Kathleen McDormand

Partner and Lead, Team North

Ottawa
[email protected]
613.787.3556
Kathleen is the regional group manager for the Ottawa Disputes Group (commercial litigation and construction). She practises as a commercial litigator and an estate litigator.

She is experienced in all aspects of estate and incapacity litigation (guardianship applications, applications seeking removal of trustees, applications to pass accounts, will challenges, etc.). Kathleen has acted as counsel for trustees and for beneficiaries. She has extensive mediation experience, both as counsel and as mediator in estates matters.

As the lead of BLG's Team North, Kathleen works with a team of lawyers from across the country who practice in all areas of law and are familiar with the unique needs of Northern-based clients. Kathleen also has expertise in disputes for matters in Nunavut and has several Nunavut-based clients.

Experience

  • Represents clients in all aspects of estate litigation and civil litigation.
  • Appears before numerous courts in Ontario and administrative tribunals including the License Appeal Tribunal.
  • Appears before the Nunavut Court of Justice.

Beyond Our Walls

Professional Involvement

  • Trustee, Board of Trustees, Booth University College
  • Member, Law Society of Ontario
  • Member, Canadian Bar Association and Ontario Bar Association
  • Member, OBA Trusts and Estates Law Section Executive
  • Member, Law Society of Nunavut
  • Member, County of Carleton Law Association
  • Member, Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners

Community Involvement

  • Youth Programs Coordinator, Salvation Army Ottawa Citadel
  • Past Chair, Board of Governors, Ottawa Grace Manor
  • Past Member, Camp Quality Eastern Ontario (camp for children living with cancer)

Awards & Recognitions

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition (and since 2019) of The Best Lawyers in Canada® (Corporate and Commercial Litigation).
  • Recognized in the 2024 edition (and since 2021) of Chambers Canada - Canada's Leading Lawyers for Business (General Business Law: Northern Canada and Arctic).
  • Recognized in the 2024 edition (and since 2017) of The Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory (Estate & Personal Tax Planning - Estate Litigation). Also recognized in the 2019 edition for Commercial Litigation.
  • Recognized in the 2023 edition of Benchmark Canada as a "Litigation Star" (Commercial; Estate).

Bar Admission & Education

  • Nunavut, 2010
  • Ontario, 2002
  • Workplace Mental Health Leadership Certificate, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, 2018
  • Program on Negotiation: Mediating Disputes Course, Harvard Law School Executive Program, June 2018
  • Accelerated Leadership Program, Harvard Law School, March 2018
  • Business Leadership for Women Lawyers Program, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 2016
  • TEP,
  • LLB, University of Ottawa, 2001
  • B.Soc.Sci. (Hons.), University of Ottawa, 1998