How to Work Effectively With Your Damages Expert

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.

Sahar practices corporate and commercial litigation with a focus on shareholder disputes, oppression cases, injunctions, breaches of contract, and real estate/property disputes. She also practices estate litigation, including will and power of attorney challenges and trustee accounting. Sahar has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench, the Manitoba Court of Appeal, as well as various boards and tribunals. Sahar has extensive experience in obtaining various types of injunctions, domesticating foreign judgments, enforcing judgments, and handling complex not-for-profit corporate governance disputes. Sahar advises and represents clients at all stages of conflict, from pre-litigation to settlement/judgment, as well as appeals before the Court of Appeal for Ontario.

Kaleigh Du Vernet is Counsel in the Construction and Infrastructure Practice Group at Singleton Urquhart Reynolds Vogel LLP. She assists clients at all levels of the construction supply chain, through all stages of the construction process. Her practice involves representing parties in the construction industry through dispute resolution, litigation, arbitration, mediation, adjudication, and construction contract negotiation. Kaleigh advises on a wide variety of construction matters including dispute avoidance, dispute resolution, contract claims, lien proceedings, payment disputes, and Construction Act-related matters. She has appeared before various Ontario courts and tribunals on motions and trials, and has acted as counsel in various litigation, arbitration, and adjudication proceedings. She has also assisted in complex Commercial List proceedings. In addition to her construction practice, Kaleigh is engaged as an Adjunct Professor at the Angelo DelZotto School of Construction Management at George Brown College, teaching various construction law courses since 2019. Kaleigh currently serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association Construction and Infrastructure Law Section and frequently speaks and writes on construction law-related topics.

Mr. Hawkins specializes in providing independent quantum and damages expert witness services, dispute resolution, and strategic advice to the international construction and engineering industry to resolve issues on complex projects. He has more than 15 years of industry experience working across a variety of sectors on projects in Canada, the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Ivy Tse is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). She is also Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), demonstrating considerable expertise in forensic accounting through her knowledge, skills, and experience. Ivy began her professional practice in 2005 in public accounting and taxation. Since 2012, Ivy has practiced exclusively in the area of business valuations, forensic accounting and litigation support. Ivy has experience in quantification of economic damages for privately-owned and publicly traded companies, as well as extensive forensic accounting investigations for companies with complex organizational structures. She has also prepared numerous business valuation reports relating to corporate reorganizations, shareholder disputes and matrimonial disputes, including calculations of income for child and spousal support purposes. Her casework covers a broad range of industries including manufacturing, retail/distribution, information technology, financial services, pharmaceuticals, construction and transportation.