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MEET OUR
INSTRUCTORS
Chantal Desloges
LL.B., CS - Barrister & Solicitor
Certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law and Refugee Law
Chantal Desloges
Is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in both Citizenship/Immigration law and Refugee law. Her practice encompasses every possible area of Canadian citizenship, immigration and refugee law, such as business class applications, skilled workers, family sponsorships, work and study permits, refugee cases, citizenship applications, plus Appeals and Judicial Reviews of refused cases. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1999 and is the founding and senior partner of Desloges Law Group.
In November, 2016, Chantal and her good friend Cathryn Sawicki published the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law: A Practitioner’s Handbook. Chantal has been called upon 15 times by Parliamentary and Senate Committees to appear as an expert witness on immigration and refugee issues.
Chantal is a regular immigration commentator on CTV Power Play, and has been interviewed by both national and local television stations such as CBC, CTV National News, W5, Canada AM, Global News and CP24. She has also been interviewed and quoted in national and local newspapers such as the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, National Post and the Ottawa Citizen.
Andrew Carvajal
LL.B / B.C.L. (Hons.), M.A., B.A.
Barrister & Solicitor
Andrew Carvajal
Is a Toronto lawyer and partner at Desloges Law Group, where he is the Head of Economic Immigration. He received a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2011.
Andrew’s immigration practice focuses on permanent residence applications under federal and provincial economic programs, all types of business/corporate immigration, applications for sponsorship under the family class and temporary residence applications. He also represents professionals in disciplinary matters including Immigration Consultants in complaint and discipline proceedings before their regulatory council.
Besides his work at Desloges Law Group, Andrew has been an instructor in the Immigration Consulting program at Herzing College and a guest speaker in a number of immigration education programs and seminars organized by professional associations and community centres. He is also a frequent contributor to several publications dealing with immigration, refugee and administrative law and has been invited to speak about immigration changes on local and national news segments.
Stewart Gillis
LL.B., CS - Deputy Judge SCJ
Certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation
Stewart Gillis
Is a Deputy Judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Small Claims Court). He was Certified as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada on September 7, 2000 and since his Call to the Ontario Bar in March, 1977, he practiced in personal injury law, exclusively.
He has served as a Director of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association and been a lecturer in civil procedure and practice at the Bar Admission Course in Toronto.
He began his career in Toronto involving himself in insurance defence work including motor vehicle personal injury litigation, medical and hospital malpractice matters, and municipal liability cases.
In 1986, he relocated to Brampton and established a successful plaintiff personal injury practice ultimately founding Gillis Zago LLP in 2001 and Gillis Injury Law (Stewart Gillis Legal Professional Corporation) in 2010.
In June 2016, he stepped away from day-to-day practice and is following his twin passions for the courtroom and for mentoring up-and-coming lawyers in their trial practice and procedures.
Adrienne Smith
B.A., M.A., J.D.
Principal Lawyer, Smith Immigration Law
Adrienne Smith
Adrienne has a full-service legal practice with expertise in litigation and administrative appeals. Her legal experience is concentrated in matters before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the Federal Court and the Immigration and Refugee Board.
She regularly represents clients with all types of permanent and temporary applications to Canada, including medical and criminal inadmissibility issues, sponsorship applications and appeals, refugee claims and appeals, Federal Court applications, humanitarian and compassionate applications, study and visitor visas, and detention reviews.
Adrienne has been invited as an expert to speak on medical inadmissibility before Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which monitor’s federal immigration policies.
She is an Instructor with Ryerson’s Faculty of Law and the University of British Columbia’s Continuing Education Program. Adrienne has been invited to speak as a guest lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies.
Antonio Urdaneta
B.C.L., N.C.A., GP. LL.M.
Barrister & Solicitor
Antonio Urdaneta
Is the thought leader behind Workplace Legal. He focuses on improving work climate and empowering business leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, supervisors and human resources professionals to reduce the inherent threats of workplace relations by providing innovative training, advisory, investigations, and litigation services. Antonio uses coaching tools and skills to inform, advice and represent workplaces in their virtual and physical challenges, including business transformation and managing toxic leadership.
Antonio obtained a Bachelor’s of Civil Law from Zulia’s University in 2003 and completed the Canadian National Committee on Accreditation in 2015. His legal work includes employment standards, human rights, health and safety, pay equity, harassment, discrimination, violence, hazards, privacy, BYOD, agreements, contracts and policies, employment related ADRs (mediation, arbitration), and litigation (wrongful/constructive dismissals). He has successfully represented and assisted clients at the Superior Court of Justice and various administrative tribunals in Ontario.
Antonio also conducts workplace investigations regarding allegations of violence, harassment, discrimination, accidents/incidents, theft and failure to comply with company policies, by-laws and collective agreements.
Richard Kurland
Lawyer and Policy Analyst
Richard Kurland
Richard is a lawyer and policy analyst at Kurland, Tobe with offices in Vancouver and Montreal. Since 1994 he has served as a member of the Social Affairs Committee in the Senate of Canada as well as the House of Commons – Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. In the past, he has been the Special Advisor to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (International Affairs and Immigration).
Richard is a regular commentator on television including CTV, CBC and CCTV as well as in newspapers and on the radio. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Lexbase, Canada’s largest immigration and policy publication.
He has lectured at the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of British Columbia and the University of British Columbia.
Rafael Fabregas
B.A., LL.B.
Barrister & Solicitor
Rafael Fabregas
Is a Senior Associate Lawyer and Manager in EY Law LLP’s Canada and cross-border North American Free Trade Agreement (CaNAFTA) practice. He advises clients on all aspects of Canadian citizenship and immigration law, with a particular focus on temporary and permanent entries of business personnel into Canada.
Rafael was called to the Ontario Bar in 2006. He holds his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School and his BA from the University of Toronto.
Rafael was the recipient of the Prize in Immigration Law during convocation rites at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2002. In 2008, the Federation of Asian-Canadian Lawyers presented Rafael with its inaugural Lawyer of Distinction award for his legal advocacy for foreign live-in caregivers. In 2009, he was chosen as one of Canadian Immigrant magazine’s “Top 25 Canadian Immigrants”.
Rafael has spoken to audiences across Canada, and has authored articles and editorials for various Canadian media outlets. He is a regular contact for media inquiries on a variety of immigration-related topics. He has also testified before the House of Commons’ Parliamentary Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa on amendments to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Samuel Plett
J.D.
Barrister & Solicitor
Samuel Plett
Sam is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Prior to law school, Sam studied Peace and Conflict Studies at the Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Refugee Lawyers Association, and the Canadian Bar Association.
Sam has experience in a wide variety of immigration matters, including applications involving inadmissibility matters, humanitarian and compassionate applications, pre-removal risk assessments, family sponsorship applications, temporary resident permits, and applications for work and study permits. Sam has extensive experience with applications for Judicial Review before the Federal Court of Canada, including applications involving constitutional challenges and motions for stays of removal; and has appeared before the Federal Court of Appeal. Sam has appeared before all three Divisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board in various matters including refugee hearings, appeals before the Immigration Appeal Division, and detention reviews.
Prior to his work at Plett Law Professional Corporation, Sam was a Partner and Head of Litigation at Desloges Law Group.
Stanley Leo
B.A., J.D.
Barrister & Solicitor
Stanley Leo
Born in Singapore, Stan moved to British Columbia with his family and has called the province home ever since. Stan graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science before graduating from the University of Manitoba with a Juris Doctor. Before joining Lowe & Company as an associate, he articled at a mid-size Vancouver full-service business law firm and then worked briefly at a law firm in the Tri-Cities primarily practicing residential real estate law. Stan was called to the Bar of British Columbia in 2012.
Stan has had the opportunity to assist people from all over the world with various Canadian immigration and citizenship matters including work authorizations, study permits, skilled worker immigration including federal and provincial programs, family sponsorships, criminal inadmissibility and citizenship.
In addition to Stan’s immigration practice, he has taught on immigration matters including but not limited to business work permits such as LMIA applications based on the Owner Operator advertising exemption.
Deanna Okun-Nachoff
Partner, McCrea Immigration Law
Deanna Okun-Nachoff
Deanna is one of the most respected immigration lawyers in Canada. She joined McCrea Immigration Law in 2010 after working for many years as the executive director and staff lawyer of a non-profit serving the needs of foreign live-in caregivers. Deanna is a crack immigration litigator, winning all the cases she should and a few she probably shouldn't.
In between solving seemingly unsolvable problems for her clients, Deanna somehow finds time to speak at various conferences and for grassroots organizations and to challenge our ongoing "cutest office dog" competition.
Deanna is your go-to expert on live-in caregivers, medical inadmissibility, human trafficking and immigration litigation before the Federal Court and the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Victor Ing
Victor Ing
Victor began practicing immigration law and working at a national law firm in 2010. Victor advises clients on a broad range of immigration processes and applications, including permanent residency applications, study and work permit applications, spousal appeals and detention hearings. He has represented clients in Federal Court and at all levels of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and has appeared in the BC Supreme Court as an expert witness in immigration law matters.
Victor is a frequent writer and presenter on immigration topics and has been a regular contributor to the South Asian Post, providing insight on current immigration trends and changes. He has served as Co-Secretary for the British Columbia Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association, with a mandate to foster continuing legal education for immigration practitioners and to facilitate dialogue between immigration lawyers and the government departments with whom they work to share information and expertise.
David Matas
David Matas
David is the senior legal counsel of B’nai Brith Canada and has maintained a private practice in refugee, immigration and human rights law since 1979. During this time he has also published various books and manuscripts.
David has also served as a member of the Canadian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. He has taught at both McGill University and the University of Manitoba. He has been involved in a number of Human Rights organizations as well as the Canadian Bar Association throughout his career.
In 2008 David was awarded the Order of Canada.
Cathryn Sawicki
Cathryn Sawicki
Cathryn Sawicki is the Managing Partner of Serotte Law Canada. She completed her law degree at Osgoode Hall and is the co-author of a book called “Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law: A Practitioners Handbook” which is currently in its second edition and distributed by Emond Publishing.
Cathryn has been designated as a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Citizenship Law by the Law Society of Ontario and has particular expertise in the area of compliance, strategic immigration solutions, and immigration processing.
Cathryn has extensive experience and expertise on a variety of aspects ranging from employer compliance, Federal Court matters, and global mobility solutions.
She has leading caselaw before the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal. Cathryn obtained one of the largest immigration settlements in the 50-year history of one of the law firms she worked at. Cathryn has shared her immigration knowledge across Canada for various entities and also enjoys teaching immigration law at various colleges and law schools across Canada.
Michelle Haigh
Michelle Haigh
Michelle Haigh is a Licensed Paralegal and the President and owner of Precision Paralegal Services. She was the first Paralegal Bencher to serve the maximum term of 12 years at the Law Society of Ontario (the regulating body for all Ontario Lawyers and Paralegals). Michelle was instrumental in building the process around regulating paralegals, developing the Professional Code of Conduct, and the discipline process. From 2016-2020 Michelle sat as a director on the board at Legal Aid Ontario where she focused on how the legal industry can utilize paralegals better, especially in under-serviced areas that create access to justice issues. Michelle represented the Law Society of Ontario from 2017-2018 on the Federation of Law Societies and is the only Paralegal who has served in the federation.
In 2020 Michelle was awarded the William J. Simpson Distinguished Paralegal Award recognizing her extraordinary commitment to her profession. Having operated Precision Paralegal Services since 1996, she has mentored countless paralegals and frequently shares her expertise through professional education programs. She has been instrumental in the significant advances made in paralegal regulation in Ontario through her leadership and contribution as a Law Society Bencher.
Precision Paralegal has grown to become Canada’s largest Small Claims Court focused paralegal firm servicing clients in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Precision’s experienced paralegals and lawyers have handled over 10,000 matters, have 20,000 combined hours of courtroom experience, and have recovered over twenty-five million dollars for their clients.
