Read Christine’s Back Story
After practicing employment law for over seventeen years, acting primarily for employers but employees as well, Christine brings the perspective of principle and practicality to her employment practice. This experience allows her to keep her client’s interests and goals tantamount. For employer clients, this means Christine takes the time to understand her clients’ business needs. For employee clients, it means Christine takes an active role managing their expectations and dealing with the ups and downs of conflict and litigation while they move on to the next chapter of their careers. Depending on the matter, with a principled and practical perspective, a solution to an employment matter could range anywhere from settlement, mediation, trial and if necessary, appeal.
Christine prides herself on providing her clients with timely and thorough advice outlining both the principled and practical perspectives of an employment situation. Her considerable experience as a litigator gives her the ability to see a matter through the entire legal process, with confidence and resolve.
In addition to being a barrister, Christine relishes the solicitor side of her practice and having the opportunity for her employer clients to potentially avoid litigation down the road. Christine regularly provides advisory services to employers ranging from hiring practices, drafting and reviewing employment, executive and independent contractor agreements, revising or drafting employee policies and procedures, handbooks, advising on terminations, drafting termination packages, and advising on employment law matters on the sale of a business.
PRACTICE AREAS
Prior to joining the firm, Christine was a lawyer at a prominent Toronto employment law boutique firm, and previous to that a partner at an established downtown Toronto full service law firm for over seventeen years where her practice encompassed both employment law and commercial litigation with a focus on asset based lending. She understands how business thinks.
Christine provides a number of key services including;
- HR management advisory services
- workplace policies and compliance
- employment agreements and independent contractor agreements
- non-competition/non-solicitation agreements and litigation
- termination packages
- executive compensation agreements and terminations
- workplace harassment
- wrongful dismissal/constructive Dismissal
- human rights violations in the workplace
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Christine is an accomplished litigator in employment law and commercial litigation. Throughout her litigation career, she has appeared on several motions and trials before the Ontario Superior of Justice, the Commercial and Bankruptcy Court in the Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
With a passion for training and education, Christine was selected in 2017 to be a part time instructor teaching employment law in Sheridan College’s Paralegal Program. She enjoys passing on not only her substantive, but also her practical knowledge of employment law to the next generation of paralegals, and acting as a mentor to a number of junior lawyers throughout her career.
Christine’s drive in working for her clients is paralleled by her passion for volunteerism and supporting excellence in education and parent engagement. She strongly believes that support and enhancement of the community comes from being an active citizen. For the last two years, Christine has been elected the Parish Representative on the St. Andrew Catholic School Parent Council in Oakville, Ontario.
INTERESTING TIDBIT
Christine once found a missing person. During her summers in law school, Christine worked as a border officer at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge. She was conducting an examination in the primary booth (more like a cross examination) of an American driving a Cadillac with Florida plates. Based on her examination, she determined he was coming to Toronto to propose to an old girlfriend he had not seen in years with a ring in tow. Christine’s lawyerly instincts kicked in and she knew she had to determine the real purpose of his trip. She sent him in for a secondary inspection and an immigration check. It turned out this man was reported as a missing person by his family in Florida. He was a schizophrenic who left Florida without his medication. His family was so happy and relieved that he was found safe and sound. It was a day Christine will never forget.
Read Christine’s Bio
Christine got her first taste for advocacy on her high school debate team where she led her team to a first place finish debating the merits of the Olympic games. The art of putting together an argument with supporting facts and persuading the judges through oral argument that her side was the winning side was an aha moment for Christine. She knew this was her calling and law was the right path for her.
Who would have known that Christine’s first day on the job as a newly minted lawyer would change the course of her career forever? On that first day back at her firm, she was called in to assist on an employment law matter where her firm acted for 28 owner operator truck drivers who were terminated en masse from a major Canadian retailer. She assisted in bringing 28 individual wrongful dismissal claims and worked every aspect of the case from document collection, to conducting the discovery of the retail executive, appearing on many motions and eventually preparing for and attending on trial. It was a career changing case for Christine as she quickly realized her passion for employment law. She learned from this case how important it was for employers to obtain appropriate legal counsel before and after terminating employees, and on the employee side, how to manage clients’ expectations through the litigation process. She used this case to launch her employment law career and dedicate her career to helping employers and employees.
