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Paliare Roland Articling and Summer Student ProgramINTRODUCTIONPaliare Roland is a multi-faceted litigation law firm, currently with 24 lawyers, located in downtown Toronto. We are strongly committed to the pursuit of excellence in advocacy. Candidates for summer and articling positions should have an excellent academic record, be motivated to excel, be self-reliant, and wish to spend their time working with a dedicated group of advocates on a wide variety of litigation matters. OUR PRACTICEOur practice areas encompass all areas of administrative, corporate, civil, commercial, employment, labour and appellate advocacy. Our clients include individuals, businesses of various sizes, financial institutions, labour unions, insurers and professional regulatory bodies. All members of our firm appear frequently before the courts and/or administrative tribunals. ADMINISTRATIVE LAWLinda Rothstein and Rob Centa are commission counsel assisting the Honourable Mr. Justice Stephen Goudge of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, who has been appointed to lead a public inquiry into the oversight of Ontario’s pediatric forensic pathology system in the wake of the Chief Coroner’s review into the work of Dr. Charles Smith. The Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry, into all aspects of leasing contracts and related software between the City of Toronto and MFP Financial Services and Oracle, and the Toronto External Contracts Inquiry, into certain other external contracts entered into by the City of Toronto, in which Linda Rothstein, Gordon Capern, Lily Harmer, Andrew Lewis and Rob Centa acted as counsel to the City of Toronto. The coroner's inquest into the death of Lana Dale Lewis, in which Chris Paliare, Linda Rothstein and Karen Jones represented the College of Chiropractors of Ontario. Megan Shortreed obtained a finding of contempt of court against an individual who was practicing dentistry unlawfully. The Walkerton Inquiry, at which Ian Roland, Don Eady and Rob Centa represented OPSEU and certain of its members. The Ontario Energy Board's Gas Distribution Access Rule, at the Court of Appeal, where Ken Rosenberg and Richard Stephenson successfully represented the OEB. Litigation arising within an established, international religious organization, involving internal constitutional obligations and rights-based issues, in which John Monger and Odette Soriano represented the Applicant and achieved a mediated solution. BANKRUPTCY/INSOLVENCYThe Air Canada CCAA proceedings, in which we acted for the Air Line Pilots Association ( ALPA) who represent approximately 1400 regional Pilots at Air Canada/Jazz.. Ken Rosenberg and Andrew Lokan worked on the file. The CCAA insolvency proceedings involving Stelco, Ivaco, Algoma Steel and Slater Steel, in each which we acted for the United Steelworkers. Ken Rosenberg, Lily Harmer, Rob Centa and Jeff Larry worked on these files. The insolvency and restructuring of Canada 3000, in which Ken Rosenberg , Gordon Capern and Lily Harmer represented stakeholders. CLASS ACTIONSThe class action lawsuits brought against several payday lenders, including Money Mart, Cash Money and Unicash, in which it is alleged that the charges exacted by the payday lenders breach s.347 of the Criminal Code. Margaret Waddell and Odette Soriano are co-counsel for the class plaintiffs. The securities class action against FMF Capital Group Ltd., in which Chris Paliare and Margaret Waddell are counsel for the FMF Group of Companies with respect to allegations of prospectus misrepresentations. The class action lawsuit against MBNA Canada Bank in relation to the interest charged on credit card cash advances, in which Linda Rothstein, Margaret Waddell and Odette Soriano are co-counsel for the Plaintiff. Paliare Roland represented the class in a pension surplus class action (Andrew Lokan and Odette Soriano), and has successfully completed a number class action settlements, including in cases against Loblaws (Linda Rothstein, Margaret Waddell and Odette Soriano) and the 407 ETR (Ken Rosenberg and Odette Soriano). COMMERCIAL LITIGATIONIn R. v. JTI MacDonald Corp et al, Chris Paliare and Richard Stephenson successfully represented the former Chief Financial Officer of JTI MacDonald, obtaining a complete discharge after a lengthy preliminary inquiry. Our client was one of seven executives facing seven criminal counts in one of the largest criminal fraud prosecutions in Canadian history. Chris Paliare, Gordon Capern and Jeff Larry successfully represented minority common shareholders of Hollinger Inc. before the Ontario Securities Commission opposing Conrad Black's plan to take Hollinger Inc. private. Megan Shortreed and Gordon Capern brought a successful oppression application, on behalf of a minority shareholder in a company, involving the alleged misappropriation of international mining assets. Leader Media v. Sentinel Hill, in which Chris Paliare and Andrew Lewis successfully represented the plaintiff at trial in a contractual dispute involving tax shelter structures in the film industry.
The lawsuit by the City of Waterloo against MFP Financial Service Inc., in which Chris Paliare and Richard Stephenson represented the City of Waterloo. Gordon Capern, Richard Stephenson and Lily Harmer advised, represented and negotiated on behalf the senior executive team of a major telecommunications company in connection with its sale to a major foreign purchaser CONSTITUTIONALJehovah's Witnesses v. Village of Lafontaine, in which Andrew Lokan and Megan Shortreed represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada in respect of a challenge to the decision of a municipality to deny permission to a religious group to build a church. R. v. Malmo-Levine, in which Andrew Lokan and Andrew Lewis represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association as an intervenor at the Supreme Court of Canada in respect of a challenge to the criminal prohibition of the possession of cannabis. Broomer et al. v. Ontario, in which Rob Centa represented the CCLA in a constitutional challenge to the life-time ban on receipt of welfare benefits for individuals convicted of welfare fraud. In Mussani v. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Linda Rothstein and Rob Centa acted for the College of Nurses of Ontario in successfully defending the constitutionality of legislation mandating the revocation of a health practitioner's licence where the practitioner sexually abused a patient. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the legislation's constitutionality. Rob Centa was involved in the successful challenge to the constitutionality of the federal security certificate regime, on behalf of our clients the International Human Rights Clinic at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto and Human Rights Watch, who intervened before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Charkaoui, Harkat, and Almrei cases.
Dunmore v. Ontario, in which Chris Paliare successfully argued at the Supreme Court of Canada that the total exclusion of agricultural workers from Ontario's collective bargaining regime contravened the Charter. R v. Ferguson where Andrew Lokan and Nini Jones represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association at the Supreme Court of Canada and argued that mandatory minimum sentences for unlawful act manslaughter violate s.12 of the Charter, and that constitutional exemptions may be an appropriate remedy where the mandatory minimum would result in a grossly disproportionate sentence. LABOUR/EMPLOYMENTChris Paliare and Andrew Lewis investigated allegations of unauthorized access to player emails by senior executives of the National Hockey League Players Association, and provided advice to the Executive Board of the Players Association respecting the executives' employment. OPSEU v. Seneca College in which Nick Coleman and Nini Jones argued before an arbitrator, at the Divisional Court and at the Court of Appeal regarding whether the arbitrator had the authority to award aggravated and punitive damages. Don Eady represented a number of trade unions before arbitrators, the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal on the issue of whether the employer or the employee should be required to pay the Ontario Health Premium. Calabrese v. Weekes, in which Rob Centa successfully represented an NHL goaltender in an appeal of an arbitration award arising from a dispute between the player and his former agent. Saunders v. Chateau des Charmes, in which Andrew Lewis successfully argued at trial that the plaintiff employee had been constructively dismissed from his employment by his supervisor's improper conduct. The Ontario public service strike in March, April and May, 2002 in which Don Eady, Nick Coleman, John Monger, Andrew Lewis and Robert Centa (among others) represented OPSEU in respect of all picketing and other matters before the Courts across the province. ARTICLING AND SUMMER OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURESummer and articling students at Paliare Roland will have the opportunity to obtain experience in numerous areas of litigation, including commercial, labour, employment, administrative and appellate. This broad perspective within an advocacy framework will provide students with a unique experience. We believe we are a superior advocacy firm. Our goal with students is to hire and develop superior advocates. Our objective is to involve our students in the practice and development of the areas of law in which we are involved. Our students will not only be expected to assist in research, drafting, and preparation of cases, but will also be encouraged to attend with lawyers at hearings, trials, and examinations for discovery, as well as at professional development programmes. Students will take part in client interviews, and will be involved in drafting legal opinions and memoranda, pleadings, and facta. Students may attend at court before Masters and be given Small Claims and administrative law matters to carry.
It is our intention to hire students interested in advocating for the rights of our clients, whether in the civil/commercial or labour/employment/administrative context. Students will not be placed in a rotation and will enjoy the challenge of working with most of our lawyers in a wide variety of practice areas. Our students will be assigned a single mentor for the duration of the summer or articling year. The mentor will be responsible for ensuring that their student is receiving an appropriate amount and range of work, and also for assisting their student with any problems that might arise from time to time. Students will receive feedback on their work from the assigning lawyer on a project by project basis. In addition, students will receive formal performance evaluations from their mentor at intervals throughout the articling year. It is anticipated that the mentors will be Megan Shortreed, Robert Centa, Nini Jones or Jeff Larry. Our office atmosphere is informal. We have no specific dress code but, instead, leave it up to the good sense of all members of the firm to dress appropriately for the circumstances, keeping in mind that they may have to meet with clients or run off to court on short notice. Students are welcome to participate in all firm social events, whether formal or informal. Because of our size, students will quickly become part of the firm's social fabric. PAYSalary will be competitive with other law firms in downtown Toronto. Articling Students will receive full salary and tuition during the Bar Admission Course. We also offer a dental, health and life insurance plan, a subsidized health club membership and paid vacation. APPLICATIONSWe do not participate in the articling student computer match program. However, we do observe the guidelines for receiving applications and conducting interviews as set by the Law Society of Upper Canada. We only consider summer student applications from those students who are in their second year of law school. You should include in your package a covering letter expressing why you are interested in our firm, a résumé and a copy of your law school and undergraduate transcripts. Reference letters are also helpful but are not mandatory. Top candidates will be selected for interviews. CURRENT ARTICLING STUDENTS
For further information on our summer and articling program, please contact Andrew Lewis by e-mail at: andrew.lewis@paliareroland.com Please send all application materials to Andrew's attention at:
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Some
past or ongoing interesting matters in which members of our
firm have been involved include: 
A shareholders dispute involving a prominent investment banking business, in which 
