How to Succeed at Oral Advocacy

For more than 135 years, the Toronto Lawyers' Association, located within the Courthouse Library, has represented the interests of lawyers practising in the City of Toronto. The association was founded to support its members in three key areas: Knowledge, Advocacy, and Community. To uphold these pillars, the association offers a year-round mix of online and in-person education programs for lawyers, hosts both free and paid events to foster in-person networking, and submits advocacy pieces on behalf of its members to the Ontario bench and bar, all levels of government, and the broader public.

Igor Ellyn was the founding partner of Ellyn Law LLP and a senior commercial litigator, chartered arbitrator, and mediator. He is well-known in the Ontario courts and at the Ontario Bar as a senior legal counsel with particular expertise in shareholder disputes and complex commercial litigation and arbitration. Mr. Ellyn is a leader of the Ontario Bar. He is a past president of the Ontario Bar Association. He is currently chair of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Toronto Chapter. He also served as honorary legal counsel for Canadian Jewish Congress – Ontario Region. He has been actively involved in legal education in his fields of expertise. He has continued the practice of Ellyn Law as Ellyn Business Counsel. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1973, Mr. Ellyn was designated Queen’s Counsel in 1985 and has been certified by the Law Society as a specialist in civil litigation since 1989.

Caroline is an experienced lawyer, adjudicator, educator, and public speaker. Before starting her business in 2017, Caroline spent over a decade as counsel to the judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. She worked on complex appeals in all areas of law, including corporate law, criminal law, administrative law, class actions, and the Charter. From 2017–2019, Caroline was a member and designated Vice-Chair of the Ontario Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and a member of the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board. Caroline is on the faculty of decision writing programs for the National Judicial Institute, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators. She also speaks regularly on oral and written advocacy for bar groups across Canada. Caroline has been an adjunct professor of Legal Research and Writing at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and a subject matter expert in Legal Research and Writing at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also a popular instructor in the Professional LLM program at Osgoode Hall Law School. Caroline has a JD and an MA from the University of Toronto and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2005.

Mary positions her clients to achieve positive settlements or succeed at trial. Although based in Ontario, with many appearances before the Ontario Superior Court, including the Commercial List, she has also conducted trials in the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Canada, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the British Columbia Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has appeared on motions in the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench. Mary has also appeared on appeals in the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Quebec Court of Appeal, and the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Her areas of specialty include tax litigation, insolvency work (receiverships, bankruptcies, and proceedings pursuant to the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act), contract disputes, and other general commercial litigation.

Experienced Associate Lawyer with a demonstrated history of working in the law practice industry. Skilled in Legal Advocacy, Research, Writing, Litigation, Legal Advice, and Leadership.