Trial Advocacy

Justice Pawagi was appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2009. She presides in Toronto, primarily in family court. She was a lawyer for the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto and then the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. She has also worked as a reporter, for CBC radio in Charlottetown and Toronto; and for the Associated Press in St. Louis, Mo. She has written several books including The Girl Who Hated Books (translated into over 15 languages and made into an animated short by the NFB) and the memoir Love and Laughter in the Time of Chemotherapy.

Trial Advocacy

Lynda is a partner at Addario Law Group in Toronto. She maintains a criminal and regulatory law practice with a strong interest in search and seizure issues. Lynda acts as duty counsel for the Law Society of Ontario and the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program.

Lynda is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and was previously the Chair of the Advocates’ Society Criminal Law Practice Group. Lynda acts as duty counsel for the pro bono inmate appeal program and at the Law Society of Ontario. She has spoken at numerous conferences on search and seizure issues.

Trial Advocacy

Justice – Superior Court (Ontario)

Trial Advocacy

Practise commercial litigation since 1986, currently counsel at Loopstra Nixon LLP.8

Trial Advocacy

Matthew Karabus is a partner in the Commercial Litigation and Arbitration group of Gowling WLG’s Toronto office.

He has a wide range of commercial dispute resolution experience, most regularly in matters involving:

• Contractual disputes, shareholder litigation, banking litigation and commercial real estate disputes

• Administrative law and litigation involving government and regulated industries

• Injunctions, fraud claims and enforcement of foreign judgements

Matthew has acted as counsel in numerous arbitrations and at every level of court in Ontario.

Trial Advocacy

Jean has been teaching the Trial Advocacy course since 2018. She is a former Assistant Crown Attorney and counsel with the Ontario Government. She is currently working as Professional Standards Counsel with the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.

Trial Advocacy

Ann Marina Elias is Crown Counsel at the Public Prosecution Service of Canada where she prosecutes large-scale drug and firearm cases. She routinely conducts jury trials at the Superior Court of Justice and appears before the Ontario Court of Appeal on complex legal issues. Ann Marina is the recipient of the 2022 Osgoode Alumni Award as One to Watch.

Ann Marina created the Ontario Regional Office Mentorship Program at the PPSC. As co-chair of the program, she designed and administered a Trial Advocacy Master Class. Ann Marina teaches Lawyer as Negotiator, Trial Advocacy and the Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop.

Trial Advocacy

Dorothy is a partner in the litigation group at McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto. Her practice includes commercial litigation, professional negligence, product liability, class actions, and defamation. She has acted as counsel in both jury and judge alone trials and has appeared before several courts and tribunals, including the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of Ontario, the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Justice, and the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board.

In addition to Trial Advocacy, Dorothy regularly lectures on medical negligence and has been recognized by Lexpert as a leading lawyer in the area.

Trial Advocacy

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Brett was a professor of African history at Queen’s University. After changing course, Brett attended Osgoode Hall Law School. Following graduation, Brett joined the North York Crown Attorney’s office in 2007 as an Assistant Crown Attorney. More recently, Brett has made the move to Crown Law Office – Criminal, where he has conducted appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Brett has also been instrumental in creating and managing a dedicated legal research database by which Crown counsel across the province can share their research.

Jerry is a long time Assistant Crown Attorney/Crown Counsel in Toronto, as well as a long time Instructor for Trial Advocacy.