who invites us to use his pool all the time.” The location has another notable upside: it’s closer to Stefanie’s parents than the downtown condo, so it’s much easier for the grandparents to visit their grandchildren.

“We often say that we can see this being our forever home,” says Stefanie, “which is really nice.”

STEFANIE’S ROLE

Partner, Cassels BRAD’S ROLE

Assistant general manager, Edmonton Oilers STEFANIE’S YEAR OF CALL

2010 BRAD’S YEARS OF CALL

2013 (New York) and 2014 (Ontario) LOCATION

Lawrence Park HOUSE PROFILE

Four bedrooms, 4,000 square feet, built in 2014

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID PIKE

RECORD DEAL →

Brad’s interest in vinyl began with an LP collection he inherited from his grandparents. “My grandmother was a huge Beatles fan and she loved music, so every great album in the world was in that collection,” he says. “When we got this place, one of the first things I set up was this stereo system. The first album we played was Abbey Road.”

PRECEDENTMAGAZINE.COM

HOMES

← JUST A GIRL

“My favourite band growing up was No Doubt, and Tragic Kingdom was my favourite album,” says Stefanie, whose daughter, Gwenyth, was named after lead singer Gwen Stefani.

“Nothing makes me happier than to walk into Gwen’s room and hear Tragic Kingdom playing on her little record player.”

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HOMES

KEY PLAYER

→

Stefanie took up the piano at the age of four and went on to receive a bachelor of music, specializing in piano performance, at the University of Toronto. This grand piano, a housewarming gift from Brad, is the first that she’s ever owned.

↓

D REAM TEAM

This photo of the 2002 Detroit Red Wings is a tribute to the legendary roster that Brad’s father, Ken Holland, assembled during his 22-year tenure as the team’s general manager.

“My dad amassed this remarkable team,” says Brad. “They were all these superstar players at various points in their career, and they won the Stanley Cup that year. It’s one of my favourite things that I own.”

← GAME ROOM

The couple has turned the basement into a shared home office. Stefanie can make remote court appearances at the workstation. And Brad, when he’s not on the road, can scrutinize games on a screen that’s mounted on the wall across from the desk. “There’s all this research about the best TV to use and the best distance from the screen for watching hockey,” he says.

“It’s an optimized setup for video scouting.”

GUITAR HERO

→

This guitar, which is signed by Detroit singersongwriter Kid Rock, hangs in the living room.

“It was one of the first things that went up,” says Brad, who’s seen the artist in concert no fewer than four times. “And it’s always one of the first things people notice.”

To see more photos of the Hollands’ home, visit precedentmagazine.com.

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SPRING 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID PIKE

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C AT E G O RY S LU G

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P RO F I L E

A

As Shara Roy advanced in her legal

Agent of change As chief legal counsel at EY Canada, Shara Roy is in a position to reshape law for the better

BY SIMON LEWSEN

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SPRING 2023

ILLUSTRATION BY MELINDA JOSIE

career, she noticed all kinds of inequities in the profession. The traditional recruitment process suffered from cultural bias. Compensation structures often favoured seniority over talent. And the profession could be unfriendly to women. But lawyers tended to look upon this reality with resigned acceptance, as if one must simply learn how to handle these unavoidable hazards.

Eventually, Roy decided to take a stand.

In 2016, she watched Donald Trump win the U.S. presidency. At that moment, Roy—who’d been called to the bar 12 years earlier and was a partner at Lenczner Slaght LLP—felt obligated to push for meaningful reforms, at least within her professional milieu. “I had a position of power and a high degree of job security,” recalls the 46-yearold. “I thought, I have to do something.”

Roy went on to make a name for herself as a changemaker. In 2018, she scrapped the evening cocktail soiree that Lenczner Slaght held during student recruitment week, knowing that such events disproportionately reward applicants who have a familiarity with professional-class cultural norms and an ability to schmooze. Instead, the firm provided a drop-in R&R lounge, where students could find refreshments and a place to unwind between interviews.

Next, she worked with her then-colleague Sana Halwani to create ReferToHer, a website that features a list of respected women lawyers in a range of practice areas.

The project aimed to solve a stubborn problem: out of nothing more nefarious than habit, lawyers tend to refer work to the

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P RO F I L E

same coterie of established men. With this site up and running, people could now think beyond the usual names and send business to a talented woman who might otherwise have gone overlooked.

Then, in 2021, she made a surprise announcement. Roy was leaving Lenczner Slaght to become chief legal counsel at Ernst & Young Canada, the domestic partnership of the global professional-services giant. The decision hadn’t been easy. But Jad Shimaly, the CEO of EY Canada, won her over with two commitments. First, she’d be involved in business operations, not only as a lawyer but as a member of the executive committee. And second, she could make diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) a front-and-centre part of her role.

Shimaly first encountered Roy several years earlier, when he’d retained Lenczner Slaght on a business matter. “Shara was probably the youngest person in the room, but she carried more than her weight in a group of seasoned lawyers and executives,” he says. “She was thoughtful and methodical. She could explain things to the point where everyone could understand them, but, at the same time, she could go toe-totoe with any lawyer around her.” He knew she could be a great addition to the EY Canada leadership team.

As chief legal counsel, Roy leads a department of 25 lawyers that handles the company’s internal legal matters, including corporate, litigation, employment, regulatory and legal strategy. And, importantly, she’s also using her leadership position to drive change.

Roy is currently reimagining the process by which her team delegates work. She has asked senior lawyers to have a conversation

Lots of senior partners take me out for lunch.

And if they want my work, they’re going to answer my questions.”

with delegatees about the support they need, their preferred working styles and how each task relates to the broader picture. “When you delegate a job, you have to involve the delegatee in the larger process,” says Roy. “That means bringing them to important meetings, introducing them to everybody around the table and showing them how you handle tricky situations.”

Over the past decade, in-house leaders have used their influence to push for a cultural shift within private practice. When considering whether to hire a firm as external counsel, for instance, they often insist that it bring a diverse team to the file. Roy has embraced that tradition. But that’s not the only way that she promotes fairness in private practice.

When meeting with a firm, Roy asks about its compensation model. In particular, she’s interested in whether it relies on what’s known as an “origination credit.”

To determine partner compensation, the largest firms on Bay Street typically use a point system that tracks contributions like billable hours, work on a management committee or the lawyer’s overall book of business. In its simplest form, an origination credit allocates points to partners who bring new work into the firm—and, in some cases, it can boost a partner’s total compensation in perpetuity, even if other lawyers perform the actual legal work on the file. In Roy’s view, this practice often benefits established lawyers, who are simply lucky enough to pick up the phone when a general counsel calls for help.

Roy will hire firms that award origination credits, but she makes an effort to call the partner who will do the bulk of the work, rather than defaulting to an anointed rainmaker. This approach requires a curiosity about how other lawyers run their shops, but Roy doesn’t mind being nosy for a good cause. “Lots of senior partners take me out for lunch,” she says. “And if they want my work, they’re going to answer my questions.”

This combination of toughness and social grace is Roy’s specialty. Monique Jilesen, the managing partner at Lenczner Slaght, remembers Roy as the partner who got to know all of the new associates, helped redesign the offices to brighten the interiors and threw the best summer backyard parties. But she was also passionate about improving the profession. “Shara sees how things can be done better,” says Jilesen.

“She stands up for what’s right and good, and you don’t want to get in her way.”

SHARA ROY’S CAREER TIMELINE

1984

At seven, Roy learns about the legal profession and, alongside firefighter and ballet dancer, adds lawyer to her list of possible future careers.

2000

Roy graduates from McGill University with a BA in English, making her the first woman in her family to earn a postsecondary degree.

2003

After completing law school at the University of Toronto, Roy articles at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP. 2004

Roy is called to the bar.

2006

After spending about a year at a litigation boutique, Roy joins Bennett Jones LLP. Also that year, she meets her future husband, Francis Roy, who’s now the chief compliance officer at BMO Investments.

2011

One year after the birth of Roy’s first child, Ben, she joins Lenczner Slaght LLP as a commercial litigator, working in securities, class actions, insolvency and shareholder disputes.

2015

Roy makes partner at Lenczner Slaght. That same year, she gives birth to identical twins, Emma and Lolo.

2022

In January, Roy joins Ernst & Young Canada as chief legal counsel.

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THE 2023 TLA AWARDS GALA On March 2, nearly 300 partygoers arrived at The Carlu to attend the annual Toronto Lawyers Association Awards Gala.

A time-honoured tradition in the legal community, the event includes a ceremony that celebrates outstanding lawyers at all stages of their careers.

After the pause on parties during the pandemic, it was an especially lively legal gathering.

Matthew Karabus (Gowling WLG), Sarah Malik (Public Prosecution Service of Canada)

Annie Tayyab (Torkin Manes), Melissa Kluger (Law and Style Media), Devin Persaud— Winner of the TLA’s Emerging Excellence Award (Goodmans)

Lonny Rosen (Rosen Sunshine), Michael Binetti (Affleck Greene McMurtry LLP)

Chris Paliare—Winner of the TLA’s Award of Distinction (Paliare Roland)

Kelvin Ramchand (Public Prosecution Service of Canada), Zirjan Derwa (Bennett Jones), Denes Rothschild (BLG)

Anastasia-Maria Hountalas (Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc), Natasha Danson (Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc)

Lily Harmer (Paliare Roland), Odette Soriano (Paliare Roland), Peter Lukasiewicz (Gowling WLG), Richard Stephenson (Paliare Roland)

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Linda Rothstein (Paliare Roland), Justice Audrey Ramsay (Superior Court of Justice of Ontario)

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT TIBBO PHOTOGRAPHY

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C U LT U R E

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3. IN QUOTATION

“I’ve never met an inspirational quote that I didn’t like,” jokes Bernardo.

Her mug collection, sourced primarily from Indigo, features a variety of uplifting witticisms.

Her husband, a research analyst at Toronto General Hospital, gave her this mug, inscribed with “Work Hard Stay Humble,” as a gift.

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4. REMINDER OF HOME

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Jennifer Bernardo’s office is an extension of her life. The partner at Baker McKenzie LLP has filled the space with items that help her thrive in her litigation practice. She’s also the parent of a 16-month-old son, Isaac, so her office contains objects like baby photos and an electric breast pump. As she puts it: “My office perfectly encapsulates what it’s like for me to juggle a busy practice with being a new mom.”

Working parent Inside the office of a Bay Street partner who balances new motherhood with the demands of work

BY REBECCA GAO

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5. ON THE GO

With a 16-month-old at home, Bernardo keeps an electric breast pump at the office, as well as bottles and a pumping bra.

6. FRAME OF REFERENCE

This digital photo frame is pre-loaded with pictures of Bernardo and her family.

“My husband and I bought one for my work office, my home office and both sets of grandparents,” she says.

“They’re all linked.”

1. SOUND QUALITY

During the pandemic, Bernardo invested in a Yeti microphone to sound crystal clear on Zoom calls and virtual hearings.

Eventually, she bought a second one for the office, which she now works out of about three days a week. “I wanted to have the same equipment in the office as I do at home.”

2 . HAPPY FEET

Bernardo keeps “a ridiculous number of shoes” at the office: heels, flats, sneakers and “a pair of fuzzy slippers for late nights.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTIE VUONG

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You’ll find more photos of Bernardo’s office at precedentmagazine.com.

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HAIR AND MAKEUP BY LISA VELLA

Jennifer Bernardo, who practises labour and employment law, in her office at Baker McKenzie

Bernardo, who grew up in Winnipeg, is proud of her hometown. “A friend bought me this wood carving in the shape of Manitoba to remind me of where I came from,” she says.

Precedent is very proud to congratulate the winners of our

2023 Precedent Setter Awards

The Precedent Setter Awards: Recognizing Toronto lawyers who have shown excellence and leadership in their early years of practice. Visit precedentmagazine.com/awards to learn more

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Congratulations to

Dasha Peregoudova on being recognized as a 2023 Precedent Setter Award Winner!

Dasha is a valued member of Aird & Berlis, and we are proud of the astounding contributions she has made through her legal work, commitment to community and involvement in the sports world.

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In these pages, you’ll meet outstanding lawyers, all in their first 10 years of practice, with a track record of legal excellence and meaningful contributions to the community. May we proudly present the winners of

THE 2023 PRECEDENT SETTER AWARDS

BY LIZA AGRBA, DANIELLE GROEN AND SIMON LEWSEN

DARIAN BASKATAWANG Associate, Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP

YEAR OF CALL: 2022

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANIEL EHRENWORTH

HAIR AND MAKEUP BY JASMINE MERINSKY

Before he was a lawyer, Darian Baskatawang was already an advocate. About a decade ago—as a high-school student who’d grown up in Whitesand First Nation, an Anishinaabe community northwest of Lake Nipigon—he was chosen by the Ontario government to serve on the Premier ’s Council on Youth Opportunities. Kathleen Wynne, the premier at the time, created the initiative to learn how the province might better support young people. Baskatawang, who continued to sit on the council as a university student, provided an invaluable perspective. He spoke candidly, for instance, about the way in which ill-funded on-reserve schools left students underprepared for secondary education, which typically happens off reserve, and the need for more robust child-welfare funding.

“He was unintimidated by adults,” recalls Wynne. “He spoke the unvarnished truth.”

His input helped inform a number of Wynne’s policy achievements. Throughout her time as premier, from 2013 to 2018, she increased funding to schools in Indigenous communities, launched new programs that help Indigenous students afford the cost of university and bolstered resources for on-reserve foster care.

Today, Baskatawang, age 26, is a secondyear associate at Olthuis Kleer Townshend

LLP, one of the country’s top firms in Aboriginal law and Indigenous rights. His caseload includes some land-claim and child-welfare work, but he currently devotes the bulk of his time to a major class-action settlement. In 2021, the federal government agreed to compensate Indigenous people who’ve been denied access to clean, safe drinking water on reserve. To ensure people receive the appropriate restitution—not just for subpar water access, but also for associated health and psychological traumas—Baskatawang travels from nation to nation across Canada and meets with class members. He explains their rights and helps them submit their claim forms.

In conversation, he translates abstruse legal concepts into language that anyone can understand. “Because I’m from a reserve, it’s easy for me to be on equal terms with people,” he says. “If you’re a normal person, you don’t speak lawyer. So, it’s my job, as a lawyer, to speak normal person.”

As a two -spirit man with a reserve upbringing, Baskatawang hopes to be a role model for Indigenous youth. And, as his work on the clean-water case continues, he’ll keep pushing for long-overdue justice. After all, says Baskatawang, “A settlement is only as good as its implementation.” — Simon Lewsen

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Amid the fallout, the liquidators handling the implosion sued TD, alleging t h a t it had ignored warning signs of fraudulent behaviour.

The case went to trial. In a crucial crossexamination, Wadsworth got one of the plaintiff’s key liability experts to acknowledge that he had no familiarity with the Canadian Bank Act—a stunning admission. “It was great to watch,” says Geoff Hall, a partner at McCarthys who led the defence team. “She thoroughly, methodically took the expert apart piece by piece.”

Ultimately, the trial judge dismissed the lawsuit. One year later, the Court of Appeal for Ontario upheld that victory. (As of late March, a leave application to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court of Canada was still pending.)

Wadsworth, now a partner at McCarthys, is devoted to the art of litigation. “Oral advocacy is definitely what I’m most excited about,” she says. At 35, her CV is impressive in both its quantity and breadth. She’s defended doctors in malpractice suits, represented financial institutions in high-stakes litigation and acted on behalf of accounting firms.

The Bay Street superstar is also active in the broader legal community. Wadsworth has taught evidence law at Osgoode Hall and trial advocacy at the University of Toronto. And she’s the co-director of a program that McCarthys runs in partnership with Downtown Legal Services, offering pro bono legal counsel to low-income individuals who’ve been charged with a criminal offence. “Access to justice, especially in criminal-justice cases, is a continuing problem,” she says. “My first pro bono client had a number of criminal charges hanging over his head. When I successfully got them dropped, it had a powerful impact on me.” — Liza Agrba

CHRISTINE WADSWORTH Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP

YEAR OF CALL: 2014

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In early 2021, Christine Wadsworth, then an associate at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, served on a legal team that defended TD Bank in a more than US$5-billion lawsuit.

The case itself centred on the second-largest Ponzi scheme in history. For nearly two decades, Allen Stanford—the founder of Stanford International Bank, based on the island of Antigua—defrauded clients of billions of dollars. During most of that period, TD acted as a banking intermediary, helping Stanford’s bank move vast sums of cash throughout the financial system. In 2009, Stanford’s scam came to light, and his business empire collapsed.

PRECEDENTMAGAZINE.COM

DASHA PEREGOUDOVA Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP

on the board of directors for Taekwondo Canada. “I remember walking into a room full of people I respected, people who were way, way older than me, and learning to put my voice—even if it was a dissenting voice—on the record,” she says. “Standing up for my teammates was really formative.”

So while Peregoudova, now 35, has built a wide-ranging labour and employment practice, the partner at Aird & Berlis LLP devotes roughly a third of her time to sports files, advocating for athletes. In the past year, for example, she’s been helping negotiate a collective agreement for a North American women’s pro hockey league aiming for puck drop later in 2023. Although Canada has long recognized the talent of its female hockey players, she says, “we haven’t had a sufficient way for women to get paid at a professional scale.”

Peregoudova has also helped athletes on sport’s biggest international stage, having been appointed the ombudsperson for Team Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The cases are confidential, but the ombudsperson typically counsels athletes in matters like alleged violations of the competition’s code of conduct or anti-doping disputes. Over roughly three weeks, she worked under strict COVID protocols, in often punishing heat. “I had to deal with high-stakes matters and sleepless nights,” she says. “But the work can have a big impact on the participants.”

Despite the intense schedule (and a 13-hour time difference), Peregoudova still made herself available to colleagues back at Aird & Berlis. “Dasha’s always punched above her weight when it comes to juggling really complex matters,” says Lorenzo Lisi, a partner and the leader of the firm’s workplace law group. “A lot of people have sizzle, but you’ve got to have the steak. And she has both.” — Danielle Groen

GUTTER CREDIT GOES HERE

YEAR OF CALL: 2017

In 1997, not long after her family emigrated from Moscow to Toronto, a nine-year-old Dasha Peregoudova found herself unexpectedly suiting up for taekwondo. Her father, mid-haircut, had spotted a photograph of little kids decked out in doboks, and he and his wife promptly booked lessons for their two young daughters. Peregoudova proved a natural, competing through her teens and racking up golds at the 2006 and 2008 Pan American Taekwondo Championships, plus a bronze at the 2008 Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships.

The sport gave her discipline, perseverance and a dynamite roundhouse kick.

But it’s also how Peregoudova caught the advocacy bug, as a teenage athlete rep

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SARAH BEAMISH

THE JUDGES MEET THE LEADING LAW YERS WHO SELECTED THIS YEAR’S PRECEDENT SETTER AWARD WINNERS

Principal, Beamish Law

PHOTOS OF THE JUDGES BY ARTHUR MOLA

YEAR OF CALL: 2016

Sarah Beamish suspects that her civil-litigation practice at Beamish Law might look like a bit of a mishmash: defamation cases, environmental assessments, First Nations governance support, human-rights complaints. “It can seem like I do stuff across a ton of areas that don’t necessarily fit together,” the 37-year-old says. But there is a unifying principle. “I’m always trying to push every single area of the law I interact with to be much more responsive to the realities that Indigenous people face each day.” Growing up as a justice-oriented kid, Beamish found it “impossible not to pay attention to Indigenous issues in Canada.”

Beamish first began to advocate for human rights in her youth, going on to volunteer with Amnesty International in high school. Alex Neve met Beamish in those early days, when he was secretary general at Amnesty International Canada.

“I was blown out of the water by this intelligent, insightful, strategic, compassionate young person,” says Neve, who now teaches law at the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University. “But her journey was just beginning.”

That journey proved meteoric. In 2010, Beamish became president of Amnesty International Canada (at 24, the youngest ever) and later served as the global chair of Amnesty International (at 33, the only Canadian ever). Throughout, she wrapped up university, attended law school and launched her legal career.

In 2020, one year after founding her practice, Beamish took on a low-bono file.

A family’s seven-year-old Kanien’kehá:ka daughter, after going to the emergency ward with a UTI, was subjected to a nonconsensual genital examination by a doctor who suspected sexual abuse. “That suspicion was unfounded—the family feels that this was racial profiling through and through,” Beamish says. The parents brought a complaint of discrimination to

the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which ruled the incident as merely a communication breakdown. Beamish appealed to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, which found that the college failed to conduct an adequate investigation. “The decision said that when an Indigenous person believes discrimination affected their care, you have to investigate that complaint—you can’t just brush it off,” says Beamish. “It shouldn’t have been such a big deal that they said that, but, sadly, it is.” The case is currently making its way through further review.

Beamish recognizes the power of her position. “As a lawyer, you have this form of knowledge and power and access that’s unlike anything else,” she says. “I can’t squander that.” — Danielle Groen

“I’M ALWAYS TRYING TO PUSH EVERY SINGLE AREA OF THE LAW I INTERACT WITH TO BE MUCH MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE REALITIES THAT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FACE EACH DAY.”

K ATHRYN HENDRIK X HENDRIK X FAMILY LAW

DEVIN PERSAUD ASSOCIATE, GOODMANS LLP

WARDA SHAZADI MEIGHEN PARTNER, LANDINGS LLP

PAUL-ERIK VEEL PARTNER, LENCZNER SLAGHT LLP

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HUSEIN PANJU Legal counsel, Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council YEAR OF CALL: 2013

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By day, Husein Panju is a litigator at the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council.

In his job at the government regulator, he ensures consumer protection by helping to oversee the province’s registered vehicle dealers. A typical case, for instance, might involve a seller who rolled back an odometer and peddled a heavily used car to an unsuspecting customer. “It’s rewarding work, since cars are among the most expensive purchases people make in their

lifetime,” says the 34-year-old. “I love advocating for the public interest.”

On evenings and weekends, Panju directs his spirited advocacy to pro bono files.

His clients have included people who’ve faced discrimination in the workplace and members of the Muslim community who’ve been unfairly targeted by nationalsecurity agencies.

He’s also a popular podcaster. As the host of Lawyered, Panju has interviewed leading lawyers on the latest developments in dozens of practice areas. He uses plain language to keep the content approachable for lawyers and laypeople alike. The listening public has responded. About 750 people tune in to each episode, no small feat for a Canadian law podcast.

Meanwhile, Panju also leads the Canadian Muslim Lawyers Association (CMLA).

After he became chair of the organization, in 2021, he helped support an outreach campaign to lawyers outside of Ontario, many of whom went on to establish their own local chapters. In the past few years, paid membership has increased from about 15 to more than 250, thanks in part to this initiative.

Panju also heads up the organization’s legal advocacy committee, which combats Islamophobia in society at large. Over the years, for instance, the committee has intervened in several cases that involve racial or religious discrimination. “Under Husein’s leadership, the CMLA has grown from a provincial to a national organization,” says Fatema Dada, a board member and one of Panju’s mentors. “His leadership style is collaborative, and that’s how we’ve been able to grow. He guides and pushes us a little bit but doesn’t step on anybody’s toes. Instead of saying, ‘We need to get this done,’ he asks, ‘How can I support you?’” — Liza Agrba

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“THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS FOR THE CHILD-WELFARE SECTOR TO GIVE UP SOME OF ITS POWER AND EMPOWER INDIGENOUS PEOPLE INSTEAD.”

IMRAN KAMAL Counsel, Ministry of the Attorney General

YEAR OF CALL: 2013

In 2014, a year after being called to the bar, Imran Kamal, now 33, took a position at the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton. His job was straightforward. If a CCAS social worker believed a child needed some form of protection—like foster care, which requires a judge’s order—he’d appear in court to make the social worker’s case. At the same time, Kamal understood that the sector has a troubling history. Indigenous children, he notes, have long been overrepresented in the system, sometimes for dubious reasons, such as being poor.

In 2017, in collaboration with the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (HRIC), a local

non-profit, Kamal co-founded the Indigenous Child Welfare Collaborative. The ICWC forges partnerships between child-protection agencies and local Indigenous-led services—including counselling centres and youth-mentorship organizations—so social workers can refer children to culturally appropriate services. The ICWC also offers training for children’s-aid workers and judges in subjects like Indigenous history and the legacy of residential schools.

And it has brought on a representative from the HRIC to accompany social workers on visits to Indigenous families. “The ultimate goal,” says Kamal, “is for the child-welfare sector to give up some of its power and empower Indigenous people instead.”

Audrey Davis, the executive director of the HRIC, considers Kamal more than just an ally. He’s the guy in the room with the imagination and know-how to get things done. “He’s a principled, compassionate person,” she says, “and he’s very much a go-getter.”

In 2021, Kamal left the CCAS to work as counsel with the Ministry of the Attorney General. Now based in Toronto, he represents the government on a range of civil matters, mainly related to Indigenous law. But he continues to throw himself into community-minded ventures.

He has helped develop training materials, for instance, at Pro Bono Students Canada.

He’s also designed a course on children in the law, which he teaches at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law. Child protection is such a passion that when he met his fiancé, Colin Elsby, a realtor and paralegal, their first date was attending an Every Child Matters march. “Children in the system are the most vulnerable people in our society,” says Kamal. “We have a duty to do right by them.” — Simon Lewsen

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Fashion forward How to build a professional wardrobe without exploiting workers or trashing the planet

BY OD ESSA PALOMA PAR K E R PHOTO GRAPH Y BY MAY T RU O NG HA I R AND MAKEUP BY A LANNA C HE LM I C K SHOT ON LO CATION AT NO U V E AU R I CHE V I NTAG E

Have you had the feeling lately that you’re at a closet-related crossroads? Perhaps the easing of pandemic restrictions means you’ve returned to the office and need to upgrade your professional wardrobe. Or maybe you need a handful of new outfits now that cocktail parties and client lunches have made a comeback. Before you embark on a panic-induced wardrobe overhaul, take a step back and consider the best path forward.

The fashion industry, after all, is rife with systemic problems. Many wellknown brands have a long track record of unethical labour practices, including unsafe working conditions and abysmal wages. To produce new clothing, meanwhile, companies often rely on pesticides, toxic chemicals and poisonous dyes. The reality is bleak.

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Thankfully, it is possible to look and feel confident while keeping the well-being of workers and the health of the planet in mind. In fact, some of Toronto’s most fashionable lawyers have done just that. To be a more thoughtful consumer yourself, why not follow their lead?

Amelia McLeod, who is an associate at Aird & Berlis LLP, has long internalized the idea that “clothing shouldn’t be disposable,” a philosophy passed down by her fashion-forward mom. When adding an item to her wardrobe, she thinks critically about whether she’ll be able to wear it in five to 10 years.

From that vantage point, McLeod is a loyal customer at vintage shops across the city. In her experience, vintage pieces tend to have a much longer lifespan than new

V IN TAG E F O R TH E WI N

Amelia McLeod, a loyal customer at Nouveau Riche Vintage, shows off two pieces she bought at the shop: an Anne Klein abstractprint blouse and silky trousers. Her outfit also features Miista shoes that she bought from a local shop on Roncesvalles and a Hugo Boss jacket.

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clothes. And, at the same time, the secondhand marketplace doesn’t contribute to the pollution and exploitation that’s rampant in the modern fashion industry. As she puts it, “You’re confident that you’re making an environmentally sustainable or ethically responsible choice.”

McLeod—who describes her style as “timeless with a twist”—loves vintage shopping for another reason: the expertise of store owners. As a regular visitor to Nouveau Riche Vintage in the Junction, she’s come to value owner Andréa Lalonde’s guidance. Lalonde has gently nudged McLeod, for instance, to try out a broader

range of silhouettes. “I feel encouraged to take baby steps out of my comfort zone,” says McLeod. “As soon as you start shopping vintage, a whole new world of shapes and tailoring philosophies opens up.”

Recently, McLeod purchased a 1980sera silk skirt at Nouveau Riche, an item she wouldn’t have found anywhere else.

“I carry pieces all the way back to the 1920s,” says Lalonde. At the outset of a new client relationship, Lalonde recommends a one-on-one appointment. In each consultation, she delivers the same message: “Let’s try on as much as possible, even if it doesn’t seem like you.”

To increase the longevity of her attire, McLeod takes proper care of each item.

That might sound like a trivial act, but, in truth, it’s a powerful way to prevent waste.

“There are so many things that you can be doing that you might not immediately equate with sustainable fashion,” says Kelly Drennan, the executive director of Fashion Takes Action, a Toronto-based non-profit that advocates for a healthier fashion industry. No matter where you bought a piece of clothing, says Drennan, make sure to follow the laundering instructions on the label. And instead of throwing away an item with a tear, have it mended.

To handle minor repairs herself, McLeod recently took a sewing class, after meeting the instructor at a vintage shop. “What I find interesting is how much the vintage shopping, sewing and mending communities overlap,” she says. “It’s all about people who engage with clothing thoughtfully—and sustainability is a natural byproduct because you’re thinking more deliberately about what you’re wearing.”

Nofil Nadeem, an associate at Heeney

M IX AN D MAT CH

Nofil Nadeem’s ensemble features a green sport coat purchased from Papa Love Vintage, a Banana Republic dress shirt, Ralph Lauren trousers and vintage oxford shoes that he bought in Pakistan. The scarf in his pocket, supplied by Nouveau Riche Vintage, adds a bit of extra colour to the outfit.

Vokey LLP, a small employment firm in Toronto, is another fan of the vintage world. “More and more, I’m trying to shop second-hand,” says the regular at Papa Love Vintage in Leslieville. That doesn’t mean he’s a constant shopper. He understands that overconsumption at vintage stores can lead to a shortage in what’s available on the second-hand market, driving other consumers to purchase new, less conscientious items. “Every decision that we make when we buy something has a consequence,” he notes.

Nadeem isn’t shy about adding a bit of spice to his daily wardrobe: he’ll occasionally wear a pair of leather pants or heeled boots to the office. Before heading to a vintage store, he likes to set a clear objective. “I try to go shopping with two or three different things that I’m looking for,” he

RETHINK RENTALS

Boutique rental shops might seem like a sustainable option, but the truth is more complicated In the past decade, the clothing-rental industry has gained serious momentum. The idea is simple. A working professional can rent high-end clothing on a regular basis, in order to wear a variety of outfits without having to purchase each one for the long term. In theory, this allows customers to share clothes in a sustainable manner.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that in practice.

Every time an outfit is rented, it has to be shipped, returned, dry-cleaned and sent out again—sucking up resources and burning fossil fuels at every step.

Worse still, it can drive consumerist behaviour by reinforcing the notion that we need to keep wearing new things all the time.

For truly special occasions, like weddings, rental companies are a reasonable option.

But beyond that, they’re likely a drag on the planet’s well-being.

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says. “Whether that’s a great pair of jeans, a coat or something in a particular colour.”

His involvement in Ballroom—a scene started by Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities, especially transgender women, to create a space for queer people of colour to be celebrated—has also been instrumental in fostering his love of locally designed, custom-made clothing. “As a queer person of colour myself,” says Nadeem, “it’s been a great community to be a part of to see myself represented.”

Nadeem has purchased items from members of the Toronto Ballroom scene who are designers, including a made-to-measure

TE ST O F TIME

No matter where Raquiya Austin buys her clothes, she prevents waste and overconsumption by painstakingly taking care of each item.

In this photo, she’s wearing a decadeold patterned BCBG jacket, a vintage 1980s Danier tulip skirt and Aldo shoes that are 10 years old.

satin suit by Diséiye Thompson. Another favourite piece in Nadeem’s closet is a denim jacket embellished with a painting of the artist Lorde, done by local creative DJ Stiles. Some of these items are newly made, but Nadeem knows that they’re excellent quality and will stand the test of time. “It’s always better to have fewer wellmade pieces,” he says, “than a bunch of things that are just going to take up space in your closet.”

Raquiya Austin, legal counsel at the air-ambulance service Ornge, is fortunate to work in an environment that allows her personal style to shine. “Colour is something that’s always very important to me, and I’m very big on accessories,” she says. Even when wearing a suit, she keeps it fun and casual. “I’ll wear the bottoms with an acceptably cropped shirt and white sneakers.”

With an eye to sustainability, Austin frequents consignment shops like Closet Café and The Preloved Bag. “Consignment helps to reduce waste,” she says. “It gives people an opportunity when they’re done with a particular luxury item to have it resold to an interested individual.”

When buying new, Austin prioritizes mindfully made, local items. One favourite brand is Cassandra Elizabeth, which Austin turns to for contemporary loungewear. “Upcycling is a part of the brand’s mandate,” she says. “If you have gently used items from them that you’re no longer wearing, you can give your piece back and they will reuse the fabric in a different way for other products.” Austin is quick to admit that she has shopped at fast-fashion outlets. But when she does, she seeks out items that she won’t discard in short order.

Anika Kozlowski, an assistant professor of fashion design, ethics and sustainability at Toronto Metropolitan University, is a steadfast critic of how the fashion industry operates. In her view, deep systematic overhauls are necessary. But she also knows that, on an individual level, perfection is impossible. “When I buy something new, it’s because I can’t find it anywhere else,” she says. “I know I love it, and I’m going to have it for a really long time.”

Like McLeod, Austin developed her sustainability mindset at a young age. “My mother always paid attention to where her goods were made, what the fabrics were and followed the care instructions,” she says. “Now, when I’m shopping, I make sure that I’m purchasing from quality brands with quality designs that use quality materials—and that I value the company’s philosophy.”

FEEL-GOOD BRANDS When it’s time to update your wardrobe, look to these names for sustainable items KOTN

For men’s and women’s basics, knitwear and women’s suiting

Founded with the goal of crafting the “perfect” T-shirt, Kotn has since expanded to offer suiting, loungewear and knits. Known for its use of non-toxic dyes, the company is also certified for its high standard of social and environmental impact. One of the brand’s stores is located at Queen and Niagara, near Trinity-Bellwoods Park.

MIIK For women’s loungewear and office staples like blazers, trousers and skirts

This Canadian label serves up business and casual attire, including a selection of reversible items (which can be turned inside out to create a new look). The company, which mills its fabric from sustainable fibres, prioritizes durable materials that will last. Items are available for purchase on the Miik website.

MOSS BROS. For men’s suiting, casual attire and shoes

This U.K.-based brand publishes statements that outline its equitable supplychain and pay practices.

The label also carries a line of sustainable suits. Canadians can purchase items online.

HOLT RENFREW For a range of wardrobe items

In 2013, Holt Renfrew launched the multi-brand H Project to highlight artisanal, thoughtfully made goods from around the world. Today, it’s home to ethically minded labels like Stella McCartney and the Canadianfounded denim brand Triarchy.

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T H E I N T E RV I EW

I will simply admit to owning an embarrassingly large number of designer glasses.”

The Precedent questionnaire with Doug Bryce The managing partner at Osler on fashion, his pet canary and what keeps him up at night

How would you describe your job to a child? I cannot do better than my wife, who once described it to my kids, when they were younger, as: “Daddy is the lunchroom supervisor at Osler, which happens to be a group of people who literally argue for a living.”

What’s your favourite piece of clothing?

I’ll go with the T-shirt that says, “Surely Not Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting.”

Who’s your favourite author? George Saunders, the greatest living writer of short stories in the universe.

Dark, hilarious, humane and plain brilliant.

What advice do you have for new lawyers?

Stick with it. The first two years are by far the toughest. It gets a lot better. Also, come to the office as close to every day as you can manage.

Do you have any pets?

We have a pet canary (not our first), named Orion. We like him. He sings constantly.

WHO

ROLE

FAMILY PROFILE

Doug Bryce

National managing partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Married with three children, ages 11, 14 and 16

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SPRING 2023

What’s the most extravagant item you’ve purchased?

I will simply admit to owning an embarrassingly large number of designer glasses. Most of which are actually pretty similar.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENT GOODEN

Who’s your favourite TV lawyer? Saul Goodman. Forty years ago, I would have said Matt Murdock (nonMarvel fans will have to look that one up).

Twenty-five years ago, it would have been Lionel Hutz. See, personal growth!

What keeps you up at night? As a lifelong insomniac, it doesn’t take much. For now, let’s go with the accelerating disappearance of animal-life biomass on the planet that is neither human nor specifically bred to feed or entertain humans. Bleak, I know, but you asked.

What’s your greatest regret? Despite my insomnia, I am not generally haunted by a lot of regrets. My anxieties are usually aimed at the future, not the past.

Where do you live in the city? Bennington Heights, tucked in between Moore Park and Leaside. It’s a bit of a hidden oasis in Midtown.

Quiet, but central.

What’s the best part of being a lawyer? Being around smart, driven and surprisingly funny people all day, every day.

We asked Doug Bryce a lot more questions than we could fit onto one page.

Read our full interview at precedentmagazine.com.

PRECEDENTMAGAZINE.COM

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