Barbara founded Legate & Associates, and ingrained her vision of personal injury litigation and service to clients on the firm. Barbara firmly believes that we should put ourselves in our clients’ shoes and ask, “what would I want if I was in his or her situation?” That has led to a client-centred team approach focused on getting to know each client, ensuring written and verbal reporting, and client education so each person feels empowered and in charge of his or her case. In 30 years of practice, Barbara has become known for strength and results in her representation of clients, and as a respected, thorough opponent by her peers and colleagues. She has argued significant cases in a wide variety of situations, from administrative tribunals to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Most recently she and her team won a critical decision for children suffering birth trauma in Liebig v. Guelph General Hospital and Ayanbadejo which confirmed the rights of children to sue for medical malpractice.
Education
- Called to the Bar, 1981
- Graduated from The University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Law, 1979
Awards, Honours and Designations
- Inducted as a fellow of Litigation Counsel of America, an honourary invitation-only society comprised of half of 1% of lawyers in North America
- Named 2010 Lawyer of the Year in Personal Injury Litigation, by Best Lawyers in Canada in Southwestern Ontario
- Listed in Best Lawyers in Canada since its inception
- Designated as a Specialist in Civil Litigation by the Law Society of Upper Canada since 1995
- Highest designation by her peers in Lexpert® in personal injury litigation: most referred in Southwestern Ontario
- 2009 Honouree of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association at its Celebration of the Personal Injury Bar
- Law Day listing as one of 35 leading counsel in medical negligence across Canada
- Brain Injury Association of London and Region Legal Fellowship Award
- Ontario Brain Injury Association Legal Fellowship Award
Publications
In addition to over 100 legal presentations and articles to virtually all personal injury legal organizations, including the Superior Court Justices spring and fall conferences and the American Association of Justice, Barbara is author of Barbara Legate’s Standard Statements of Law, a compendium of key personal injury law, available through Taran Virtual Associates.
Legate, B. "A User Friendly Guide to the Law of Causation in Personal Injury Actions", The Annual Review of Civil Litigation, 2010. Archibald and Echlin, Eds.
The Litigator, “Should You Serve a Jury Notice?” April 29, 2009, Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
“Assessing historical abuse allegations and damages” by David A. Wolfe, Peter G. Jaffe, Alan W. Leschied and Barbara Legate, Child Abuse & Neglect, The International Journal, Volume 34, Number 3, ISBN 0145-2134, Elsevier Ltd.
D. Wolfe & B. Legate, “Expert Opinion on Child Sexual Abuse: Separating Myths from Reality” (2003) 10:3 Clinical Psychology 339
B. Legate, “Limitation Periods in Medical Negligence Actions Post-Peixeiro”, 1998 20 Advocates Quarterly 324
B. Legate, “The admissibility of demonstrative evidence in jury trials: applying the principled approach to the law of evidence”, 2006 31 Advocates Quarterly 316-346
B. Legate, “Demonstrative Evidence”, The Law Society of Upper Canada Special Lectures 2008
Leadership in the Legal Community
Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
- President, 1998 - 1999
- Board member,1993 - present
- Litigator Editorial Board - past
- Chair of a variety of conferences; presenter
- Chair of the Medical Negligence Section, 2006 - 2010
- Chair and member of committees including insurance, Helmets on Kids, conferences, rules, intervention
- Delegate to government on insurance law reform
Advocates’ Society
- Board member, 1993 - 1999
- Insurance Committee member - past
- Chair and presenter at several conferences and seminars
Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member of the former Specialist Designation Sub-committee
- Former Bar Admission instructor
- Chair of the Special Lectures in Personal Injury Law
University of Western Ontario
- Moot Court judge, 2009 and 2010
- Lecturer to various Health Law classes
- Former adjunct faculty
Community Involvement
- Volunteer with Central Secondary School, St Joseph’s Hospital, Helmets on Kids (which she established), Orchestra London, Canadian Paraplegic Association, Brain Injury Association of London and Region, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army Kettle Drive.
Contact Barbara at b.legate@legate.ca
