Leigh Clark
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Leigh Clark

Tel: 416.594.2324

Leigh recognizes that effective advocacy begins well before stepping foot in the courtroom and strives to develop, and implement, cost-effective and creative litigation strategies on behalf of her clients.

Informations about

Biography

LEIGH CLARK is committed to developing a practice focused on high quality advocacy and legal strategy. She recognizes that effective advocacy begins well before stepping foot in the courtroom and strives to develop and implement cost-effective and creative litigation strategies on behalf of her clients from the outset of a claim.

Leigh has assisted with matters in a variety of courts, including the Ontario Small Claims Court, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. She is developing a practice focused on professional liability, construction litigation, health law, commercial litigation, personal injury, class actions, and insurance coverage matters.

While in law school, Leigh served on the board of the Canada-United States Law Journal for three years, culminating in her position as Editor-in-Chief for the 44th volume. She also edited for the 31st through 33rd volumes of the Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence. Leigh completed an internship with the Western Law Dispute Resolution Centre where she delivered conflict resolution training workshops at local organizations, conducted intake at 810 Court, and participated in hands-on weekly training sessions in mediation and negotiation. She also competed in numerous advocacy competitions, including the Torys LLP negotiation tournament in which she was a finalist in her first year. She was also the President of the Gender and the Law Association.

Prior to returning to Stieber Berlach as an associate, Leigh summered and articled with the firm. She is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, and the Toronto Lawyers Association.

Representative Work

Reported Decisions

  • Successfully argued in a summary judgment motion that no duty of care arises between an appraiser of real property and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent corporation which retained the appraiser: Foremost Financial Corp. v Cushman & Wakefield Ltd., 2022 ONSC 1622.
  • Successfully defended a condominium corporation in an application under the Condominium Act seeking various remedies related to the condominium’s response to noise complaints: Kikites v York Condominium Corporation No. 382, 2022 ONSC 4606
  • Successfully defended client on appeal from the trial judge’s decision that the plaintiff was not entitled to nominal damages for being punched following the jury finding that the plaintiff had suffered no harm as a consequence of the punch: Pullano v Hinder, 2022 ONCA 418, on appeal from 2019 ONSC 2362

Other Representative Work

  • Represents real estate appraisers, paralegals, insurance agents, brokers, and brokerages, arborists, immigration consultants, health-care professionals, and various other professionals in professional liability claims alleging negligence in relation to services rendered and/or work performed.
  • Represents long-term care homes in class actions and individual claims, including actions arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and allegations of inadequate care in homes.
  • Represents Children’s Aid Societies in litigation alleging that the CAS failed to conduct appropriate investigation into alleged abuse of children.
  • Represents drivers, vehicle owners, and insurance companies in personal injury actions arising out of motor vehicle collisions.
  • Represents building owners, contractors, subcontractors, engineers, and other construction professionals in construction disputes involving the reasonableness of remediation expenses, allegations of breach of contract, and allegations of poor workmanship.
  • Assisted in the preparation of motion materials for a successful summary judgment motion on behalf of an insurance company in a multi-million dollar dispute over remediation expenses for a chemical spill.
  • Assisted in the preparation of pre-trial materials in a multi-million dollar dispute over the costs of remediating an apartment building following fire and smoke damage which settled at the pre-trial conference.
  • Assisted in the preparation of motion materials for a partially successful motion to strike several plaintiffs’ claims on the basis that no cause of action in negligence arises for psychological injuries experienced by parties who did not witness a fatal accident involving a family member.

Publications

  • “It’s Time for Appellate Courts to Weigh In on Honoraria for Representative Plaintiffs in Class Actions,” by Leigh Clark, Stieber Berlach Insights, 2022
  • “One Year Later: Looking Back at Louis v Poitras,” by Leigh Clark and Stephanie De Sousa, Ontario Bar Association and Stieber Berlach Insights, 2022
  • “The Contractual Duty of Good Faith: Judicial Crazy Glue?” by Leigh Clark, Ejona Xega, and Kurt Pereira, Stieber Berlach LLP Annual Client Webinar, 2021
  • “Insurance Potpourri: Survey of Recent Caselaw,” by Leigh Clark, Andrea LeDrew, and Rovena Hajderi, Stieber Berlach LLP Annual Client Webinar, 2021
  • “Recent Trends In The Application Of The “Cap” On General Damages In Sexual Harassment and Assault Cases,” by Leigh Clark and Elizabeth Bowker, Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development, 2021

Education

  • Juris Doctor (J.D.), Western Law School, 2020
  • Master of Arts (M.A.), Philosophy, Queen’s University, 2017
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), History and Philosophy, Western University, 2016
  • Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 2021