Speaker Biographies
Jordan M. Atin, Barrister & Solicitor (Co-Chair)
Mr. Atin practises exclusively in the area of estate, trust and capacity planning, administration and litigation. He acts as estate trustee during litigation and mediator in estate disputes. In addition to his own estates practice, he is Associate Counsel to Hull & Hull. After obtaining his LL.B at Osgoode Hall Law School, he was called to the bar in 1993. He is a Bar Admission Course instructor and frequent speaker at Osgoode Hall Law School, Ontario Bar Association and Law Society programs on estate matters. Mr. Atin also contributes to the Estates, Trusts & Pension Journal. He is a member of the Trusts and Estates Executive of the Ontario Bar Association. He is contributing author to the well-known text “Estate Litigation” by Brian A. Schnurr and his articles are referred to in many of Canada’s leading estates texts including “Feeney’s Canadian Law of Wills” and “Oosterhoff on Wills and Succession ”.
Louise F. Christofolakos, Barrister and Solicitor (Co-Chair)
Ms. Christofolakos received her B.A. (summa cum laude), from McMaster University in 1985 and her LL.B. from the University of Toronto in 1988. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1990. After several years as an associate with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, she established her own practice in 1997. She restricts her practice to trusts and estates planning and administration, family law, and mental incompetency matters. She is an Executive member of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Ontario Bar Association, serving on the Section programs committee. Lawyer mentor at CLASP’s 519 Wills Clinic. Ms. Christofolakos has been chair and speaker at a number of OBA CLE conferences.
Barry S. Corbin, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
Mr. Corbin is a lawyer with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1982. His practice includes tax and estate planning, estate administration, and mediation of estate disputes. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Estates Trusts & Pensions Journal and the Founding co-editor of Money & Family Law. Mr. Corbin is a Past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association Wills & Trusts Section and the Ontario Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section. He is a Member of the Estates Subcommittee of the Law Society of Upper Canada Civil Rules Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Mr. Corbin has been published in Canadian Tax Journal; Estates Trusts & Pensions Journal; Estates & Trusts Reports; Reports of Family Law; Money & Family Law; Canadian Family Law Quarterly; CA Magazine.
Dana F. De Sante, Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee
Mr. De Sante is senior counsel in Charitable Property Program at the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee. He received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1980 and his LL.B. from the University of Ottawa in 1983. Mr. De Sante has practiced exclusively in the fields of wills, trusts, charities law and estate litigation since 1989. He is the author of various papers on charities matters and a frequent speaker on charitable law issues. He has numerous reported decisions in the areas of estates, trusts and charities.
Jan Goddard, Jan Goddard & Associate
Ms. Goddard, B.A., LL.B. is a Toronto lawyer practicing in the fields of adult guardianship, estates and trusts, and litigation, with an emphasis on serving older clients and their families. She is former legal counsel to the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee and the former manager of Intake, Screening and Investigations in that office. She worked as counsel on the Substitute Decisions Project that implemented the Substitute Decisions Act, 1992. Ms. Goddard has a special interest in issues relating to aging, and has a certificate in gerontology from Ryerson University.
Lindsay Ann Histrop, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
Ms. Histrop, B.A., LL.B, LL.M., recently joined Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP as a partner in its Tax and Trusts department. She specializes in all aspects of personal tax and estate planning, including wills, trusts, domestic contracts and powers of attorney. Her expertise in estate matters includes estate litigation, mental incompetency proceedings, court audits and estate and trust taxation. She received her Masters of Law degree in taxation from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1986 and has lectured and published extensively on taxation and estate planning, including the Canada Tax Foundation, the Tax Management International Journal, the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of Upper Canada, Insight Seminars, The Canadian Institute and the Asia Pacific Institute. She has lectured for the Law Society’s Bar Admission Course and has contributed extensively to the Bar Admission Course materials. Ms. Histrop is the author of “Estate Planning Precedents, A Solicitor’s Manual”, published by Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing and is a past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Section.
Ian M. Hull, Hull and Hull
Mr. Hull received an Honours B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1985 and a LL.B. from the University of Windsor in 1988. He was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1990. He practises at the firm of Hull & Hull in the area of estates, trusts, and capacity litigation. He is the author of many publications, including, Due Execution: Is One Signature Really Enough, Estates and Trusts Reports (Carswell, 2000), The Use and Admissibility of Restrospective Psychiatric Opinions on Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence, Estates and Trusts Reports (Carswell, 2000), Settlement and ADR in Estate Litigation, Estates and Trusts Reports (Carswell, 2000). He is the co-author of Probate Practice 4th Edition (Carswell, 1996). He is the author of Power of Attorney Litigation, (CCH 2000). Mr. Hull is an Associate Editor on the Editorial Board for the Estates and Trusts Reports. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Advocates’ Society, the Editorial Advisory Board of the Canadian Estate Administration Guide, the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners and a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel. He is a lecturer of the Bar Admission Course and guest lecturer for the Canadian Bar Association and The Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Hull is certified as a specialist in civil litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Hilary E. Laidlaw, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Ms. Laidlaw holds a B.A. and an LLB. from University of Toronto. She was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1988. Her practice focuses on estate litigation including incompetency matters, estate planning and estate administration. She has extensive experience in contentious proceedings including will challenges, passing accounts, will interpretations and dependant’s relief proceedings. She is a frequent speaker and contributor to various professional publications. She is a past Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Ontario Bar Association, a past instructor for the Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario, head of Section and lecturer for the LSUC Bar Admission Course in Estate Planning and Administration, a member of the Toronto Estate Planning Council and an executive member of National Committee for STEP.
Margaret R. O'Sullivan, Margaret O’Sullivan & Associates
Ms. O'Sullivan's practice involves all aspects of private client work, including estate planning; will and trust planning; incapacity planning; estate litigation; advising executors, trustees and beneficiaries and administration of estates and trusts. Ms. O'Sullivan is a past Chair of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Ontario Bar Association and has been an active member of the Section's Executive. She is a founding member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (Canada) and is a member of the Executive Committee, National Committee and Chair of the Editorial Board of its newsletter STEP INSIDE. She was recently elected as a member of Council for STEP Worldwide. Ms. O'Sullivan has been an instructor for The Law Society of Upper Canada Bar Admission Course on Estate Planning and Administration and a contributor to course materials. Ms. O'Sullivan has been a frequent guest speaker, writer and conference chairperson for various professional organizations in the trusts and estates area. She has also written extensively in the area of trusts, estate planning and administration and estate litigation.
Brian A. Schnurr, Brian A. Schnurr & Associates
Mr. Schnurr practices in Toronto at Brian A. Schnurr & Associates. He received his B.A. in 1969 and his LL.B. in 1972 from the University of Toronto and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1974. He practices in areas of estate legislation, planning and administration, mental incapacity issues and estate mediation. He is a seminar leader and lecturer in the Estate Planning and Administration Section of the Bar Admission course, Law Society of Upper Canada. Mr. Schnurr has been a frequent lecturer and chairman for estate and trust programs offered by the Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar Association and other organizations. Mr. Schnurr has published articles in the Estates and Trust Journal, and has written program materials published by the Law Society of Upper Canada and other organizations. His books Estate Litigation and Annotated Estate Statutes of Ontario are published by Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing.
Liza C. Sheard, EVANS Lawyers·Advocates
Ms. Sheard received her LL.B. from the University of Ottawa Law School in 1984. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1986. She articled and practiced at Cassels, Brock & Blackwell in Toronto until moving to Hamilton. Ms. Sheard practices at the firm of EVANS Lawyers · Advocates in Hamilton. Her practice is restricted to civil litigation with an emphasis on estate litigation, professional liability (defense) and commercial litigation. She has lectured for the Ontario Bar Association, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Hamilton Law Association’s continuing legal education programs. She is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Hamilton Law Association and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Advocates’ Society and is on the Executive of The Estate Planners’ Council of Hamilton. She also sings in the Bach Elgar Choir.
Corina Weigl, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP
Ms. Weigl is Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, practising in the areas of estate and family business succession planning including wills and trusts, estate freezing, marriage contracts, estate administration, and charities and not-for-profit law. She also acts in both contentious and non-contentious estate litigation matters. She writes and lectures frequently on estate and succession planning issues. Prior to joining the firm she was a Law Clerk for the Chief Justice of the Ontario Court (General Division). She articled at McMillan Binch in Toronto. She joined the firm as an associate in 1996. Ms. Weigl received her B.A. from McMaster University in 1990 and her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1993. She was called to the Bar in 1995.
Bonnie Yagar, Pallett Valo, LLP
Ms. Yagar joined Pallett Valo LLP in 1999 and has been practicing law since 1995. She received her LL.B. with distinction from the University of Western Ontario (1993) and her LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School (1998), and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Her practice is restricted to Wills, Trusts and Estates, with conveyancing related to this practice area. Until 2002 her practice also included residential real estate. She was a member of the Ontario Bar Association sub-committee on electronic searching and registration until the fall of 2003 and has been a frequent speaker with respect to electronic registration issues.