Biographical Summaries of Presenters [Presented in alphabetical order]

June 8, 2017

SOLO AND SMALL FIRM

CONFERENCE 2017:

Building a Smarter Practice

CRIMINAL LAW

Andrew Arruda is a Canadian entrepreneur and lawyer. He is Chief Executive Officer and Co-

Founder of the artificial intelligence company ROSS Intelligence, a leader in the legal

technology industry. Arruda speaks internationally on the subjects of A.I., legal technology, and

entrepreneurship and has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, BBC,

CNBC, CBS, Fortune, Inc., Forbes, and the Financial Times. A member of the Forbes 30 under

30 class of 2017, as well as a 2016 TED speaker, Arruda aims to forever change the way legal

services are delivered. Prior to cofounding ROSS Intelligence, Arruda worked at a Toronto

litigation boutique and with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and

Development in Lisbon, Portugal.

Jordan M. Atin

COUNSEL

HULL & HULL LLP

(416) 369-0335

jatin@hullandhull.com

Jordan is a Certified Specialists in Estates and Trusts Law and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. Lexpert rates Jordan as one of its top recommended estate lawyers in Canada as well as being rated as a Best Lawyer in Canada. In addition to his planning and administration practice, Jordan is Counsel to Hull & Hull LLP and an experienced estates mediator. He is a Past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association - Trust and Estates Section and a full member of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Jordan was the inaugural winner of the OBA’s Hoffstein Prize in recognition of his contributions and achievements in the area of wills, trusts and estates. Jordan Atin is the founder of IWEE - the Institute for Wills and Estate Education. IWEE (www.iwee.ca) provides monthly small group intensive workshops for estate professionals. He is a frequent presenter and Chair at STEP, Osgoode Hall Law School, Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers’ Association, Ontario Bar Association and Law Society programs on estate matters. Jordan is a contributing author to the well-known text “Estate Litigation” and his articles are referred to in many of Canada’s leading estates texts including “Widdifield on Executors and Trustees”, Feeney’s Canadian Law of Wills”, “Drafting Wills in Ontario” and “Oosterhoff on Wills and Succession”. Jordan’s book for non-lawyers, The Family War – Winning the Inheritance Battle, has been featured on CanadaAM, BNN and in dozens of Canadian and US newspapers.

Phil Brown Counsel, Professional Development and Competence Law Society of Upper Canada 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N6

Background Phil graduated from Dalhousie University with a B.Sc. (Hon) and an LLB. He was called to the Bar in Nova

Scotia in 1985 and Ontario in 1989. He also holds a post-graduate certificate from Centennial College in

e-commerce.

Areas of Practice and Experience Phil practised criminal law exclusively as a sole practitioner before joining Legal Aid Ontario as the

Coordinator of Lawyer Relations. He was responsible for marketing the Legal Aid Online billing project

which automated lawyer payments. The project had a 90% uptake by lawyers within the first 6 months.

He joined the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2008 as Counsel in the Professional Development and

Competence department and has been involved in CPD planning, accreditation, and certified specialist

certification. He participates in developing resources for solos and small firm lawyers and for the past

five years has worked on the Practice Management Helpline team assisting lawyers with issues related

to the Law Society By-laws, Rules of Professional Conduct and professionalism questions. He is also

working on a series of technology podcasts with David Whelan.

Professional Activities He is currently a member of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association and is the Photo Editor of “For The

Defence” magazine.

He is a presenter at continuing professional development programs and has spoken at the American Bar

Association, Criminal Lawyers Association, Hamilton Law Association, Toronto Lawyers Association, and

Law Society programs. He has been a lecturer and instructor in the professional responsibility course

and the Professional Conduct and Practice in Ontario course.

Morris A. Chochla Called to the Bar 1980. Partner with Forbes Chochla LLP in Toronto practicing construction and insurance litigation with an emphasis on the defense of architects and engineers. Professional Engineer and a member of the PEO. Also a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. Board member of the Canadian Bar Insurance Association. Past President of the Ontario Bar Association and past Vice Chair of the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation.

Gitpo STORMS – Toronto | Calgary | Vancouver | Eel Ground First Nation www.Gitpo.com

CEO Bernd Christmas

"Our success lies in building on the innovations of

today while at the same time, incorporating Indigenous

knowledge based on the principles of conservation,

sustainability of resources and reverence for the lands

and the waters."

… Bernd Christmas, CEO Gitpo STORMS / Gitpo LP

Bernd cares deeply about the needs of First Nations in

Canada. He uses his deep understanding of

Indigenous perspectives to help bring about

Indigenous economic development.

Bernd Christmas graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1991 and joined the Bar in

1993 in Ontario. Bernd was the first Mi’kmaq to become a lawyer in Canada. Bernd was a

partner in the Aboriginal Law Practice at Cassels Brock LLP and a proud member of the

Mi’kmaq community of Membertou. He is a former Chief Executive Officer of the

Membertou Band of Nova Scotia and the Membertou Corporate Division and frequent

negotiator for several First Nations bands. In 2003, he was appointed by Prime Minister

Chrétien to the External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulation. From 2000 to 2002,

he was one of three Canadian commissioners to the International Commission for the

Conservation of Tuna. He is a former member of the National Aboriginal Economic

Development Board and of the executive committee organizing the Governor General’s

Conference on Leadership and Diversity. Now, as CEO of Gitpo STORMS and Gitpo LP,

Bernd Christmas leads the charge to apply Gitpo’s vision of providing solutions and

services to industry that are truly new and consistent with First Nations needs and

values.

Kathleen Erin Cullin is a lawyer practicing at Wallbridge Wallbridge. Erin is certified by the

Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Civil Litigation. A graduate of the Faculty of

Law at the University of Western Ontario, Erin has been practicing in Northeastern Ontario since

her call to the Bar in 1997. Her practice is restricted to Plaintiff’s personal injury and

professional malpractice litigation. In addition to acting as the co-chair for LSUC’s Solo and

Small Firm Conference, Erin is also the Chair of Colloquium, the Northeastern Ontario CPD

Conference and is a Skills Instructor for the Advocates’ Society.

Lisa Feldstein is the founder of Lisa Feldstein Law Office PC located in the GTA focusing on Family Health Law™. She helps family caregivers navigate and negotiate challenging health law situations. Her practice is wide-ranging and encompasses surrogacy, guardianship, elder law, and consent and capacity law. Lisa was called to the bar in 2011 after graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School, where she placed first in the Canadian National Mediation Advocacy Competition and third in the ICC International Commercial Mediation Competition in Paris, France. She began her career at a Toronto health law boutique and has been operating her own practice for the past 4.5 years. Lisa is passionate about teaching and mentoring law students and entrepreneurs. She taught negotiation for six years at Osgoode Hall Law School and is currently an Adjunct Professor at York University, where she teaches Health Care Law. Lisa has been published and interviewed by numerous media outlets including the National Post, Global News and CBC. In 2015 she was honoured to win a Precedent Setter Award for demonstrating excellence and leadership early in her practice. Sara Feldstein is a third generation Chartered Accountant who has been working in public practice since 2008. She graduated from McMaster University with Honours and articled with a mid-size Toronto firm. She is a partner at Mark Feldstein & Associates Professional Corporation Chartered Accountants located in Markham. Her clients include lawyers, architects, IT consultants, construction workers, franchises, and many others. She has assisted hundreds of budding entrepreneurs in the early stages of their businesses. Sara prides herself on de-mystifying accounting so that everyone can understand their financial statements and make the informed decisions their business needs to succeed. She believes that financial literary is key to a successful business.

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About Chris Graham, Founder

Chris’s life is focused on helping people see other people.

Chris is a twice-­­retired lawyer: first in New York, representing very large banks; and second, in Toronto, representing Aboriginal governments. (You’d be surprised by the overlap in these two practices. Just ask.)

Chris is the producer of AMAZING NEW STUFF (www.crg.is/ans), a performance series featuring outrageous literary and musical talents in small venues. He’s also an investor in Artery (www.artery.is), a platform for making every space a stage.

Chris is a contributing editor to Halsbury’s Laws of Canada, a professional storyteller (Raconteurs, True Stories Told Live, Confabulation), and a graduate of the University of Oxford (history), University of Toronto (law), and Acadia University (business).

Nader Hasan

Nader R. Hasan, B.A. (Magna cum laude) (Harvard) 2002, M. Phil (Cambridge) 2003, J.D. (Honours)

(University of Toronto) 2006, called to the Bar of Ontario (2007) and New York (2008), is a partner at

Stockwoods LLP in Toronto. Nader focusses on criminal constitutional litigation. He has significant

experience in digital privacy law and search and seizure issues, and has appeared in many of the leading

Supreme Court of Canada cases in this area. He also regularly appears in the appellate courts on behalf

of intervener groups, including the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, the Canadian Civil

Liberties Association, and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association (Ontario). Nader is also an Adjunct Professor

at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, where he teaches Evidence and a seminar on Crime &

Punishment. He frequently lectures on constitutional law and is an associate editor of the Canadian

Rights Reporter. He is a co-author of Sentencing, 9th edition (LexisNexis, 2017), a co-author of a

forthcoming book on privacy rights and digital technology, and author of numerous articles on criminal

and constitutional law. Nader can be contacted at NaderH@stockwoods.ca.

Christopher Heer, C.S., Heer Law

Christopher entered the field of intellectual property law with a desire to help companies and individuals use

intellectual property rights to help their businesses succeed. He believes intellectual property rights add value to

businesses by enabling them to raise capital, build asset value, and grow faster under the protection that these

exclusive rights give them.

As an intellectual property lawyer, Christopher practices in all areas of intellectual property law and intellectual

property litigation, with emphasis on intellectual property litigation, patent drafting and prosecution and intellectual

property matters relating to information technology. He is designated by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a

Certified Specialist (Intellectual Property Law: Patent) and he is registered as a patent agent and a trademark agent

in both Canada and the United States.

Prior to being called to the Bar of Ontario in 2005, Christopher obtained his law degree from the University of Toronto

where he was awarded the Gowlings Prize in Innovation Law & Policy for attaining the highest-grade point average in

intellectual property law courses, the Gowlings Prize in Law and Information Technology and the Stikeman Elliott

Prize in Technology Law. Before law school, Christopher graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in

computer engineering.

Christopher founded Heer Law in 2014 after ten years on Bay Street as an intellectual property lawyer at Bennett

Jones LLP and Dimock Stratton LLP (now part of DLA Piper (Canada)).

Christopher may be reached at 416-546-7303 or cheer@heerlaw.com.

Jeremy Hessing-Lewis, J.D.

M.Sc.

linkedin.com/in/jhessinglewis

I am a Vancouver-based business lawyer. I also

advise law firms on marketing and practice

management technology.

My background is in business technology, with a

Masters degree completed in information systems

management from the London School of Economics.

I subsequently completed my law degree at the

University of Ottawa with a specialization in

technology law.

I was called to the British Columbia bar in 2009 after

articling with a national firm. My legal career has

since spanned working as a sole practitioner, as in-

house counsel for a tech company, and now as a co-

founder of Small Law.

While maintaining a part-time law practice, I also

work as Senior Digital Advisor at Skunkworks

Creative Group, where I work with law firms across

Canada and the United States on legal marketing

campaigns.

My other pursuits include beekeeping, baking pies,

and “working remotely” with my young child

whenever possible.

This space intentionally left blank.

Small Law

small.law

Small Law is a group of business lawyers serving

small and medium-sized enterprises. Nothing fancy.

We offer cost certainty, scalable advice, and

unbundled legal services through a combination of

cloud-based practice management systems and old

fashioned lawyering. We are small, but better.

Appropriate Legal Technology

appropriatelegal.com

Appropriate Legal Technology is a practice

management consultancy serving Canadian law

firms. Working with Clio, uLawPractice, and

Amicus, I help law firms move forward. Project-

based consulting spans advanced training, document

automation, administrative workflow automation, the

integration of web applications, and marketing

strategy.

Skunkworks Creative Group Inc.

skunkworks.ca

Skunkworks is a professional services marketing

agency with a focus on the legal industry. As a full-

service agency, Skunkworks offers everything from

branding and web development to search engine

marketing and social media campaigns.

Rimpal Hinduja Supervisor, Spot Audit Program

Rimpal is a CPA, CGA, who joined the Law Society in the Spot Audit department in 2001 as a Spot Auditor. He has been with the department for over 15 years and has conducted hundreds of audits throughout the entire province in which he reviews the Membership's books and records, private mortgage files and estate files. In this capacity, Rimpal provided measures to guide and teach the Membership on how to comply with our By-Laws and Rules of Professional Conduct. In January of 2014 Rimpal accepted the position of supervisor in the Spot Audit Department in which he manages a team of auditors. Additionally, Rimpal continues to conduct some audits in Northern Ontario.

Lidia Angelovski Auditor, Spot Audit Program

Lidia is a CPA, CMA and has been at the Law Society as an Auditor since 2012. Lidia has extensive experience in Accounting and Finance. Prior to joining the Law Society, Lidia held roles ranging from Internal Auditor for Torstar, where she conducted audits throughout the world; to Controller within the Torstar group of companies. Most recently Lidia was Controller for the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). In her role as Spot Auditor, Lidia conducts audits throughout Ontario in which she proudly educates the Membership on our By-Laws & Rules of Professional Conduct.

Deborah Loh Auditor, Spot Audit Program

Deborah Loh is a CPA, CA, MAcc and has been at the Law Society as an Auditor since 2008. Prior to joining the Law Society, Deborah held the position of internal auditor at a property and casualty insurance company. Deborah covers audits throughout the GTA, auditing sole practitioners as well as firms of various sizes. As a Spot Auditor, Deborah provides extensive guidance and coaching to our Membership in areas of trust accounting, private mortgages & estates.

Ian Hu

Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO)

As the face of Claims Prevention and practicePRO at LAWPRO Ian speaks, writes and blogs about

practice management, claims prevention and lawyering issues. His mandate is to help you succeed in the

practice of law and avoid malpractice claims. Having had experience in private practice under his belt with

various sizes of firms, Ian has seen the trials and tribulations lawyers go through. He has served as Vice

President of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, mentored young lawyers, and advocated for

diverse lawyers and students. He currently sits on the Executive of the OBA Solo & Small Firm Section

and the Young Lawyers Division, and is a Leadership Member of the ABA Diversity & Inclusion Division

and Law Practice Today Board.

Tim Hurson Tim teaches strategic thinking and creative problem solving in business schools in the US and

Canada. He has keynoted in over 30 countries. He is a founder of Mindcamp, an annual

productive thinking retreat north of Toronto. His first book, Think Better is used in hundreds

universities and business schools around the world. His second book, Never Be Closing, on

ethical sales strategies, was selected by Oprah Winfrey as one of the 15 best self-improvement

books of 2015. He is working on two new books: Do It Better about team and individual

performance improvement, and Harmony, a science fiction romance. Tim thinks the phrase “out

of the box thinking” should be put back in the box and buried in a deep hole.

SIMONA T. JELLINEK Simona T. Jellinek was called to the bar of Ontario in 1996. Her practice is restricted to plaintiff side personal injury litigation with a focus on representing survivors of sexual assault. She has represented plaintiffs in civil sexual assault cases including plaintiffs in the Maple Leaf Garden sexual abuse cases, cases involving the Crown, Childrens’ Aid Societies, many Religious Institutions and School Boards. She also represented claimants from Walpole Island First Nations in the Independent Assessment Process for survivors of Aboriginal Residential Schools. Recently, Simona co-drafted the Law Society’s Sexual Abuse Guidelines applicable to all Ontario Lawyers. Simona currently serves on the executive committee of the Board of Directors for the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association. She twice co-chaired OTLA Conferences and twice co-chaired the Canadian Institutes’ National Summit on Sexual Assault Litigation. She has presented at the AAJ in New York, various CPD programmes for Osgoode Hall, LSUC, OTLA, CBA and OBA. Simona also has been an instructor at Osgoode Hall’s legal clinic for ten years teaching advocacy skills and ethics. She has guest lectured at Queens University Faculty of Law. She has been a member of the Sexual Assault Advisory Committee of the Toronto Police Services for the last ten years.

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars B.A LL.B

Nicolle Kopping-Pavars practices, Collaborative Family Law, Fertility Law and is an agent for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer.

Nicolle is dedicated to using inspiration and motivation in her every day practice while successfully guiding families through difficult transitions.

Nicolle is a lawyer in good standing on two continents (Canada and South Africa).

Nicolle has volunteered her time providing legal information sessions and workshops to

professionals and was instrumental in introducing collaborative law to South Africa as

well as being one of the first trainers in Southern Africa.

Nicolle describes herself as a Peacemaker and has dedicated herself to introducing

Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence to the legal profession.

To find out more about Nicolle’s practice, please see her website www.nkplaw.ca, follow

her on twitter @nkplaw.

Patrick Murphy is a partner at Donnelly Murphy Lawyers Professional Corporation. He is Certified by the Law Society as a Specialist in Civil Litigation and practices exclusively in the area of Personal Injury and Insurance. He was called to the bar in 1989 and has been a lecturer at Continuing Legal Education programs for the LSUC, Canadian Bar Association and The Advocate’s Society. He is a past Board member of the Advocate’s Society and has held a number of different elected and appointed positions with the Ontario Bar Association and Canadian Bar Association.

Bio – Amer Mushtaq

Amer Mushtaq is the principal and founding partner of Formative LLP, a Toronto law firm, practising in

the areas of employment and human rights law. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to

starting his own practice in 2009, Amer worked as an associate at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now

Dentons Canada LLP).

Amer has presented at different forums including Ontario Bar Association, Law Society of Upper Canada,

Toronto Lawyers’ Association, Osgoode Professional Development and Federation of Asian Canadian

Lawyers.

Amer is a former adjunct faculty member at Seneca College and a former guest speaker at the University

of Western Ontario Law School where he lectured on privacy law.

Jack Newton is the founder of Clio, one of the pioneers of cloud-­­based practice management. Jack has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community on the security-­, ethics- and privacy-­­related issues surrounding cloud computing, and has become a nationally recognized writer and speaker on these topics.

Jack has recently joined the board of the International Legal Technology Standards Organization (ILTSO), where he will help the organization craft standards for law office technology. He also co-­­founded and is acting President of the Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA), a consortium of leading cloud computing providers with a mandate to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing in the legal industry.

Allan Oziel Business and Technology Lawyer, Trade-Mark Agent Oziel Law 5255 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M2N 6P4 Tel: 416-900-0882 Fax: 647-361-8233 E-mail: aoziel@oziellaw.ca Web: www.oziellaw.ca

Background: Prior to graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School, Allan Oziel received a business degree from York University. At Osgoode Hall, Allan won the Bereskin Parr Prize for Trade-Mark Law. Allan was called to the Ontario bar in 2009. Practice: Allan Oziel is the principal lawyer and founder of Oziel Law, a boutique business, technology and intellectual property law firm in North York. In his practice, Allan regularly advises startup and established business clients on corporate-commercial matters and business transactions. While Oziel Law advises clients in many industries, Allan has a particular focus on early stage technology companies that require specialized technology contracting in addition to their business matters. In addition, Allan is a registered Trade-Marks Agent and regularly advises his clients on branding, trade-mark protection and enforcement. Professional Activity: Allan is an active writer and speaker in the legal community. In addition to acting as co-Chair of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Solo and Small Firm Conference, Allan is a regular speaker on technology and intellectual property law and legal technology matters for the OBA, CBA and Commons Institute. In addition, Allan has written and commented extensively about technology and IP law, legal technology and practice management on both the Oziel Law Blog (www.oziellaw.ca/blog), Lawyers Weekly and ITBusiness.ca. Allan is a member of the Canadian IT Law Association. For more information, please visit www.oziellaw.ca.

Full name: Richard Joseph Payne

Title: Partner

Firm name: Morrison and Payne

Firm address: 45 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 506, Toronto, Ontario M2N 5W9

Telephone no: 416-224-9968 ext. 224 Fax No. 416-224-9313

Website: www.morrisonandpayne.com

Email: rpayne@morrisonandpayne.com

Background Richard received a B.A. from Dalhousie University and then went on to Dalhousie Law School where he

received an LL. B. and was the Class Valedictorian. He has been called to the Bar of the Provinces of

Nova Scotia and Ontario. He is a Partner with Morrison and Payne, Barristers and Solicitors.

Areas of Practice Richard practices in the area of Commercial Litigation with a primary focus on Debtor-Creditor work

including collections for lawyers and other professionals.

Professional Experience Richard has practiced in Collections Law extensively and has represented both unsecured and secured

Creditors in collection proceedings.

Professional Activities Richard is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Toronto Lawyers Association. He is also a member of the Commercial Law League of America. He appeared on a Panel Discussion on International Collections at the 2014 National Meeting of the Commercial Law League of America in Chicago. He attended the 123rd National Convention of the Commercial Law League of America which was held in Chicago in April of this year. At that time he assumed the position of Secretary on the Executive Council of the Creditors' Rights Section.

Stuart E. Rudner

srudner@rudnermacdonald.com

T: 416-640-6402

www.rudnermacdonald.com

@CanadianHRLaw

Connect with me, join the Canadian HR Law Group and visit the Rudner MacDonald Page

www.rudnermacdonald.com/blog www.hrreporter.com/blog/canadian-hr-law

Rudner MacDonald Page

Canadian HR Law, Rudner MacDonald Page

Rudner MacDonald channel

Stuart is a founding partner of Rudner MacDonald LLP, a law firm specializing in Canadian Employment Law which was selected as one of the top three Employment & Labour Law firms in Canada this year, according

to Canadian HR Reporter Readers’ Choice Awards. Stuart provides senior counsel in all aspects of the employment relationship. At every stage, Stuart’s focus is on achieving practical, cost-effective solutions for his client. Recently, Stuart was once again selected by his peers for inclusion in the 11th Edition of ‘The Best Lawyers in Canada 2017’ in the area of Employment Law. He was previously selected by his peers for inclusion in the 10th Edition of ‘The Best Lawyers in Canada 2016’ in the area of Employment Law. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Its lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation.

Stuart has repeatedly been named in Canadian HR Reporter’s Employment Lawyers Directory (a comprehensive directory of the top employment law and immigration law practitioners in Canada), and has also been named one of Canada’s top Legal Social Media Influencers. Stuart continues to make his mark and expand his reach. He is the founder and moderator of the Canadian HR Law Group on LinkedIn, which now counts more than 13,000 HR professionals, lawyers and businesspeople as members. He enjoys an ever-increasing following for his prolific Twitter updates @CanadianHRlaw and blog posts – which prompted Klout (a website providing social media analytics to measure user influence) to recognize him as a "specialist." In addition to Rudner MacDonald’s blog and his Canadian HR Law Blog, Stuart is part of the team of contributors to the First Reference Talks Blog. Stuart is the author of You're Fired! Just Cause for Dismissal in Canada and has also contributed to four other employment law texts. He is also frequently quoted in the media on employment law matters.

Robert Wakulat

Wakulat Dhirani LLP robert@wakulatdhriani.com

http://www.wakulatdhirani.com/

Robert’s corporate/commercial law practice has been based at Toronto's Centre for Social

Innovation for 7 years where he focuses on providing advice to social innovators

and entrepreneurs. His interest in supporting the changemakers of our province has led him to

speaking, teaching and mentorship opportunities at OCAD University’s Imagination Catalyst

incubator, Queen’s University's Centre for Social Impact, Oshawa's Community Innovation Lab

in Oshawa and Toronto Artscape’s Creative Entrepreneurship Program. He is particularly

delighted when guiding early-stage enterprises towards investment-ready business structures. In

recent years, Robert started exploring the facilitation of creative problem solving as a co-host of

monthly Kitchen Table Conversations and as a student of the Osborn-Parnes Creative

Problem Solving methodology. This interest has taken him from the shores of Lake Couchiching

as a presenter at Mind Camp to the coast of the Italian Riviera as a volunteer for the CREA

Creativity Conference. He has found these creative tools to be beneficial both for re-imagining

his law practice and assisting his clients with their legal questions.

David Whelan has led information and technology teams at the Law Society of Upper Canada, American Bar Association, SMU School of Law, and Cincinnati Law Library Association. Trained as a lawyer and librarian, he currently leads the Law Society’s Great Library and oversees the corporate records and archives team. David speaks and writes frequently on topics relating to information and technology and wrote Practice Law in the Cloud (Carswell) Twitter: @davidpwhelan Blog: ofaolain.com

John Wires B.A., J.D. John Wires is the founder of Wires Law, a Toronto based law firm. John was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2011. He practices business law with a focus on internet, e-commerce and technology start-ups. He has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal and private arbitrations. John graduated from law school with first class honours, specializing in both International Trade and Corporate Commercial Law. He currently acts as an advisor to the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada and has been covered in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, CBC News and the Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine on Crowdfunding in Canada. He has also been a guest lecturer at Ryerson University, Communitech in Waterloo, the Canadian Bar Association’s national conference and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development.