Elizabeth Grace
Partner
|
Toronto Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Demanding accountability from sexual offenders and the institutions that gave them power and authority over vulnerable persons is one of the most courageous things a survivor of abuse can do. Giving a legal voice to that demand is a privilege for a lawyer, requiring sensitivity and skill.
Areas of focus
Education
- Admitted to the Ontario Bar (2020)
- Bachelor of Laws, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (1993)
- Master of Philosophy, University of Sussex, England (1989)
- Bachelor of Arts, Concordia University (2015)
My Support Team
MY WORK & EXPERIENCE
My work in personal injury law focuses on claims arising out of sexual assault and sexual abuse, as well as physical abuse.
My experience extends to discrimination and harassment claims, professional negligence, health and employment-related matters, and commercial disputes.
-
- Selected by her peers for inclusion in Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory for Medical Negligence (2021-2026) and Personal Injury (2023, 2025, 2026)
- Selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada for Personal Injury Litigation, Health Care Law, Medical Negligence, Administrative and Public Law and Professional Malpractice Law (2016-2024)
- Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers for her commitment to advocating on behalf of victims of sexual abuse, Canadian Lawyer Magazine, 2014
- Recipient of the Women’s Law Association of Ontario President’s Award, June 2014
- Recipient of Lexpert Zenith Award for Leading Women Lawyers, 2013
- Frequently consulted by news media, including CBC News (Radio, Television and online), Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, Hamilton’s CHCH Television News, The Motts radio show, Maclean’s Magazine, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)
- Frequently consulted by law media, including Law Times, The Lawyers Weekly, The Lawyer’s Daily, Canadian Lawyer Magazine
- Interviewed for Chatelaine Magazine article “Judgment call”, October 1998
- While studying for her Bachelor of Laws degree at Osgoode Hall Law School, Elizabeth received numerous academic awards, including in 1993 the Bronze Medal and the J.S.D. Tory Research and Writing Award. Before attending law school, she was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship to complete post-graduate work in Development Studies in the United Kingdom (1987-1989), as well as numerous other scholarships and prizes through her undergraduate and graduate studies.
-
- Co-presenter of “Where Law Meets Psychology: The Psychologist as Treating Psychologist vs. Independent Evaluator in Civil Sexual Abuse Cases”, for the Canadian Board of Professional Psychologists, April 10, 2026 (3½ hour virtual workshop)
- Speaker, “Proving Causation for Liability and Damages: The Example of Psychological Injury”, The Advocates Society (TAS) Advocacy Hour, March 27, 2026
- Chair of The OsgoodePD Guide to Advanced Issues in Civil Sexual Assault conference, and speaker on panel “Unpacking Causation in Sexual Assault” panel, December 1, 2025
- “Confusing Cause and Effect: Causation in Sexual Abuse Claims”, The Litigator, Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Fall 2025, 46-54
- Speaker on panel, “Unpacking Causes of Actions and Defences”, OBA Insurance Law Section’s “Fundamentals of Civil Sexual Assault Claims”. November 18, 2024, Toronto
- Speaker, “General Damages in Sexual Abuse Cases: A Panel Discussion from Plaintiff, Defence and Mediation Perspectives”, OTLA 2024 Fall Conference, November 8, 2024, Toronto
- Speaker, “Ways to Prove Income Loss for Sexual Abuse”, OsgoodePD’s The 2024 Guide to Civil Sexual Assault, April 1, 2024 (virtual)
- Speaker, “New Tort of Family Violence,” The Six-Minute Law Lawyer 2022, Law Society of Ontario Continuing Legal Education, November 28, 2022
- Speaker “What’s New and Happening Back East” and Q & A Panellist, “Sexual Violence (Civil) Conference 2022, British Columbia Continuing Legal Education, March 30, 2022
- Speaker on panel “Institutional Liability: Where We Are and What’s Ahead” at Civil Sexual Assault: Critical and Emerging Issues, Osgoode Professional Development Program, February 25, 2021 (virtual)
- Speaker, “Civil Sexual Assault Claims – Developing a Robust, Efficient and Fair Claims Process,” 25th Annual Provincial/Municipal Government Liability Conference, The Canadian Institute, April 2, 2019
- Co-Chair of Current and Emerging Issues in Civil Sexual Assault, Osgoode Professional Development Program, February 26, 2018
- “Criminal v. Civil: How the Criminal Process Can Impact a Parallel Civil Process”, For the Defence, Criminal Lawyers Association Newsletter, Vol. 38, No. 2 – July 2017, 18-24
- Speaker on “Civil Liability for Sexual Abuse: A Means of Achieving Accountability in the Campus Context?” National Conference on Campus Sexual Assault for Higher Education Administrators, Ryley Conferences Group, Toronto, December 8, 2017
- “Judging Cause and Effect: Challenges and Trends in Assessing Damages in Sexual Abuse Cases”, in Law Society of Upper Canada Special Lectures 2005: The Modern Law of Damages (Irwin Law, 2006)
- Co-author, Civil Liability for Sexual Abuse and Violence in Canada (Butterworths, 2000) (this book has been quoted by courts across the country, including Ontario’s Court of Appeal)
- Co-presenter of “Where Law Meets Psychology: The Psychologist as Treating Psychologist vs. Independent Evaluator in Civil Sexual Abuse Cases”, for the Canadian Board of Professional Psychologists, April 10, 2026 (3½ hour virtual workshop)
- Speaker, “Proving Causation for Liability and Damages: The Example of Psychological Injury”, The Advocates Society (TAS) Advocacy Hour, March 27, 2026
- Chair of The OsgoodePD Guide to Advanced Issues in Civil Sexual Assault conference, and speaker on panel “Unpacking Causation in Sexual Assault” panel, December 1, 2025
- “Confusing Cause and Effect: Causation in Sexual Abuse Claims”, The Litigator, Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Fall 2025, 46-54
- Speaker on panel, “Unpacking Causes of Actions and Defences”, OBA Insurance Law Section’s “Fundamentals of Civil Sexual Assault Claims”. November 18, 2024, Toronto
- Speaker, “General Damages in Sexual Abuse Cases: A Panel Discussion from Plaintiff, Defence and Mediation Perspectives”, OTLA 2024 Fall Conference, November 8, 2024, Toronto
- Speaker, “Ways to Prove Income Loss for Sexual Abuse”, OsgoodePD’s The 2024 Guide to Civil Sexual Assault, April 1, 2024 (virtual)
- Speaker, “New Tort of Family Violence,” The Six-Minute Law Lawyer 2022, Law Society of Ontario Continuing Legal Education, November 28, 2022
- Speaker “What’s New and Happening Back East” and Q & A Panellist, “Sexual Violence (Civil) Conference 2022, British Columbia Continuing Legal Education, March 30, 2022
- Speaker on panel “Institutional Liability: Where We Are and What’s Ahead” at Civil Sexual Assault: Critical and Emerging Issues, Osgoode Professional Development Program, February 25, 2021 (virtual)
- Speaker, “Civil Sexual Assault Claims – Developing a Robust, Efficient and Fair Claims Process,” 25th Annual Provincial/Municipal Government Liability Conference, The Canadian Institute, April 2, 2019
- Co-Chair of Current and Emerging Issues in Civil Sexual Assault, Osgoode Professional Development Program, February 26, 2018
- “Criminal v. Civil: How the Criminal Process Can Impact a Parallel Civil Process”, For the Defence, Criminal Lawyers Association Newsletter, Vol. 38, No. 2 – July 2017, 18-24
- Speaker on “Civil Liability for Sexual Abuse: A Means of Achieving Accountability in the Campus Context?” National Conference on Campus Sexual Assault for Higher Education Administrators, Ryley Conferences Group, Toronto, December 8, 2017
- “Judging Cause and Effect: Challenges and Trends in Assessing Damages in Sexual Abuse Cases”, in Law Society of Upper Canada Special Lectures 2005: The Modern Law of Damages (Irwin Law, 2006)
- Co-author, Civil Liability for Sexual Abuse and Violence in Canada (Butterworths, 2000) (this book has been quoted by courts across the country, including Ontario’s Court of Appeal)
-
- N.G. v. Upper Canada College, [2004] O.J. No. 1202 (C.A.) and [2003] O.J. No. 5183 (S.C.J.) – sexual abuse litigation against private school, acted on behalf of plaintiff
- K.L.B. v. British Columbia, 2003 SCC 51; E.D.G. v. Hammer, 2003 SCC 52; and M.B. v. British Columbia, 2003 SCC 53 – acted on behalf of intervener in trilogy of appeals dealing with child sexual and physical abuse
- C.O. v. Williamson and Trillium Lakelands District School Board, 2020 ONSC 3874 (CanLII) – historical sexual abuse trial on behalf of plaintiff against school board based on its high school music teacher’s sexual assaults and its inadequate post-assault response to disclosure
- Rosenthal v. Rosenthal, 2014 ONSC 317 – historical sexual abuse trial, served as amicus curiae (ie. “friend of the court”)
-
- Law Commission of Ontario, Board of Governors, Member-at-large, Project Committee member and Governance Committee chair, June 1, 2018 to August 30, 2024 (2 appointment terms)
- Member of Advisory Committee to CCLISAR (Canadian Centre for Legal Innovation in Sexual Assault Response), and member of Advisory Board to CCLISAR’s successor, Watershed Legal Projects – non-profit, non-partisan organization devoted to improving understanding and responses to sexualized violence, January 2020 to present
- Invited panellist for #AfterMeToo Civil Roundtable, filmed at Globe and Mail Toronto head office, December 5, 2017
- Invited member of working group that drafted the Guide for the Provision of Legal Services in Cases Involving Claims of Sexual Abuse. This Guide was approved by the Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee of the Law Society of Upper Canada and then formally adopted by Convocation on January 26, 2012, and is available on the Law Society’s website.
- Ontario Bar Association’s Working Group on McMurtry Victim Compensation Review, representing OBA’s Feminist Legal Analysis (FLAC) Section, 2008
- The Advocates’ Society
- Ontario Bar Association’s Health Law, Aboriginal Law and Feminist Legal Analysis Sections
- National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL), including Board of Directors (1995 to 2000)
This was one of the hardest chapters of my life, but having Elizabeth and her team in my corner truly made all the difference. I am deeply grateful for their guidance and strength, and I wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone who needs a fierce, empathetic, and skilled advocate to walk them through this process.
Insights From Elizabeth
Discussions of Case Law
June 8, 2026
With Death, Can There Be No Limitation Period for Sexual Assault?
A closer look at whether limitation periods for sexual assault claims may continue after death, and the legal implications for affected parties.
Read More about With Death, Can There Be No Limitation Period for Sexual Assault?
April 24, 2025
Causation And Sexual Assault (Part 3): Causation In Relation To Damages, A Mainstay In Sexual Abuse Cases
This blog is the final installment in a three-part series on causation in the civil sexual abuse context. In Part One , I explored the distinction between causation for liability and causation for dam
Read More about Causation And Sexual Assault (Part 3): Causation In Relation To Damages, A Mainstay In Sexual Abuse Cases
April 15, 2025
Causation And Sexual Assault (Part Two): Causation For Liability Has Limited Application In Sexual Abuse Cases
This blog is the second installment in a three-part series exploring causation in the civil sexual abuse context. In part one , I laid the foundation by distinguishing causation for liability from cau
Read More about Causation And Sexual Assault (Part Two): Causation For Liability Has Limited Application In Sexual Abuse Cases
In the Media
November 17, 2025
Causation in Sexual Abuse Claims – The Litigator – Fall 2025
Read Elizabeth’s Causation in Sexual Abuse Claims in the fall issue of The Litigator from the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association.
Read More
March 28, 2025
Elizabeth Grace Quoted In Toronto Star Article On Sexual Abuse At Centre For Addiction And Mental Health (CAMH)
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse. "It's unacceptable that CAMH is allowing vulnerable patients, vulnerable women, to be sexually assaulted in a place where they deserve to be safe," Gra
Read More
December 17, 2024
Elizabeth Grace Quoted In CBC News Article
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse. "The average person cannot afford $50,000 just to proceed with a lawsuit that has its own risks and stresses … On top of that, they've got to pay money
Read More
