Background
Cheryl Woodin is a partner at our Toronto office and Regional Co-Leader of our Class Action Group. Cheryl was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1998. She graduated from the University of Toronto Law School in 1996. She then clerked for Mr. Justice Allen Linden at the Federal Court of Appeal.
Cheryl has a Bachelor of Arts from Queens University at Kingston.
Areas of Practice
· A civil litigator who practises in the areas of class actions, municipal liability, products liability, police liability, professional negligence, personal injury and occupiers liability.
· Litigation with a focus on strategic approaches to litigating and resolving multi party proceedings for large institutional clients.
· Provision of insurance coverage advice to insurers with respect to liability policies.
Rankings and Recognitions
· Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada 2012 (Director and Officer Liability)
· Cheryl was recognized as one of Lexpert's Rising Stars Leading Lawyers Under 40 in 2009.
Professional Experience
· Lead class actions counsel for institutional clients.
· Has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court, Ontario Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada.
· Class actions practice includes defence of mass tort claims, products and consumer protection claims.
· Municipal liability practice includes defence of personal injury claims, construction disputes, road and parks design, automobile claims, building inspections, public health and nursing home claims.
· Police liability practice includes defence of negligent investigation, false arrest, malicious prosecution, use of force, negligent training and supervision claims.
· Advises clients with respect to interpretation and application of Occupiers' Liability Act, Negligence Act, Insurance Act, Police Services Act and related legislation, Public Authorities Protection Act, Limitations Act, Sale of Goods Act and automobile legislation.
· Experienced in issues relating to statutory and common law privileges relating to the protection of institutional records.
· Provides coverage advice in relation to commercial general liability policies, homeowners' policies, directors and officers' policies, professional negligence policies.
Professional and Community Activities
· Member of the Canadian Bar Association of Ontario, the Advocates' Society and the American Bar Association
· Selected BLG Mentor of the Year (2008/2009)
· Regular speaker at legal education and professional development seminars in the areas of civil litigation, insurance and personal injury
· Author of papers and articles including:
· Author of The New Canada Consumer Product Safety Act: A Catalyst for Cross-Border Mass Tort Litigation?, published in the BLG Insurance Law Newsletter, 2012
· Author of The New Canada Consumer Product Safety Act: A Catalyst for Cross-Border Mass Tort Litigation?, published by the American Bar Association, 2011
· Co-author, "Class actions in Canada are on the rise", Canadian Insurance Top Broker (May 2011)
· "Insurance Law Update - Tricks of the Trade 2011": Advocates' Society
· "What Every Leasing Lawyer Should Know About the Occupiers' Liability Act": The Six-Minute Commercial Leasing Lawyer 2011, LSUC
· "Catastrophic Injury Claims - 2010 Report": Personal Injury Update, Osgoode Professional Development
· "Catastrophic Injury Claims - 2009 Report": Personal Injury Update, Osgoode Professional Development
· Chartered Insurance Professionals Society materials on Directors and Officers Liability and Insurance (2008)
· Case comment: Manitoba Securities Commission v. Crocus Investment Fund (2008)
· "Tripartite Insurance Relationship", Canadian Insurance Magazine, March, 2005
· "Bar Orders: The New Frontier in Settlement of Multi-Party Claims" (2001) (co-author)
· "Indemnification and Insurance" (2001) (co-author)
· "The Enforceability of Contracts by the Rules of Professional Conduct" Law for Accountants Update, Spring 1999
· "Duty to Defend Where There Are Claims That Are Covered And Not Covered", (1999) 22:2 The Advocates' Quarterly 133, (co-author)
· "The Law of Occupiers' Liability In Ontario: Understanding and Anticipating the Liability" (1998) (co-author)
· Assisted in research and publishing of the 6th Edition of text Canadian Tort Law