A candid interview with a federal prosecutor p.13 TH E C R O W N
Inside Hilary Book’s charming home in Little Portugal p.29 GOING IN-HOUSE
This Goodmans lawyer is a little bit M&A and a little bit R&B p.34 RECORD GAINS
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THE Precedent INNOVATION AWARDS People, projects and ideas that are improving the profession
Precedent Innovation Award winners Nicholas Hill and Aliya Ramji
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Polley Faith welcomes associate Cori Goldberger
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Hicks Morley welcomes associate Diane Harbin
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Fall 2022. Volume 16. Issue 3.
On the cover Photography by Saty + Pratha Shot on location at Osgoode Hall
PHOTOGRAPH BY SATY + PRATHA
Precedent Innovation Award winner Jeanelle Dundas pictured in the Benchers’ Dining Room at Osgoode Hall
Cover story
The Precedent Innovation Awards
How the profession’s edgiest lawyers are pushing the law in new directions p.18 PRECEDENTMAGAZINE.COM
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Contents
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34
In Every Issue
Brief
Debrief
Editor’s Note An honest look at the state of the publishing industry p.9
Best Practices David Quayat talks candidly about his work at the federal Crown’s office p.13
Going In-House Why a home with a backyard is so essential for this Toronto litigator p.29
Opinion As lawyers, we should treat clients and colleagues like diners in a restaurant p.15
Secret Life Meet the Bay Street lawyer who’s also an accomplished pop and R&B singer p.34
Letters Readers respond to the summer issue p.10 Our People We asked our contributors to tell us about an invention they hope to see in the future p.11
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On precedentmagazine.com
How can lawyers advance reconciliation?
The legal profession can overcome its dark history and bolster justice and equality
IMAGES BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): MELINDA JOSIE; STEPH MARTYNIUK; LUKE SWINSON; MAY TRUONG
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You’ve prepared for court, but have you prepared your court attire?
B ehi nd the s eams
How to take care of your legal wardrobe
T h e g o w n To keep your gown looking its best between trials, hang it in a cloth garment bag (avoid plastic ones that don’t breathe). Then dry-clean it at least once a year. When the robe looks faded, or its elbows and cuffs start to fray, it’s time to get fitted for a new one.
T h e c o u r T s h i r T You’ll want to clean your shirt after every court appearance. Cotton-polyester blends can be washed at home, hung to dry and lightly pressed, while 100-percent cotton shirts should go to the dry cleaner.
Trust Harcourts for high-quality court attire. When it’s time for a refresh, we’re here to help. Book an appointment with our tailor today at harcourts.com/legal or call us at (416) 977-4408. T h e w a i s T c o a T Like the gown, your waistcoat should be hung up between wears and dry-cleaned annually. Because a Harcourts waistcoat is made to last, you’ll only need to replace this piece if you go up or down a size.
FALL 2022. VOLUME 16. ISSUE 3.
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
Melissa Kluger SENIOR EDITOR
Daniel Fish MARKETING COORDINATOR
Wednesday Bell CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ASSOCIATE
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS
Melinda Josie Steph Martyniuk Jacqui Oakley Saty + Pratha May Truong IT CONSULTANT
MacMedics.ca
Maureen Barnes
DIGITAL IMAGING
ART DIRECTOR
SPECIALIST
Nicola Hamilton ACCOUNTING
Cathy Blewett CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Liza Agrba Jeremy Freed Danielle Groen Matthew Halliday Peter Henein Sarah Liss Andrea Yu
Legal innovation
Paul Jerinkitsch Imaging FACT-CHECKERS
Allison Baker Catherine Dowling Reanna Sartoretto PROOFREADERS
Dustin Dyer Jennifer Marston Anna Maxymiw Sarah Munn
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Precedent Magazine 2 Berkeley Street, Suite 205, Toronto, ON M5A 4J5 Precedent is a career and lifestyle magazine for Toronto lawyers, published twice a year by Law and Style Media Inc. 2 Berkeley Street, Suite 205, Toronto, ON M5A 4J5 416.929.4495 subscribe@precedentmagazine.com precedentmagazine.com
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The only place you’ll find both:
precedentmagazine.com
Editor’s Note
Paper pusher Precedent has been making print magazines for 15 years, against all odds
As Precedent marks its 15-year anniversary, I find myself reflecting on how
PHOTO BY NICK WONG
it all began and where we are today. Has the magazine held true to its values? Do we have the same passion that ignited the idea in the first place? Have we made good on our promise to both celebrate lawyers and examine the profession with a critical eye? Does the print magazine continue to delight readers? Anyone who’s started a business will know how I feel. Though it’s a massive challenge to get a new idea off the ground, it can be even more difficult to make sure the business innovates over time. If you lose touch with the original vision, an idea that was once revolutionary can become stale and outdated. Luckily, the relentless pace of disruption within the media industry hasn’t afforded me a moment to rest. Indeed, keeping a print magazine alive in 2022 is revolutionary in and of itself. What are we up against? On a literal level, supply-chain issues have left us scrambling — and paying a lot more — for the actual paper on which we print the magazine. Meanwhile, over the last decade, our advertising business model has been upended. In the past, companies only had a few places to run ads: radio, television and print publications. Today, much of that spending has been diverted to tech giants like Google and Facebook, which sell billions of dollars in hyper-targeted ad spaces each year. To compete in this environment, we’ve had to improve our digital ad offerings and also remind our customers of print’s unique value. (Shout-out to all the print advertisers in this issue!) Facing so much turbulence, we haven’t had the luxury to get lazy or complacent. I spend a lot of time in both the media and legal worlds. And it is interesting to compare the two. While I wish that the media industry was evolving at a slightly slower speed, I am grateful for the push it gives me to come up with new ways to meet our clients’ needs and maintain the highest standard of journalism. Law, however, faces almost no outside competition, so there’s little incentive to innovate. Yes, law firms have adjusted to new technology and expanded the availability of fixed fees, but the profession looks a lot like it did 15 years ago. The pressure to constantly innovate results in better, stronger and more creative businesses. Law should not look the same as it did when I started Precedent. Thankfully, there are lawyers exploring new ideas. In this very issue, you’ll meet the winners of the Precedent Innovation Awards (p.18). These lawyers have, in the absence of significant competitive pressure, taken it upon themselves to improve the profession. They’ve made law more efficient, affordable and accessible. Congratulations to this year’s winners. Although being forced to innovate comes with many challenges, running Precedent has never been boring. Thank you to everyone who has helped the magazine reach this milestone: our readers, our advertisers, our supporters. It is with your help that Precedent is alive and well today.
A tradition continued Although Precedent has had to adapt over the years, the magazine remains deeply committed to one of our proudest traditions: celebrating the next generation of legal talent. To that end, we’re now accepting nominations for our annual Precedent Setter Awards, which recognize Toronto lawyers in their first 10 years of practice who excel at work and contribute to the broader community. If you know a junior lawyer who deserves a moment in the spotlight, let us know. To submit a nomination package, visit precedentmagazine.com/awards. Nominations close December 7, 2022. We’ll announce the winners in the spring of 2023.
Melissa Kluger Publisher & Editor melissa@precedentmagazine.com @melissakluger
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Letters
Think you missed a program? We’ve got you covered!
Check out our replays! Live Chat with your peers while you learn.
COURTROOM STRATEGY
Your recent article on the surprising link between litigation and comedy (“Stand-up counsel,” Summer 2022) was such an enjoyable read. And it was ever so true. Both litigators and stand-up comedians have the difficult task of delivering dialogue that is properly themed and carefully constructed, all while owning the room and fighting for the end result. For the litigator, the goal is to win the case for the client; for the comedian, it’s to get the laugh. As a litigator myself, I have to consider how to best connect with the judge and/or the jury, and this article outlined some great techniques to improve written and oral advocacy for all lawyers. Above all, though, it was an important reminder that timing and delivery are everything. Saly Botelho Counsel, Van Arnhem & Associates
Learn more at store.lso.ca/ replays
@LSOCPD Law Society of Ontario CPD
A better future In your latest issue, I enjoyed reading about Priyanka Vittal’s work at Greenpeace Canada (“Planetary defence,” Summer 2022). Vittal is a powerful example of how the law can be the strongest tool to hold corporations and governments accountable for the destruction of biodiversity and the natural components of our planet. The future of our world depends on legal actors like Vittal, who advocate for environmental sustainability and protection mechanisms. Many of these topics were discussed earlier this year at the United Nations 2022 Ocean Conference, which I attended as a board member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and as the principal lawyer of Yinka Law. Our world and our oceans are in peril, and our future must include urgent legal action to protect our oceans, biodiversity and all of the natural world. Yinka Oyelowo Principal lawyer, Yinka Law Social benefits tribunal member, Tribunals Ontario
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I’d like to thank Precedent for profiling Priyanka Vittal’s legal work at Greenpeace Canada. Her integrity and character are perfect examples of selfless contributions to the law. Her efforts have made her a key role model for young lawyers seeking to find alternatives to traditional career paths and to engage in issues that are meaningful to them, their communities and the public at large. Arun Krishnamurti Counsel, Google
The hottest stories on precedentmagazine.com Most views The 2022 Precedent Setter Awards Most likes Meet a lawyer who’s skilled with a bow and arrow Most retweets A step-by-step guide to legal mentorship
Our People
Bright ideas
Your CPD.
In this issue, we unveil the winners of the Precedent Innovation Awards. So we asked our contributors to tell us about an invention they’d like to see in the real world
From your legal community.
PHOTO OF JEREMY FREED BY JENNA WAKANI; PHOTO OF NICOLA HAMILTON BY SHLOMI AMIGA
Jeremy Freed is a Halifax-based lifestyle writer who covers a broad array of topics, including design, food and watches. His work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Sharp and GQ. For this issue, he wrote about the charming home of Hilary Book, a litigator who takes pride in her lovely garden (“Green space,” p.29). In the future, Freed hopes to see vertical ocean farming adopted on a much larger scale. “It’s a really simple idea,” he says, “that removes carbon and acidity from the oceans while cultivating mussels, oysters and edible kelp.”
Thanks to Saty Namvar and Pratha Samyrajah — a photography and filmmaking duo who split their time between Toronto, London and New York — you can see Osgoode Hall like never before. The creative pair photographed the winners of this year’s Precedent Innovation Awards inside the historic building (p.18). And what invention would they most like to see in the real world? “A translation app that analyzes contract legalese and paraphrases it into layman’s terms. A ‘Babel Fish’ of sorts for any Hitchhiker’s Guide fans out there.”
“I’m fascinated by inventions that can chip away at climate change,” says Nicola Hamilton, who joined Precedent this summer as the magazine’s art director. “Think of plastic-eating enzymes, edible water blobs, biodegradable packaging and ink made from air pollution.” Outside of her work at Precedent, Hamilton is the president of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers and a part-time design educator. In July, she opened an independent magazine shop, called Issues, on Dundas West.
See our Fall programs at store.lso.ca
@LSOCPD Law Society of Ontario CPD
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Brief
THE LATEST FROM THE LEGAL WORLD
BEST PRACTICES
Speaking freely David Quayat opens up about life as a federal Crown prosecutor by Daniel Fish illustration by Melinda Josie
“ Before law school, I waited a lot of tables at a lot of restaurants.” Peter Henein on what lawyers can learn from the service industry p.15
Whenever the public debates a vital topic in criminal justice — the lack of funding to legal aid, the over-incarceration of racialized people, the psychological toll of difficult casework — one actor in the system is typically absent: the Crown. “I don’t know if it’s because we don’t get asked enough or we’re just not willing to volunteer,” says David Quayat, a 44-year-old prosecutor in Brampton. “I’m not sure what the culprit is.” No matter where the blame lies, Quayat is ready to talk candidly about his job. By speaking out, he hopes in part to correct long-standing misconceptions about the prosecution service. He objects, for instance, to the popular narrative that casts defence counsel in a David-vs.-Goliath battle against the limitless powers of the state. “I would agree that the defence bar, as a general proposition, is under-resourced,” he says. But prosecutors live under constraints too, he insists, even if they aren’t as acute as those in criminal defence. “The idea that
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there is an infinite number of resources to be brought to bear against a particular accused is just inaccurate.” Quayat is an unlikely figure to initiate a public conversation from the perspective of a Crown. Back in 2015, as a seventh-year lawyer, he landed what seemed like his ideal role: defence counsel at Edward H. Royle & Associates (now called Edward H. Royle & Partners LLP). By that point in his career, he’d worked in trade law and civil litigation, but he craved more time in court. As a defence lawyer, he conducted trials on a near-constant basis. He loved it. Then Quayat had a son. “That was itself a complicating variable,” he says. “It’s not a secret: I wasn’t in any meaningful relationship with my son’s mother. It was a completely unexpected thing.” All of a sudden, his work schedule — which might take him to court in Barrie one week, then to Hamilton the next — made it “very difficult” to be a part of his son’s life. By 2017, he had joined the federal Crown’s off ice. He remained a busy courtroom lawyer, but he enjoyed less travel, a higher salary, a good benefits package and a pension. As a new parent, he says, “it made all the sense in the world.” W hen Quayat became a prosecutor, James Miglin, a criminal-defence lawyer at Edward H. Royle, knew that his colleague would bring integrity and a “sense of fairness” to the position. “We need good Crowns,” says Miglin. “That’s essential to the proper functioning of the criminaljustice system.” In his first few years as a prosecutor, Quayat took on two additional jobs. First, he became an instructor of international
“We need to, as Crowns, be a little bit more open to talking and to expressing our feelings.” David Quayat
law at the University of Toronto. (He teaches the course on Monday evenings.) Second, he joined the armed forces as a reserve legal officer. “The work ebbs and flows,” he says. He might be called on, for instance, to brief commanders on updates to military law. Because he’s a federal public servant, it’s relatively simple to book off time as a prosecutor to advise the military. “It’s been a great experience.” He spends the bulk of his working life, however, as a federal Crown. And, today, he’s happy to provide a sight line into the world of the prosecution service. “One thing I wish people knew more of,” he says, “is just how much work goes on behind the scenes in evaluating our cases.” Before proceeding with a charge, he has to consider, for instance, his department’s resources and what to prioritize in the face
of a chronically backlogged court calendar. Those decisions can be “agonizing.” The behaviour of law enforcement is also a persistent preoccupation. “Most police officers are very good people, but some are not,” he says. “Like any institution staffed by humans, there are going to be people who don’t deserve to or ought not to be there.” Part of his job is to identify instances of misconduct. “Not a week goes by as a prosecutor where I am not questioning, interrogating or examining the conduct of police officers to ensure that it is above board and that it’s compliant with our constitutional norms.” Quayat also wants the public to understand that prosecutors appreciate, deeply, what it means to ask the court to convict and imprison another human being. To illustrate that point, he describes how he’s handled about 15 “courier-import cases,” in which someone has tried to smuggle drugs (say, two kilograms of cocaine) into the country through the airport. That’s a crime, and he works hard to secure a conviction. But he also knows that the defendants are often racialized, poor or otherwise disadvantaged, not “the mastermind of a criminal organization.” After the court places such a person into custody following a conviction or sentencing hearing, Quayat has an emotional reaction: “When I leave the courthouse or the courtroom, I usually have to find a private place, and I sometimes cry.” Such stories, he thinks, are important to share. “We need to, as Crowns, be a little bit more open to talking and to expressing our feelings,” he says. “In a universe where you have Twitter and TikTok, we can’t not be part of the conversation.”
Timeline of a prosecutor
David Quayat
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2006: He summers at the Department of Foreign Affairs, where he spends most of his time on the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute.
Federal Crown counsel, Public Prosecution Service of Canada
2007: He summers at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Calgary.
Year of call 2009
2008: He clerks at the Federal Court under
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Chief Justice Allan Lutfy. “He was an amazing boss,” says Quayat. “I always felt heard.”
“There are fewer and fewer civil trials,” he says. “I didn’t feel like a real litigator at times.”
2009: Quayat moves to Washington, D.C., to join White & Case LLP as an associate in the trade group.
2015: He becomes a defence lawyer at what was then called Edward H. Royle & Associates.
2011: He joins Lenczner Slaght LLP in Toronto. He learns a lot and has great colleagues, but he appears in court less often than he’d like.
2017: Quayat takes a job at the federal Crown’s office in Brampton. He handles a wide range of files, including drug, terrorism and organizedcrime cases.
2018: He starts to teach international law to political science students at the University of Toronto. 2019: He joins the Canadian Armed Forces as a reserve legal officer. Looking back, he feels fortunate to have stumbled into such a wide-ranging career: “The best part about being a lawyer is sometimes being open to the wind.”
PHOTO: COURTESY OF DAVID QUAYAT
2005: Quayat starts law school at the University of Ottawa.
Brief OPINION
Under pressure How to balance the demands of clients and colleagues when no one will leave you alone
ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK
by Peter Henein
In law, most workdays begin with a constant stream of requests. One client has just been hit with a lawsuit, a senior partner needs an opinion letter and another client wants you to send an angry email to opposing counsel. They all see their demand as urgent. And, unfortunately, none of them will be particularly moved by the needs of the other clients or lawyers. To make everyone happy, you might try to solve all of the problems at the same time. But that’s not possible. You’ll end up doing a mediocre job for everyone. So what should you do? Learn from an industry that’s mastered the art of client management. Before law school, I waited a lot of tables at a lot of restaurants. Many of you have probably waited tables at some point in your life. If not, I expect that you have at least eaten at a restaurant, so I’ll ask you to draw upon that experience while I take you through this metaphor. Here’s the scenario: You are a waiter at the start of your shift. At the exact same moment, diners take a seat at three tables in your section. The first table is a boisterous group celebrating a birthday. The second is a couple of friends catching up on old times. And the third is a dour-looking couple who advise they need to leave early because they are catching a show. All of them want prompt and pleasant service. None of them care about the needs of the other tables. And they certainly don’t want to be ignored while another table gets attended to twice in a row. As a waiter, you need to manage the different tables with some thought. What each diner wants, above all, is to be acknowledged. For the party table, get them water while they settle. Take a prompt drink order from the old friends. Then get the dour couple their menus and take their dinner order right away. You can buy time this way. The big party will take more time to get organized. The old friends just want to drink and
chat before ordering. The dour couple need to know that their order is in before the party table. The same management strategy works in law. If a client is staring down a surprise statement of claim, that likely needs immediate attention. But before you address that dilemma, let the senior partner know you’ll tackle the opinion letter later in the day. As for the client who wants you to berate opposing counsel? Tell that person it can wait until tomorrow — knowing that, by then, the client will likely have calmed down. You’ve now handled your workload and let everyone know where their problem sits in the queue. Most importantly, no one is unhappy.
By the way, that’s not the only useful parallel between lawyering and waiting tables. At the end of a meal, a waiter will check in on each diner’s satisfaction. (“Did you enjoy your meal?”) At the office, ask if a client or colleague has any feedback on the memo. That way you can ensure repeat customers. I could keep going with the metaphor, but I hope you get the point. As lawyers, we all have customers to serve, so we need to be aware of their needs and manage their respective timelines. That’s the key to Michelin star-level service. Peter Henein is a partner at Waddell Phillips PC. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, intellectual property and product liability disputes.
TURNING PROBLEMS INTO PRECEDENTS.
Smart Litigation. stockwoods.ca
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THE Precedent INNOVATION AWARDS The legal profession has a proud history of delivering advice that’s rooted in knowledge and experience. This year’s Precedent Innovation Award winners have embraced that tradition, but they’ve also pushed the law in new directions. ¶ Our winners have made legal information more affordable, used the law to combat climate change and helped clients make smarter tax-dispute decisions. We also propose two innovations that the profession needs but hasn’t yet put in place. ¶ In the following pages, you’ll see some of law’s edgiest thinkers photographed in the storied spaces of Osgoode Hall. We thought of no better way to celebrate each winner’s dual commitment to tradition and disruption By Liza Agrba, Daniel Fish, Matthew Halliday, Sarah Liss and Andrea Yu Photography by Saty + Pratha Hair and makeup by Aniya Nandy Shot on location at Osgoode Hall
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The DMZ and MT>Ventures
THE STARTUP LEGAL SUPPORT PROGRAM
A platform that connects law students with startups in need of legal help
IN 2017, Nicholas Hill was a
startup founder with a problem. As an undergraduate student at the University of Calgary, he helped launch a social-media platform, called Ivy, aimed at university students. He and his two co-founders happily split the workload when it came to developing the technology and marketing the product. But whenever he raised a potential legal issue, he says, his business partners would usually react in the same way. “They would almost without fail say, ‘Is this something we actually need to do?’” recalls Hill. In the startup world, this is a common reaction. Most founders want to devote their limited time and money toward growing the business. Legal issues seem less urgent and too expensive to tackle. As a result, startups often draft crucial documents — supplier contracts, privacy policies, shareholder agreements — without the help of a lawyer. Months or years later, that can cause problems when, for instance, a company finds itself in a dispute over a badly written contract. Hill was not a typical founder. He liked thinking about legal
problems. Near the end of his undergrad, he applied to law school. “It began to feel almost like a calling,” he says. In September 2020, Hill started classes at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Lincoln Alexander School of Law. By his second semester, he had come up with a novel idea: a program that would allow law students to help provide, under the supervision of an experienced lawyer, legal direction to early-stage companies. The students would benefit from real-life experience in business law. Startups, in turn, would be able to address legal issues without blowing their budget. Hill pitched the idea to a number of startup incubators. The DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University showed the most interest and, over the course of 2021, worked with Hill to develop and fine-tune the concept. Fast-forward to January 2022. The Startup Legal Support Program officially launched at the DMZ. Sherif El Tawil, the DMZ’s senior director of programs and partnerships, had immediately appreciated the potential of Hill’s idea. “I see founders all the time who really need legal support to make sure they’re building the right foundation to grow and scale and avoid legal issues down the road,” he says. The DMZ agreed to support the project with office space and mentorship. The incubator also started to match the program with startups on its roster that needed legal help. Aliya Ramji, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP, also joined the program that January. Hill had invited her to provide the legal oversight on the project. She was well suited to the task: in May 2020, she co-founded a division of the firm, called MT>Ventures, that offers both legal and business advice to the startup community. “I was thrilled to sign on,” she says. From the moment it launched, Hill has led the program, all while continuing to study law full-time. Throughout the
THE WINNERS Nicholas Hill and Aliya Ramji, who work together on a program that connects law students with early-stage companies that need legal help, are pictured here in Convocation Hall at Osgoode Hall. INSIDER INFO Hanging above our winners is a portrait of Sir Thomas Galt (1815–1901), former chief justice of one of Ontario’s superior courts.
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THE Precedent INNOVATION AWARDS
program’s first year, three part-time student-volunteers, called caseworkers, helped startups with everything from shareholder agreements to NDAs. Hill served as a fourth caseworker, honing his own ability to deliver legal guidance. While Ramji supervises the project as a whole, an associate at MT>Ventures, Eashan Karnik, works more directly with the students. So far, Ramji has been impressed with the student talent. “There’s a real interest from young, smart law students who want to play in the startup space,” she says. Ramji can imagine some students, after graduation, working with the clients in either a legal or business role. During his time at the program, Hill worked with XpertVR, a five-year-old Niagara Falls-based company that creates virtualreality simulations. (One of the company’s products is a VR module that helps train police on crime-scene procedures). Before meeting with Hill, Evan SitlerBates, the company’s CEO and co-founder, had already worked with two law firms to develop a software-licensing agreement. But he wasn’t happy with the service. “It didn’t seem like we were being taken too seriously,” he says. “We didn’t want to go back and spend more money.” Working with Hill was different. After a few consultations and drafts of the agreement, Sitler-Bates had a document that met his unique needs and was clear enough that a customer would understand. Looking to the future, Hill is excited to watch the program grow. (His first startup, Ivy, was recently acquired by a larger company in the education-technology sector.) “We have blown people away with what we have been able to accomplish,” he says. “We will continue to collaborate and disrupt on our journey to build this great legal innovation.” — Matthew Halliday
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Shopify
THE SUSTAINABILITY FUND
A corporate program that, relying on novel legal agreements, has invested millions of dollars in carbon-removal technology WHEN JEANELLE DUNDAS
→ THE WINNER Jeanelle Dundas, an associate general counsel at Shopify, is pictured here in the Benchers’ Dining Room at Osgoode Hall. INSIDER INFO The doors behind Dundas lead to the servery, where dishes — already prepared in the kitchen of Osgoode Hall’s main restaurant — are plated before service.
joined the in-house legal team at Shopify, in 2018, she was excited. The company — whose founders originally developed the platform in 2006 for their own snowboarding-merch shop — is an e-commerce giant that helps entrepreneurs thrive in the digital marketplace. About two years into her legal career, Dundas was looking forward to supporting the company on its mission. Within a year of her arrival, an unexpected project landed on her desk. Shopify was gearing up to launch something called the Sustainability Fund, a corporate program that would help combat climate change. By that point, the company was already mitigating its climate footprint through carbon offsets. This involves compensating another party to not emit an amount of carbon comparable to what you’ve already emitted. Although Shopify purchased high-quality offsets, such an approach has limited impact. “Even if we’re paying someone to avoid emitting 10 tonnes of carbon, we still left the original 10 tonnes in the atmosphere,” says Stacy Kauk, Shopify’s head of sustainability. And so, the company wanted to direct a significant amount of capital — to the tune of millions of dollars a year — into carbon-removal technology that might undo the
pollution that’s currently warming the planet. Most carbon-removal technology, however, is experimental and tremendously expensive. Companies in this space are working hard to fine-tune their technology and scale the product enough to lower the price. But to pull that off, the industry needs customers who are willing to step up when the cost is at its highest and the risk is at its greatest. Shopify wanted to take on that role. After completing extensive due diligence, the Sustainability Fund would pay early-stage companies to scrub carbon from the atmosphere. With Shopify as a customer, those companies would gain credibility in the marketplace and much-needed revenue to scale their technology. Dundas, now an associate general counsel, had to draft the legal agreements between Shopify and the carbon-removal companies. The work would be difficult. But, she says, “I was excited!” Every purchase agreement must outline what the seller has promised to deliver. A smartphone manufacturer, for instance, might have to ship a certain number of units, by a particular time, all in working order. But how can a company prove that it has captured and stored an agreed-upon amount of colourless, odourless gas? Dundas had to figure that out. The answers varied depending on
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THE Precedent INNOVATION AWARDS
the technology. One company might capture carbon waste from industrial facilities and store it in concrete. Another might use kelp to absorb carbon, before sinking the seaweed deep in the ocean. Each agreement had to sketch out a different way to monitor, report and verify that the vendor had done its job. “Along with the engineers and the scientists,” says Dundas, “we’re thinking through how to define the units in a quantifiable, digestible way.” By March 2022, Shopify had committed US$32 million to 22 companies. Those companies have, in turn, been able to significantly increase their carbon-removal capacity. Many have also brought on new customers. Nova Scotia-based Planetary Technologies was one of Shopify’s first Sustainability Fund partners. At the most basic level, the company creates an antacid out of mine waste that, when added to seawater, draws CO2 out of the atmosphere so it can be permanently stored in the ocean. For CEO and co-founder Mike Kelland, Shopify’s willingness to pay the current price of carbon removal is crucial. Offsets typically cost between $3 and $25 a tonne, but the average price of carbon removal sits around $800 a tonne. (That number, which varies widely depending on the method, should drop over time. At Planetary Technologies, the target price is $75 a tonne.) To participate in the industry at such a high price point “takes a pretty big leap of faith,” says Kelland. “Shopify’s leadership on that is just so catalytic.” In the two-odd years since Dundas sat down to draft the initial contracts, she’s accomplished a lot. “At Shopify,” she says, “we wanted to create a series of relatively user-friendly, streamlined carbonremoval agreements that would help kickstart the market and encourage other buyers to follow suit.” That’s exactly what has happened. As Kauk, the head of sustainability, says, “We’re actually setting the standard.” — Sarah Liss
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Counter Tax Litigators
CEO REPORTS An initiative that helps clients make smarter tax-dispute decisions → THE WINNERS Peter Aprile and Natalie Worsfold of Counter Tax Litigators are pictured here in the Benchers’ Reception Room, which the governors of the Law Society of Ontario use for informal meetings. INSIDER INFO A portrait of William Dummer Powell (1755–1834), former chief justice of Upper Canada, hangs just over the shoulders of our winners. And above the fireplace is a portrait of Edward Blake (1833–1912), former treasurer of the Law Society.
AS A PARTNER at Counter Tax
Litigators, a boutique tax-dispute firm in Toronto, Natalie Worsfold has helped plenty of corporate clients in legal battles against the Canada Revenue Agency. In most cases, the client wants to contest its tax bill, hoping to overturn what it considers an incorrect assessment. But taking the government to court can cost a lot of time and money. And so, before embarking on the long road of litigation, clients pose a similar set of questions to their legal team: How likely is victory? How much of the assessment would the tax court overturn? What will the dispute cost in legal fees? Historically, lawyers have not answered such queries as concretely as clients would like. Worsfold thinks the profession can do better. Over the past few years, she’s taken professional courses in decision science, a discipline that helps individuals and organizations interpret complex data in order to make smarter choices. Relying on that training, she has spearheaded an initiative at Counter Tax Litigators called CEO Reports. When a client is considering litigation, the firm can create a series of
documents that, in part, predict what’s likely to happen if the case goes to court and help the client make the right strategic choices along the way. The primary aim, says Worsfold, is to “marry the rigour of a scientific approach with the art of litigation.” When the firm begins work on a set of reports, the first step is to look for similar tax files on the public record. But that approach has its limits. “Most cases settle and never reach the public,” says Peter Aprile, the firm’s founder. “If you followed that data alone, you would likely go down the wrong path.” The team fills in the gaps with its own knowledge of how tax cases often settle. And, ultimately, the firm uses an in-house analytics tool to crunch the data. The end result is a series of plain-language reports that the firm can present to the client. One report outlines the risks of litigation. Another describes the legal strategy that the firm would deploy. And, perhaps most importantly, one report lays out the most probable outcome in dollars if the client pursues the case. Imagine, for instance, that a client wants to contest $4.4 million on its tax bill. After analyzing the case, Counter Tax Litigators might determine that there’s a 36-percent chance of a reduction between $2.2 million and $2.9 million. The probability of a better result might sit at 24 percent and a worse result at 40 percent. The report would outline that range of possible outcomes. The future remains uncertain, but the client can now make an informed decision about whether to proceed. Having launched CEO Reports about a year ago, Worsfold has seen signs of success. “Clients have so much more confidence and clarity,” she says. “They can focus on their business because they know there’s a strategy in place.” — Matthew Halliday
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It’s time to topple the mental-health stigma once and for all As a teenager, Henna Choi started to struggle with depression. In law school, her symptoms became particularly intense: she had a hard time getting out of bed and felt so much dread that she could hardly function. But with $100,000 worth of student debt, she couldn’t afford to take a break. By 2020, she had managed to graduate, article and land as an associate at Karoly Law, a personal-injury and family-law firm in Toronto. “I am good at my job,” says the
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28-year-old. “I’m very there for other people.” At the same time, she continues to live with depression. In February, Choi started to document her daily life on TikTok. Over the past year, she’s posted videos in which she’s clearly doing well: taking her dog for a walk, going to the batting cage with her brother and father, hiking with friends. In other videos, by contrast, she might talk about having anxiety attacks until 3 a.m. or how she lacked the energy to
FALL 2022
Lisa Feldstein Law Office
KINKEEPER A suite of online courses that helps family caregivers access legal information at little to no cost
IN 2019, Lisa Feldstein noticed
→ THE WINNER Lisa Feldstein, who created a series of online courses that helps family caregivers, is pictured in the American Room of the Great Library at Osgoode Hall.
that part of her practice felt like something out of Groundhog Day. As a sole practitioner in family health law, she often represents caregivers who look after someone — typically a relative but sometimes a friend or neighbour — with a physical or mental disability. Such clients have to confront a wide range of legal challenges. For instance, consider the parent of an adult child with schizophrenia. Those who suffer from this condition often lack insight into their illness and fail to seek medical care. Feldstein might help the parent advocate for the assessment and possible hospitalization of the child. “That part of the job tends to be very educational,” says Feldstein. “I had virtually the same meeting over and over again.” In each case, she would walk the client through the same sections in the Mental Health Act and make the same kind of recommendation. Feldstein runs her practice alongside Sahithya Uruthirakumaran, her indispensable legal assistant. Together, the duo tries to abide by the following ethos: if you find yourself repeating something numerous times, look for a way to automate it. In that spirit, Feldstein and Uruthirakumaran have created Kinkeeper, a lowcost series of online courses (with some free components) that empower family caregivers with legal information. The idea is to give people a choice between fullservice legal advice and informed self-representation. “Caregivers are overwhelmed, stressed and
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
A N I N N OVAT IO N W E’R E S T I L L WA I T I N G FO R
brush her teeth in the morning. “I think people were shocked,” she says, “to see that a lawyer, who they assume is always put together, would have such mornings and be so open about it.” That candour has clearly struck a chord. Today, nearly half a million users follow her account. Her goal with the videos is, in part, to have a creative outlet to talk about mental health. But she also wants to set an example. “As a lawyer myself, just being open and sharing my experiences, I hope that it’ll encourage others to do the same,” says Choi, who’s currently on leave from her role at Karoly Law, taking the time to focus on her mental health. If more lawyers speak out on this topic, that will help stamp out the stigma that causes so many people to suffer in silence. Choi has been happy to see how many law firms now publish educational resources on mental health. But she’d also like firms to emphasize the importance of taking sick days when necessary, including for mentalhealth reasons. “It would help a lot of new hires,” she says, by sending a message “that their mental health is important.” — Andrea Yu
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paying for legal services out of their own pocket,” says Feldstein. “It’s really nice to be able to give those people an affordable choice.” A lawyer working to drive down the cost of legal services may sound unusual. But it’s in keeping with Feldstein’s modus operandi. “Lisa runs her practice in a way that does genuine good for the community,” says Uruthirakumaran. “It makes me happy and proud to come in to work every day.” As Feldstein anticipated, Kinkeeper has become a modest source of passive income as caregivers purchase the courses. To her surprise, however, it’s also become a lead generator. When potential clients locate the platform online, they see Feldstein as a clear expert in the field. In the two years since Kinkeeper launched, Feldstein has enjoyed a marked uptick in full-service caregiver files. Barbara is one client who, after using Kinkeeper, decided to hire Feldstein outright. Barbara’s adult family member has schizophrenia, but she doesn’t acknowledge she has the condition and refuses treatment for it. Worried about her relative’s deteriorating mental and physical state, Barbara desperately wanted to compel her to seek medical care. In March, she purchased a $113 course called “Family Caregiver Rights.” (She later bought a few other courses, too.) A combination of graphic diagrams, text and video recordings — in which Feldstein sits in front of a bright background and speaks in a friendly, personable manner — walked Barbara through concepts ranging from the legal definition of capacity to how to submit the necessary forms. “The laws are complicated,” says Barbara (whose last name we’ve omitted to protect her family member’s privacy). “But Lisa organized the course in a way that made them easy to understand.” Barbara had the confidence to navigate the situation and to communicate with other concerned family members. Ultimately, though, she decided to retain Feldstein when the file became too difficult to handle on her own. The situation has yet to be fully resolved, but Barbara is glad to have found Feldstein and to have taken the online course: “It helped me feel confident enough to take action in a heartbreaking situation, after so many sleepless nights.” — Liza Agrba
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A N I N N OVAT IO N W E’R E S T I L L WA I T I N G FO R
Let’s give associates a break Imagine that you’ve ended work at six o’clock. Your caseload is under control, your inbox empty. You decide to cook dinner at home and bike to the park to meet a friend. Before you switch on the stove, however, your phone pings: the leader of your practice group has sent an email with feedback on a legal opinion you filed that afternoon. The revisions could likely wait until tomorrow, but your mind is now fixated on work. You order takeout, cancel on your friend and pry open your laptop. In today’s legal world, this sort of scenario is all too common. “I’ve become troubled by
what seem to me to be unreasonable pressures on more junior members of the bar,” says George Strathy, who served as the chief justice of Ontario and the president of the Court of Appeal for Ontario before his retirement in August. “A disproportionate amount of their personal time has been eroded by their work obligations.” Earlier this year, Strathy published a paper on mental health in the legal profession. He tackled a wide range of topics, including the importance of mentorship and the prevalence of imposter syndrome. He also noted that lawyers
email their colleagues “in the middle of the night or on weekends” far too often. To solve that problem, he proposed the following innovation: that law firms institute a moratorium on emails and phone calls after 6 p.m. and on weekends (unless it’s a genuine emergency). With such a rule in place, a partner is welcome to mark up an associate’s work in the evening. But before passing along those notes, the partner has to ask: Do I have to hit send right now? Strathy is confident that, in most cases, the partner can safely hold off until the next day. This is how law used to function. When Strathy entered the profession, nearly five decades ago, the internet hadn’t yet demolished the barrier between work and personal time. “Well into my career, you could basically assume that weekends and evenings were yours,” he recalls. The work never suffered. Clients didn’t complain. And lawyers were able to rest or spend time with friends and family. If you’re a managing partner, take note: you can prohibit afterhours emailing and protect your profit margin. And for everyone else, the next time you write an email at 10 o’clock, don’t send it until the morning. — Daniel Fish
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
THE Precedent INNOVATION AWARDS
SOAPSTONE IS JUST THE START
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Debrief life beyond the law
“ It’s not about money or acclaim.” Randy McAuley on his pop-and-R&B band’s latest song p.34
↓ Green party One summer during her undergrad, Hilary Book worked at a garden centre. That job ignited a passion for the art of gardening. Today, the litigator’s own well-tended garden is the perfect backdrop for gatherings with close friends.
GOING IN-HOUSE
Green space Inside Hilary Book’s west-end home, a calming place to unwind from the demands of work by Jeremy Freed photography by May Truong
On most mornings, Hilary Book has break-
fast in her sunny kitchen, looking out at her backyard. In the warmer months, she spends countless hours tending to the garden: planting, dividing, watering. The end result is a lovely collection of greenery that includes ferns, hostas, echinacea and beebalm. “I like the creative aspect of it,” says the founder of the litigation boutique Book Law. “When I’m weeding or watering or trying to figure out what to plant, I’m not thinking about work or any of the other things that normally crowd my brain.” About a decade ago, Book decided to move out of her loft in Kensington Market. “I still wanted to be in the city, in a walkable neighbourhood,” she says. But she hoped to find a place with more green space and “a little less concrete.” Eventually, she discovered her current home: a 1,200-square-foot Victorian row
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Debrief
The owner: Hilary Book Role: Founder, Book Law Year of call: 2006 Location: Little Portugal Home profile: Three bedrooms, about 1,200 square feet
house near Dundas and Dovercourt. Built in the 1880s, the place has plenty of character. Immediately, she was struck by the high ceilings, the decorative mouldings and the lush plant life in the backyard (which includes a towering silver maple). It was perfect. Owning an almost-140-year-old structure, however, can be a challenge. Before Book could procure home insurance, she had to replace the 1960s-era galvanized steel plumbing system. And although she adores the traditional look and feel of the home, she’s had to make a few modest upgrades. “I’ve painted, redone the bathroom, put in a new patio and deck, and replaced the roof,” she says. “The sort of projects that will keep the house functional and looking good.” Because Book’s office is located at Adelaide and University, she has come to see her leafy street — a short walk from the fashionable restaurants, bars and boutiques of Dundas West — as a sanctuary from the steel and concrete of downtown. “Mostly,” she says, “my home is a place where I can recharge, reflect and relax away from work.” Today, Book still loves what initially drew her to the house: the vibrant neighbourhood, the way the trees diffuse the afternoon light, the plaster details and the garden. “I moved a fair amount as a kid and through university, and I never understood how people could become emotionally attached to real estate,” she says. “But I get it now. I’ve lived a lot of life while in this house. And I’ve made a lot of memories.”
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↑ Office hours Pre-pandemic, Book didn’t like to work from home. Over the past few years, however, she’s gotten used to it: she now works out of her home office at least twice a week. “There is something nice about not having to get up early to be in the office by a certain time,” she says. “If I have an 8 a.m. call, chances are I’m doing it in my pyjamas.” ↓ Plaster perfect Plaster medallions and other original 19th-century details captured Book’s heart when she first toured the home. “I grew up in new-ish houses in the suburbs,” she says, “so there’s something special to me about a house with some history.”
Debrief ← Book’s books Book feels most at home when she’s surrounded by books, and her home offers this comfort at every turn. “I have a bit of everything: literary non-fiction, biography, art books, poetry, history,” she says. “But mostly, I own a lot of novels and murder mysteries.”
↓ Music therapy Book’s piano, an instrument she took up in early childhood, has a place of honour in the dining room. “I like playing the piano to unwind,” she says. “I find it really comforting and relaxing.”
↑ Test kitchen “I don’t like cooking on a regular basis, so my guests are subject to my experimentation when I entertain,” says Book. Her favourite dinner dishes include Thai flank steak with an herb salad and linguine with olives and capers. When it comes to dessert, she says, “I make a pretty good banana cake.”
↓ Signature dish Among Book’s prized possessions are the antique dishes she inherited from a great-aunt. “She never had her own children,” says Book. “When I was younger, I used to have sleepovers and play cards at her house. She always made me feel special, and these dishes are a happy memory of her.”
↑ Dog years Book’s two-year-old Shih Tzu, Leora, is an unusually energetic lap dog. “Although she’s a lot of work, she brings a lot of joy to my life,” says Book. “We snuggle together in the mornings. She’s excited to see me every time I come home.”
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Wednesday, December 7, 2022 For details visit
precedentmagazine.com/awards Precedent seeks to recognize lawyers who reflect the diversity of the profession and strongly encourages nominations of candidates with diverse backgrounds and experience.
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Debrief
SECRET LIFE
Pitch perfect by Danielle Groen photography by Steph Martyniuk
Before the corporate and securities law practice, before the stints as a stockbroker and a Toronto Argonauts running back, before the Juno Award nomination and opening for James Brown, Randy McAuley was a sixor seven-year-old kid in a homemade outfit, belting out the high notes on stage to The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There.”
It was a walk-on appearance, circa 1990, in his brothers’ pop and R&B band, but Randy made an impression. A few years later, his older siblings (Gary, George and Mark) officially welcomed him into The McAuley Boys. In 1995, the brothers cut their first cassette, after their musically gifted parents plunked down thousands
Randy McAuley Goodmans LLP
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of dollars so their sons could record some Christmas tunes. Handselling the tape at shows, the brothers quickly recouped the money. The following year, they released the Juno-nominated In Another Lifetime, which featured a smooth set of R&B bops written by Gary and a pair of covers that included The Hollies’ “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” performed by the Boys on the Junos telecast in 1997. From there, it was off to sing the national anthem at the MLB All-Star Game, headline shows in the Olympic Village in Sydney and open for the likes of The Temptations, Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. “It turns out we were huge in South Africa, even though we never actually played there,” McAuley says with a laugh. During his undergrad at Western University, McAuley continued to perform in the band while pursuing a career in football. (He played on the varsity team and, after his fourth year, was invited to the Toronto Argos training camp.) But as the Boys got older and settled down with families of their own, music took a backseat. Eventually, McAuley lost his passion for football and tried his hand at trading stocks. Soon, though, he found his calling in another family business, following his aunt, sister-inlaw and two cousins into law; he now practises corporate and securities law as an associate at Goodmans LLP. The brothers never quite quit performing together, and this September, they released a new song for the first time in ages. “We’ll see where we go from there, but it’s not about money or acclaim,” McAuley says. “We really just wanted to do something that’s good for the soul.”
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