How to Succeed at Simplified Procedure and Summary Trials

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.

Elka Dadmand joined Dolden Wallace Folick LLP as an associate in 2018 and has a broad insurance defence practice. Her experience encompasses coverage, construction litigation, liquor and host liability, complex personal injury, commercial general liability, professional liability, directors and officers liability, and class actions. Elka was called to the Ontario Bar in 2014 and the British Columbia Bar in 2018. Since being called to the Bar, Elka has practiced exclusively in civil litigation. She has appeared before various levels of courts and tribunals, including the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the British Columbia Supreme Court, the British Columbia Court of Appeal, and the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. Elka holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria and a Juris Doctor from the University of Western Ontario. During her legal studies, she completed a clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and competed in the prestigious Wilson Moot. Elka is an active member of the legal community. She is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Canadian Defence Lawyers, and the Women’s Law Association of Ontario, and serves on various sub-committees.

Rosemary was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 2011 after receiving her L.L.B. with honours from the University of Ottawa in 2010. Rosemary practiced insurance defence litigation at a boutique Toronto law firm before joining Dutton Brock as an associate lawyer. Her practice is exclusively in defence litigation, focusing on personal injury, general negligence, occupiers' liability, product liability, and insurance coverage disputes.

Robert has practiced personal injury and insurance law since 1984. He has appeared as the lead counsel at trials in all levels of courts in Ontario, both jury and non-jury. He has also appeared as lead counsel in appeals heard at the Divisional Court and Ontario Court of Appeal. Robert has served as counsel at a wide range of administrative tribunals that deal with personal injury, including the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, Canada Pension Plan Review Tribunal, Pension Appeal Board, and Workers' Compensation Appeals Tribunal. He has also participated in numerous private mediations, settlement conferences, and arbitrations. For the first decade of his career, Robert divided his practice equally between representing injured accident victims and representing many of the largest insurers and institutional defendants in Ontario. Robert's insurance experience includes not only personal injury, but also professional negligence, property damage, and municipal liability claims. He finds his earlier experience especially valuable in providing insight into the wide range of problems an injured person may face. This experience has also provided him with a deep understanding of the tactics used by insurance companies and their lawyers. Robert was born and raised in Grey County, Ontario. He attended the University of Western Ontario, receiving his BA (Hons.) in English Language and Literature in 1979. He earned his law degree in 1982 from the University of Toronto Law School, where he was awarded a Laskin Prize for standing first in his class in Constitutional Law. After articling at one of Ontario's most established and respected personal injury firms, he was called to the Bar in 1984. Later that same year, he joined Gowland, Boriss, where he has practised throughout his career. Robert is a member of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the Peterborough County Law Association, and the American Association for Justice. In his spare time, he indulges his interest as a history buff and has enjoyed traveling to many historical sites in North America and Europe.