Advocacy experience
Brooke has advocated for her clients in numerous appeals, contested hearings, and judicial review proceedings, including before the Divisional Court, Ontario Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada.
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More often than not, however, Brooke works to advance her clients' interests through informal advocacy, and resolves matters without a publicly reported decision.
She regularly represents lawyers and health professionals to help respond to regulatory complaints and investigations and stop disciplinary proceedings before they start, and provides legal opinions and practical advice on professional obligations to address potential regulatory concerns before they arise—and before there is any need for the regulator to get involved—to ensure lawyers and health professionals can focus on helping their own clients.
Representative cases
Penate v. Martoglio
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Successful appeal of a trial judge's decision to strike a jury after a six-week trial in a complex obstetrical negligence case, based on a failure to provide adequate reasons to deprive the plaintiff family of a jury trial: 2024 ONCA 166
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*Law Society of Ontario discipline matter converted to an invitation to attend, 2024
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Negotiated a remedial (non-punitive) outcome to a conduct application alleging misuse of confidential information and failure to account; the Law Society Tribunal dismissed the application during the pre-hearing process.
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*Law Society of Ontario penalty hearing re duty to cooperate, 2023
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Successfully advocated for a reduced penalty in a Law Society discipline proceeding, avoiding suspension based on several mitigating factors.
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Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia
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Lead counsel for the respondent on an appeal concerning the recognition of a novel tort of family violence: 2023 ONCA 476
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*Law Society of Ontario discipline hearing re honesty and candour, 2022
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Successful defence of a lawyer who was alleged to have given false or misleading testimony in a personal matter in Small Claims Court; all allegations of professional misconduct were dismissed in their entirety after a six-day contested hearing.
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Cheung v. Samra
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An appeal of a traumatic birth injury decision in which the trial judge dispensed with the jury verdict in the plaintiffs' favour; successfully advocated to reinstate the jury verdict in the plaintiff family's favour: 2018 ONCA 923, 2020 ONSC 4904, 2022 ONCA 195
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*Law Society of Ontario discipline, penalty, costs, and appeal hearings re advertising, 2019-2021
Defending a lawyer alleged to have committed professional misconduct in relation to Law Society advertising rules; all allegations were dismissed, the proceeding was converted to an invitation to attend, and the lawyer obtained costs order against the Law Society--all of which was upheld on appeal.
Dhillon v. The Corporation of the City of Brampton
Successfully responded to a judicial review application in the Divisional Court, which affirmed the City’s remedial actions to address allegations of sexual misconduct against a city councillor: 2021 ONSC 4165
Parliament v. Conley
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Representing the successful appellant in a medical malpractice case to overturn a jury verdict based on bias in expert evidence: 2021 ONCA 261
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. v. Bell Media Inc.
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Represented an intervener in an appeal upholding Canada’s first site-blocking order: 2020 FCA 108, 2021 FCA 100
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Stirrett v. Cheema
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An appeal concerning duties owed by medical researchers to human subjects in experiments and the role of causation in claims for breach of fiduciary duty: 2020 ONCA 288
Barrese v. Barrese
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Acted for the successful moving party in a motion for disqualification of counsel: 2019 ONSC 3137
Alectra Utilities Corporation v. Solar Power Network Inc.
Appeals regarding the scope of courts’ powers to set aside arbitration awards for lack of jurisdiction: 2018 ONSC 4926, 2019 ONCA 254.
Ghiassi v. Singh
An appeal reaffirming trial judges’ ability to make causal inferences in medical negligence claims: 2018 ONCA 764
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Rankin v. JJ (Litigation Guardian of)
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Represented an intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in an appeal regarding whether an auto shop owed a duty of care to highway users injured by a stolen vehicle: 2018 SCC 19
Butler v. Royal Victoria Hospital
An appeal concerning the role of contingencies in assessing damages for loss of future income: 2018 ONCA 409
Sataur v. Starbucks Coffee Canada Inc.
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An appeal overturning a motions decision striking claims against employees alleged to have breached their duty of care to a customer who was injured by a spilled hot beverage: 2017 ONCA 1017
Sacks v. Ross
An appeal concerning the causation questions to be put to a jury in a complex medical malpractice case: 2017 ONCA 773
Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc., et al.
Represented an intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada in a decision affirming courts’ equitable jurisdiction to grant injunctions with extraterritorial effect concerning illegal activities on the internet: 2017 SCC 34
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Ontario v. Chartis Insurance
An appeal concerning the disqualification of counsel in an insurance matter due to a transferring lawyer’s conflict of interest, despite imposition of a conflict screen: 2017 ONCA 59
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*Although these cases are public, references to LSO matters have been anonymized and posted without links so as to avoid unnecessary exposure of clients’ names and matters.
Anything else?
A complete list of publicly reported decisions on which Brooke acted as counsel can be found on CanLII—but these lists provide only a representative sample of the kind of cases Brooke acts on; most professional conduct matters, for example, never result in a public decision because we resolve the issue before it is referred to discipline.
If you wish to learn more, feel free to contact Brooke.