The Law Foundation of Ontario is governed by a five-person voluntary Board of Trustees. Three Trustees are appointed by the Law Society of Ontario and two by the Attorney General of Ontario. The Foundation also administers the Class Proceedings Fund, which provides cost assistance in class actions. The Law Foundation of Ontario appoints one member of the Class Proceedings Committee and the Attorney General also appoints one member. Three members are appointed jointly by the Foundation and the Attorney General. All of the work of the Foundation and Class Proceedings Committee is supported by a small and dedicated staff team.
Alex Traballo
Law Student, Class Proceedings Committee
Alida DeLorenzi
Grants Officer
Arta Tafaj
Senior Administrative Coordinator (Accounting & Compliance)
Catherine Banning*
General Manager Maawandoon Inc.
Danielle Marks
Partner and Chair of the Civil Litigation practice group, SV Law
Donna Hall
Director, Human Resources & Operations
Heather Johnston**
Consultant, Financial and Operational Management
Jack Braithwaite*
Counsel, Weaver Simmons LLP
John P. Brown**
Legal and Strategic Advisor, Indigenous Initiatives, McCarthy Tétrault
Lara Sanders
Director, Strategic Finance
Lili Pach
Grants Officer
Linda R. Rothstein*
Partner, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
Linda R. Rothstein B.A., LL.B. is a partner of Paliare...
Lisa Cirillo
Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Cirillo has served as CEO of The Law Foundation...
Monique Jilesen***
Partner and Commercial Litigation lawyer, Lenczner Slaght
Nancy Caetano
Senior Administrative Assistant
Nathalie Noël
Communications Specialist
Paul Evraire, Q.C.
Chair, Class Proceedings Committee & Special Counsel (Retired), Department of Justice
Rachael Simser
Law Student
Remissa Hirji
Director and Counsel, Class Proceedings Committee
Sharnette Beckett
Finance Assistant
Stephen Thiele**
Partner and Director of Legal Research, Gardiner Roberts LLP
Tiffany Smith
Grants Officer
Wendy J. Earle
Advocate and Arbitrator
Linda R. Rothstein*
Linda R. Rothstein B.A., LL.B. is a partner of Paliare Roland and has served as a Foundation Trustee since 2014 and as Board Chair since 2016.
Ms Rothstein has a diverse practice that encompasses many areas of civil and administrative litigation. Her high profile work as Commission Counsel to the Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology, counsel to the City of Toronto in the Computer Leasing Inquiry, and lead counsel to the Motherisk Hair Analysis Review have cemented her reputation as one of Ontario’s leading advocates.
Ms Rothstein is a board member of Public Health Ontario. She is a Fellow and former board member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (2012-2015). She was a Bencher of The Law Society of Upper Canada (2007-2015) and Past President (2005–2006) of The Advocates’ Society.
Ms Rothstein is a recipient of the: 2021 The Advocates’ Society Medal; Ontario Bar Association Award of Excellence in Civil Litigation; the prestigious Law Society Medal; and the Award of Distinction from the Toronto Lawyers’ Association.
Lisa Cirillo
Lisa Cirillo has served as CEO of The Law Foundation of Ontario since September 2020. Prior to this, Ms Cirillo was Executive Director of Downtown Legal Services, a community-based legal clinic at the University of Toronto law school, since 2010.
Ms Cirillo has practiced human rights, education, housing, and family law in a wide variety of social justice organizations including Downtown Legal Services, ARCH Disability Law Centre, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
She also has extensive experience in public legal education and information (PLEI). She managed the Family Law Education for Women project, which assisted marginalized women in understanding their rights and responsibilities under family law. She also worked with Community Legal Education Ontario’s Your Rights. Your Language. project where she managed the production, dissemination, and promotion of PLEI in multiple formats and languages focused on high priority legal issues for newcomers to Canada.
Ms Cirillo has served on a number of boards and committees over the years, including the: Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education; National Association of Women and the Law’s National Steering Committee; Legal Aid Ontario’s Clinic Law Advisory Committee; and the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Community Advisory Group.
She earned her Hons. B.A. from the University of Toronto, her LL.B. from Queen’s University, and her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar in 1998.
*Appointed by the Law Society of Ontario
**Appointed by the Attorney General of Ontario
***Appointed by The Law Foundation of Ontario