How to Succeed at Small Claims Court 2024 (Part 1)

For more than 135 years, the Toronto Lawyers' Association, located within the Courthouse Library, has represented the interests of lawyers practising in the City of Toronto. The association was founded to support its members in three key areas: Knowledge, Advocacy, and Community. To uphold these pillars, the association offers a year-round mix of online and in-person education programs for lawyers, hosts both free and paid events to foster in-person networking, and submits advocacy pieces on behalf of its members to the Ontario bench and bar, all levels of government, and the broader public.

Miray Cheskes Granovsky graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School and holds an LL.M. in Alternative Dispute Resolution. She serves as a deputy judge at the Toronto Small Claims Court and as General Counsel for Atlantic Coated Papers and Flexible Packaging Corporation. She was on the board of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her contributions. Miray also served on the Ontario Special Education Tribunal and volunteered with Pro Bono Law Ontario. She chairs the annual charity event Grand Slam Pro Am to support communities in need locally and abroad.

Andrew is currently enrolled in a postgraduate Human Resources Management program at George Brown College. He is currently seeking internship opportunities as he transitions his career path into the world of HR Management. With over 5+ years in the hospitality industry, Andrew has been able to grow confidence in his written and verbal communication, his leadership skills, and his ability to manage others. He has also gained skills in areas such as Training and Development, Recruitment, Project Management and Organizational Effectiveness. With a passion to learn, Andrew aims to advance his career within the Human Resources Management Industry.

Mark Gannage, previously of Torys, McCarthy Tétrault, Stikeman Elliott, and Goodmans, is a Deputy Judge of the Toronto Small Claims Court, Superior Court of Justice (Ontario). He is a litigation counsel and a certified adjudicator who has served on various tribunals. He is the author of Gannage’s Ontario Civil Litigation Commentary and Checklist (Thomson Reuters), three chapters in Bullen & Leake & Jacob's Canadian Precedents of Pleadings (Thomson Reuters), published articles in the Annual Review of Civil Litigation, The Advocates’ Quarterly and other refereed journals, and two federal law reform works. He is a Contributing Editor of the Toronto Law Journal. A former full time and adjunct law professor, Deputy Judge Gannage conceived, designed and taught U of T Law School’s first course in Advance Legal Research, Analysis and Writing. Deputy Judge Gannage was the first (and last!) Head of Legal Research and Analysis of the now deceased Bar Admission Course.

Group Leader, Toronto Small Claims Court, Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Customer Service Representative, Online Contact Centre, Ministry of the Attorney General

Central South Region Small Claims Court, Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Lydia Stewart Ferreira is currently Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Osgoode Hall Law School. She earned a MPH at Boston University, JD from Queens University as well as an LLM and PhD degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School. She clerked at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for Justice Casey Hill and assisted with numerous well know cases including the Walkerton Insurance litigation. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002. Lydia has taught Health Law, Medical Law, Public Health Law and Elder Law. She has also taught at the Windsor Faculty of Law, Queens University Faculty of Law, and George Brown College. Lydia has worked as a Senior Policy Analyst and Manager with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (Canada). Her work in health law and health policy has included the West Nile Virus, Walkerton, Public Health Renewal following SARS, Tobacco Control, HIV/AIDS, emergency planning, consent and capacity, health information privacy, health promotion and the social determinants of health. She was the recipient of a Law Foundation of Ontario Grant which examined Access to Justice delivery and funding models for the Middle Class using the private sector CAW autoworkers and insurance models. She has also worked as Counsel for BLG, the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the Ministry of the Attorney General (Canada). She was appointed by Orders in Council to the Health Services Appeal and Review Board and the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board. She served on the Research Ethics Board for the University of Toronto and is a Pro Bono litigator and legal advisor for clients of Law Help Ontario. For 10 years prior to law school, Lydia worked in the health sector at the municipal, provincial and national levels including the Heart Health Action Demonstration Project across Ontario. She was the recipient of a World Health Organization/PAHO Fellowship to conduct research internationally into cardiovascular disease reduction strategies. Lydia is a member of the Advocates Society and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators (SOAR) and previously on the Executive of Ontario Bar Association (OBA) Administrative Law Section, Health Law and Constitutional, Civil Liberties and Human Rights Section as well as on the Executive on the Canadian Bar Association Health Law Section.