Christine Silversides is General Counsel of York University. Christine has practised law for more than 30 years, including ten years of private practice in downtown Toronto, followed by almost seven years as senior corporate counsel for a $7 Billion TSX-listed corporation. Since mid-2006, Christine has provided in-house legal advice and counsel to York University.
Christine began her legal practice at a firm located on Bay Street, working closely with a practice group known for rigorous training of junior lawyers and excellence in drafting clear and concise documents, artfully communicating the business and legal arrangements among parties to complex commercial transactions and real estate developments. Since 1992, Christine has consistently shared her experience and skills with students and lawyers alike, both teaching and mentoring others. Given her unusually broad range of practice experience, from real estate, corporate-commercial, securities, administrative litigation and general litigation, Christine has found that she is well-suited to the teaching of legal drafting in a wide variety of practice areas.
As the principal legal counsel for York University, Christine provides legal guidance and counsel in executive and policy decision-making and serves as a member of the executive leadership group. She provides strategic leadership in all matters with legal implications for the University. Working with multiple stakeholders and numerous agendas on complex matters, she deals with sensitive matters that involve high risk, including financial and reputational risk to the University community and/or ramifications for liability. Ms Silversides leads a team of legal counsel and other professionals and strategically prioritizes matters to ensure maximum use of in-house counsel and other professional resources. Christine has a broad portfolio, providing leadership of the Office of the Counsel, the Information and Privacy and Copyright Offices, the AODA Office, and the Licensing Office.
Madam Justice Melanie Kraft was appointed to the Superior Court of Justice on April 6, 2020. She graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1994. Upon completion of her articles with Epstein Cole LLP, she was admitted to the Bar of Ontario. She practiced family law exclusively with the firm, becoming a partner in 2001.
Justice Kraft’s practice covered a broad range of family law issues and involved various dispute-resolution mechanisms, including the negotiation of domestic contracts in complex financial matters and acting as counsel in contentious parenting, support, and property disputes.
Given Justice Kraft’s long-held commitment to improving the public’s access to justice, she has supported and participated in programs developed to support this objective. This includes her past participation in the Intensive Poverty Law Programme at Parkdale Community Legal Service; her service as Duty Counsel at the Ontario Court of Justice, and her service both as a Dispute Resolution Officer and as Advice Settlement Counsel at the Superior Court of Justice.
Justice Kraft has been an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she co-taught Family Law with Aaron Franks and Roslyn Tsao. She has obtained certificates in mediation from both the Collaborative Decision Resource Centre in Boulder, Colorado, and the Program of Instruction for Lawyers at Harvard Law School.
Kerry Wilkins, a recovering government lawyer, has written one book (Essentials of Canadian Aboriginal Law, 2018), edited another (Advancing Aboriginal Claims: Visions, Strategies, Directions, 2004), and published articles in various Canadian law journals and essay collections, usually having something to do with Indigenous peoples and/or Canada’s constitution. He has also taught courses at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
Jonathan Odumeru (he/him) is the course director and instructor for the upper-year Lawyer as Negotiator (LAN) course, after being a member of the LAN Teaching Team since 2019.
Mr. Odumeru is Senior Litigation Counsel at the TD Bank Group, where he co-leads TD’s Canadian Investigations practice, and manages significant litigation matters. He is also a member of TD’s Human Rights Practice Team, and co-leads the TD Legal pro-bono initiative. Prior to joining TD, Mr. Odumeru was a litigation associate at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and completed his articles at a small firm. Mr. Odumeru is called to the Bar of Ontario and has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.
Mr. Odumeru is an advocate and mentor in the 2SLGBT+ and Black legal communities, regularly speaking on panels, and has led several inclusion and diversity initiatives.
Mr. Odumeru received his BSc from the University of Guelph in 2007, and completed his JD at Osgoode in 2010. In 2011, Mr. Odumeru received an LLM with Distinction in International and Comparative Commercial Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). He went on to receive a postgraduate diploma in International Development in 2021, and a Masters in Public Policy with Distinction from the London School of Economics in 2022, where he focused on Climate, Human Rights, and Development policy issues.
Jennifer L. King is a partner at Gowling WLG and is National Co-Lead of the firm’s Administrative Law Practice Group. She also serves as co-lead of the firm’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) advisory services practice. Ms. King a member of the firm’s Climate Change and Environment Group and Toronto’s Advocacy Department.
Ms. King’s litigation practice includes environmental law, administrative law, constitutional law, corporate and contractual disputes, professional liability, tort, public health, land use and municipal law, and Indigenous rights.
Ms. King has appeared before all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada, tribunals including the Ontario Land Tribunal, and Institutions of Public Government including the Nunavut Impact Review Board. Ms. King has also acted as counsel on public inquiries and for clients on environmental assessments.
In her advisory practice, Ms. King supports clients in navigating complex regulatory and public law regimes and assists in negotiating complex land and Inuit impact benefit agreements.
Ms. King speaks and writes on various professional topics including on environmental law and climate change, ESG, municipal law, freedom of information, emergency and disaster recovery and legal practice and procedure. She serves on the advisory boards and as faculty for two Osgoode Professional Development Certificates – ESG, Climate Risk and the Law and the Law of Emergencies: Practical Strategies in Disaster Preparedness, Management and Recovery. Ms. King is a Climate Governance Expert with the Canada Climate Law Initiative.
Ms. King was admitted to the Ontario bar in 2007, and the Nunavut bar in 2019.
Winston Gee is Senior Counsel, ESG & Corporate Governance, at TD Bank Group. Winston advises the Bank’s board, senior management, and business segments on the design and implementation of the Bank’s ESG strategy, on the management of environmental and social risks and opportunities, and on matters of corporate governance, including stakeholder engagement, disclosure, director duties, and the Bank’s annual meeting of shareholders. Prior to his career at TD, Winston was a commercial litigator and regulatory lawyer at Torys LLP.
Outside of his legal practice, Winston serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Blueprint, a Toronto-based public policy consulting firm that advises governments and private-sector organizations across Canada.
Matthew is a partner in Gowling WLG’s Ottawa office and National Co-Lead of the firm’s Administrative Law Practice Group (Canada).
Matthew is a member of the advocacy department and the Copyright Group, practising primarily in the areas of copyright law, administrative law and appellate advocacy.
Maggie is a partner of Aird & Berlis LLP’s Municipal & Land Use Planning Group. She represents sophisticated Canadian and international developers with complex, high-profile mixed use projects. Maggie’s expertise lies in supporting clients through the lifecycle of a project, from the application and development process through consultation with various city departments and stakeholders to representation before municipal authorities and administrative tribunals. She has particular expertise in the preparation and processing of development applications, including official plan and zoning by-law amendments, consents to sever lands, plans of subdivision, minor variances and site plan approvals. Maggie’s practical experience is bolstered by her academic background in land use planning.
Olha has a law degree from Ukraine and from Canada and more than 15 years of experience in the legal industry. Before immigrating to Canada, Olha worked as a corporate lawyer in Kyiv specializing in crossborder M&A, corporate real estate and tax law. She is a licensed Canadian lawyer and a founding partner of CGS LAW, a boutique firm in Toronto, Canada.
Since 2014, Olha has been involved with the Osgoode Business Clinic as a Student Coordinator and Academic Director providing legal services to small business owners.
Since 2022, Olha also works as a Program Lawyer with Pro Bono Ontario managing the hotline dedicated to providing Canadian legal support for Ukrainians arriving in Canada affected by the russian invasion of Ukraine.