I am a lawyer located in St. Catharines that practices exclusively in criminal law and professional licensing and discipline, offering services in both English and French. Having been born and raised in St. Catharines, it was important to me to return home after completing my studies to establish my practice in the Niagara region.
After graduating from Brock University with a degree in Psychology, I studied French abroad and completed a Human Rights internship where my work consisted of research pertaining to human trafficking prosecutions and improving social services for victim reintegration. I then went on to obtain my J.D. from the University of Ottawa, where my studies mainly focused on criminal law both in the international and Canadian law context. This led to me to volunteer with the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, before completing my summer internship and articles with firms practicing exclusively in criminal defence.
Throughout my education, I have had the opportunity to be involved in various roles that required working with some of the most vulnerable members of society and in both the public and international criminal justice sectors. This has included my involvement in shelter settings that offer social and legal services to women and children who have suffered sexual or physical abuse, volunteering with programs that provide social skills and therapy to those with serious mental health disorders, and of course, my work in criminal defence.
If I had to name one takeaway from my experiences, it would be how often the line between victims and perpetrators is blurred and how hurtful the stigma associated with a criminal charge can be, not only for the individual personally, but also for their family. Facing a criminal charge is an intimidating process, and too often clients feel powerless as they sit through proceedings where their only participation is through their lawyer. This is why I have a strong commitment to engaging closely with clients at every stage of the process, and it is important to me that we explore all options to ensure that you feel fully informed and confident when instructing me to move towards resolution or trial.
In my spare time, I am involved in local community service projects related to youth and literacy. I am also a firm believer that Kindles and Netflix are not a replacement for the library, and I enjoy anything related to sloths, Star Wars and the greatest superhero of all, Batman.