Erin Pleet

Erin is an accomplished litigator. She frequently appears as lead counsel in all levels of court in Ontario. She has wide experience in commercial litigation, injunctions, defamation, fraud, securities litigation, appeals, administrative law, and estates litigation.

Erin is strategic and thoughtful. She is skilled at distilling complex facts and scenarios for clients and courts alike. Her advocacy has been commended by courts. She is an award-winning writer.

Erin has represented businesses and individuals in corporate disputes, including oppression claims and claims against directors and officers. She has experience working with accountants and evaluators.

She has successfully defended defamation claims, resulting in full indemnity costs in favour of her client. She acts in complex estates litigation involving disputed historical evidence and valuation disputes.

Erin graduated from Queen’s University, Faculty of Law, receiving a number of academic and leadership awards, including Bronze Scholar and the Dean’s Key. Erin then served as a judicial law clerk to the judges of the Divisional Court in Toronto, where she assisted judges primarily on appeals and judicial reviews.

In addition to her extensive litigation experience, Erin is a leader and advocate in the legal community. She previously served as Chair of the Young Advocates’ Standing Committee (YASC) of The Advocates’ Society, Canada’s preeminent organization for litigation lawyers. She worked with Pro Bono Ontario to establish a program to assist self-represented litigants on appeals, and was a roster lawyer with the Litigation Assistance Program at the Ontario Securities Commission.

Notable Cases

• Part of a team acting for the Receiver in a complex and significant receivership of an investment management firm, put into receivership pursuant to the Ontario Securities Act.
• Acted for a U.S. subsidiary claiming indemnification for pre-arrangement taxes arising out of a Plan of Arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act with a $400 million transaction value. Defended the responding Application seeking rectification of the tax indemnity agreement executed in connection with the Plan of Arrangement.
• Acting in complex estates litigation involving disputed historical evidence and valuation disputes.
• Successfully resisting an adverse remedy in a multimillion shareholder oppression claim.
• Regularly retained to provide strategic advice on potential defamation claims and defences.
• Successfully brought “anti-SLAPP” motions to dismiss defamation claims, including claims brought by a government entity against a community advocate.
• Represented a professional regulatory body in successfully seeking injunctions against unlicensed providers of professional services.
• Successfully defended a forum non conveniens motion where the moving party sought to require the parties to litigate their dispute in Iran.
• Part of a team defending an enforcement action at the Ontario Securities Commission and a class action claim against the chief financial officer of the company, which took place in the course of the company’s restructuring.
• Counsel on a complex, multi-party $20 million mortgage fraud claim.
• Appointed amicus curiae in a proceeding at the Divisional Court to assist the Court with respect to civil proceedings brought by an incarcerated individual against the Crown.

Awards & Rankings

Individual:

• The Best Lawyers in Canada (2024 Edition): Corporate and Commercial Litigation, Administrative and Public Law
• Lexpert Corporate Commercial Litigation – Repeatedly Recommended Litigator, 2023
• Lexpert Professional Liability – Repeatedly Recommended Litigator, 2023
• The Best Lawyers in Canada (2022-2023 Editions): Appellate Practice, Administrative and Public Law
• ReferToHer™, Commercial Litigation
• Awarded the David Stockwood Memorial Prize for legal writing

Firm:

• RN LLP recognized as a leading litigation firm in Canada by Benchmark Litigation (2021, 2022, 2023)
• RN LLP recognized in The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Best Law Firms list for Dispute Resolution (Litigation, Arbitration & Investigations) (2021, 2022, 2023)

Selected Publications and Speaking Engagements

• “Judicial Notice in the Misinformation Age”, (co-authored with Mary Paterson) The Advocates’ Journal, ed. L. Rothstein (Fall 2023)
• Presenter, The Twelve-Minute Civil Litigator, Law Society of Ontario CPD (September 2023)
• Co-Chair, A Litigator’s Guide to Case Preparation, The Advocates’ Society (April 2023)
• Panelist, Nuts and Bolts of Judicial Review, The Ontario Bar Association (April 2023)
• Panelist, Dealing with Difficult Counsel, The Advocates’ Society (June 2022)
• Panelist, The Skills Gap: Mentorship and Training for a New Era, Spring Symposium, The Advocates’ Society (April 2022)
• Panelist, Trials in the Covid Era, Kingston and 1000 Islands Conference (September 2021)
• Panelist, Defamation Law: Current Issues and Emerging Trends, Osgoode PD (April 2019)
• Panelist, Top Cases in Commercial Litigation, The Advocates’ Society (February 2019)
• Panelist, Junior Commercial List Lawyer’s Event, Torys LLP (January 2019)
• Panelist, Advocacy Workshop for Paralegals, Law Society of Ontario CPD (November 2017)
• Panelist, Top 10 Tips for Commencing a Proceeding, Law Society of Ontario CPD (February 2017)
• Panelist, Self-Represented Litigants: Courtroom Duty Counsel Programs, National Pro Bono Conference 2016, Ottawa (September 2016)
• “All’s Fair in Love and Court: The Use of Wrongfully Obtained Evidence in Civil Proceedings”, The Advocates’ Journal, ed. S. Grant (Fall 2016) (awarded the 2016 David Stockwood Memorial Prize for paper on an advocacy-related topic)
• “Top 10 Tips for Writing in Obscurity”, Keeping Tabs (August 2016) (publication of the Young Advocates’ Standing Committee of the Advocates’ Society)
• “The Unauthorized Provision of Legal Services”, chapter in Canadian Legal Practice: A Guide for the 21st Century, looseleaf, ed. A. Dodek (LexisNexis Canada: 2009)