About Michelle
Michelle is a senior partner in McInnes Cooper’s Litigation and Insurance Groups. She is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Michelle practices throughout Atlantic Canada in the areas of commercial litigation and arbitration, products liability, securities, risk management, shareholder disputes, defamation, commercial insurance and bonding, and disability and life insurance underwriting and claims. Michelle is known for her strategic and client-focused advice leading to dispute avoidance and dispute resolution. She has represented businesses and business leaders from all parts of Canada and around the world before all levels of Courts, including the Federal Court and the Supreme Court of Canada. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys tennis, running, skiing and cooking.
Recognitions
- Best Lawyers® 2020 Product Liability Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax
- Listed as one of the Top 50 Trial Lawyers in Canada for 2019 and 2018, Benchmark Canada
- Featured in the 2018 Lexpert Special Edition – Canada’s Leading Litigation Lawyers
- 2017 Atlantic Litigator of the Year, Benchmark Canada
- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 Top 25 Women in Litigation, Benchmark Canada
- Best Lawyers® 2018 Product Liability Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Halifax
- 2013 LEXPERT Zenith Award
- 2013 Halifax Insurance Lawyer of the Year, Best LawyersTM in Canada
- 2013 Atlantic Female Litigator of the Year, Benchmark Canada
- Recognized annually in LEXPERT’s Guide to Leading Lawyers
- Recognized Annually in Best LawyersTMin Canada
- Listed in LEXPERT’s Guide to the Leading US/Canada Crossborder Litigation Lawyers
- Appointed Queen’s Counsel in January, 2010.
- Twice named in LEXPERT’s list of Canada’s Top 40 Lawyers Under 40
Memberships and Associations
- Member of the QEII Foundation Board of Trustees
- The Advocates’ Society Board of Directors, 2014-2018, Past Chair of several committees and current Vice Chair of the Society’s Access to Justice Task Force
- Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Governance and Nominating Committee and Hearing Committee Vice Chair
- Supreme Court Advocacy Institute
- Chair of the Foundation for Legal Research
- Dalhousie University Board of Governors 2008-2017
- Past President of the Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association
- McInnes Cooper Board of Directors, 2010-2016, Audit Committee Chair and Member of the Governance and Management Compensation Committee
Education
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J.D., University of Toronto (1991)
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B.Comm.(Hons.), Dalhousie University (1988)
