How to Succeed at Written Advocacy

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.

A partner in Torkin Manes’ Litigation Group, Marco’s practice focuses on appellate litigation and applications for judicial review. He regularly appears on behalf of clients before both the Ontario Divisional Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal. In practice, Marco strategically counsels and advocates for his clients on a range of appellate and public law matters, including administrative, construction and commercial law. Marco invests substantial time to get to know his clients and their matters in order to gain a full understanding of their legal needs. He leverages his years of experience, judgment and legal knowledge to provide clients with opinions and practical advice on various legal issues. As a complement to his practice, Marco is a co-chair of Torkin Manes’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He is also actively engaged in the University of Toronto’s Alumni Mentorship programs, providing mentorship to students in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Faculty of Law. An award-winning legal author, Marco has published many articles on a host of legal issues and is Chief Editor of Torkin Manes LegalWatch. Since 2019, Marco has repeatedly won Lexology’s quarterly legal writing award as a “Legal Influencer” in the categories of Dispute Resolution (Canada) and the Future of Legal Services (Canada) for his publications on appellate and civil litigation. Marco was also recognized by Mondaq as a Thought Leader of Public (Administrative) Law in Canada. Marco was recently shortlisted as a finalist for the prestigious Canadian Online Publishing Awards for his legal writings on the use of AI in Litigation. As a testament to his prominence in the profession, Marco was recognized as a leader in his field in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, and was nominated as a contender for Canadian Lawyer’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada.

Caroline is an experienced lawyer, adjudicator, educator, and public speaker. Before starting her business in 2017, Caroline spent over a decade as counsel to the judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. She worked on complex appeals in all areas of law, including corporate law, criminal law, administrative law, class actions, and the Charter. From 2017–2019, Caroline was a member and designated Vice-Chair of the Ontario Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and a member of the Ontario Health Services Appeal and Review Board. Caroline is on the faculty of decision writing programs for the National Judicial Institute, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators. She also speaks regularly on oral and written advocacy for bar groups across Canada. Caroline has been an adjunct professor of Legal Research and Writing at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and a subject matter expert in Legal Research and Writing at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also a popular instructor in the Professional LLM program at Osgoode Hall Law School. Caroline has a JD and an MA from the University of Toronto and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2005.

Justice Lorne Sossin was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in November 2020. Prior to this appointment, Justice Sossin served as a judge of the Superior Court of Justice (2018-2020). Before this initial appointment, Justice Sossin served as Professor and Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School, at York University (2010-2018). Previously, Justice Sossin was a Professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto (2002-2010) and a former Associate Dean (2004-2007). He served as the inaugural Director of the U. of T. Centre for the Legal Profession (2008-2010). Justice Sossin was as a law clerk to former Chief Justice Antonio Lamer of the Supreme Court of Canada, a former Associate in Law at Columbia Law School and a former litigation lawyer with the firm of Borden & Elliot (now Borden Ladner Gervais). He received his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1996. Justice Sossin holds doctorates from the University of Toronto in Political Science and from Columbia University in Law. Justice Sossin has published numerous books, journal articles, reviews and essays, including Administrative Law in Practice: Principles and Advocacy (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2018) (with Emily Lawrence); and Boundaries of Judicial Review: The Law of Justiciability in Canada 2nd ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2012). Justice Sossin is also the recipient of the 2012 David Mundell Medal for excellence in Legal Writing. Justice Sossin served as Research Director for the Law Society of Upper Canada's Task Force on the Independence of the Bar, and has written commissioned papers for the Gomery Inquiry, the Ipperwash Inquiry, and the Goudge Inquiry. He also served as the Vice Chair of the Ontario Health Professions Appeal and Review coa-parkedrd and Health Services Appeal and Review coa-parkedrd, as Integrity Commissioner for the City of Toronto, and as the Open Meeting Investigator for the City of Toronto.