Deborah Howden

Deborah joined Shibley Righton LLP in 2006 and is a partner with the firm. Her education and practical experience make her well suited for developing pragmatic solutions to legal problems in the areas of law in which she practices. This is especially true in civil litigation and employment law, and in working with school boards and other institutional clients.

Born and raised in Montreal, Deborah received her primary education in the French school system, and is fluently bilingual. She planned to be a teacher, and received undergraduate degrees in Arts and Education from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, before earning her Ontario Teaching Certificate. She then did her Practicum and wrote her LSAT, and decided to take a few law courses, but never turned back.

Deborah graduated from McGill University's Faculty of Law and was conferred with two law degrees - a Bachelor of Common Law and a Bachelor of Civil Law. Since her call to the Bar, Deborah has practised in the area of labour/employment and civil litigation. She has acted as counsel, appearing before administrative tribunals and levels of court in Ontario, for many institutional clients. This includes hospitals, employers, and school boards, and for the latter this also includes French-language school boards. Deborah represents clients at Mediation, Arbitration and Trial, and is a speaker at legal conferences.

Her practice involves employment and civil litigation as it relates to personal injury, and she also lends her expertise to Education and Public Law. She is a member of the Advocates' Society, Metropolitan Toronto Lawyers' Association, Canadian Bar Association, and Canadian Defence Lawyers.