Shantona Chaudhury
Partner

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Email: shantona@papechaudhury.com
Phone: 1 416 364 8794
Fax: 1 416 364 8855
Shantona represents both individual and institutional clients in civil and commercial litigation and has particular expertise in appeals. Her experience includes commercial disputes, class actions, torts, judicial review, professional discipline, professional negligence, administrative, constitutional, public international law, and national security law. Shantona has been counsel in over 35 appeals at the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court, the Federal Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. She also represents clients before the Superior Court of Justice and administrative tribunals. The Chambers Guide to Canada’s Leading Lawyers has described Shantona as follows: “One of the best young civil appellate advocates in Canada.” (2021 edition) “One source described Shantona as ‘one of the best young lawyers with whom I have ever had contact,’ while others report that she is ‘a brilliant legal analyst.’” (2020 edition) “Shantona Chaudhury has a rising profile in the legal community. She is increasingly active on litigation files in a range of areas, including commercial, administrative and constitutional disputes. Her performance earns her respect, as sources note that ‘the judges rave about her.’” (2019 edition) “Rising star Shantona Chaudhury is making a name for herself in the Ontario litigation market. Peers describe her as an ‘outstanding’ litigator and a ‘force to be reckoned with’”. (2018 edition) “One peer noted: ‘She is fantastic. She is one of the smartest lawyers out there right now. Her written work is outstanding.’ Clients describe her as a ‘brilliant advocate.’” (2017 edition) Shantona is the co-Executive Director of the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute, a national non-profit organization offering advocacy training to counsel appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada. She is a former law clerk to Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada. Shantona is fluently bilingual (English/French) and was called to the Bar in both Ontario and Québec in 2007. She obtained her B.C.L. from Oxford; her B.C.L./LL.B. from McGill; and her M.A. & B.A. from Queen’s University. Prior to starting practice, she clerked for Justice Ian Binnie, trained as a Middle Temple Fox Scholar pupil barrister in London, interned at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, interned at the Parliament of Canada, and worked in the music industry.
Bar Admissions
- Law Society of Upper Canada (2007)
- Barreau du Québec (2007)
Education
- B.C.L., University of Oxford, 2009
- B.C.L./LL.B., McGill University, 2005
- M.A. French Literature, Queen’s University, 2001
- B.A. (Hons.) French Studies, Queen’s University, 2000
Professional Associations
- The Advocates’ Society
- Canadian Bar Association
- Toronto Lawyers’ Association
- Association de juristes d’expression française
- Litigation Counsel of America (fellow)
- Chambers Guide to Canada’s Leading Lawyers – (2017-present)
- Benchmark Litigation Canada:
- Top 50 Women in Litigation (2020)
- Litigation Star (2020)
- Under 40 Hot List (2018)
- Canadian Lexpert Directory – Corporate Commercial, Class Actions (2018-present)
- Lexpert Rising Star- Canada’s Leading Lawyers Under 40 (2017)
- Best Lawyers – Appellate Practice (2017-present)
- Precedent Setter, Precedent Magazine (2013)
Current
- Executive Director and Treasurer, Supreme Court Advocacy Institute
- Co-chair, University Tribunal (Academic Discipline), University of Toronto
- Board of Directors, Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History
Past
- Pro Bono Ontario Supreme Court Leave to Appeal Assistance Program, Application screener
- Pro Bono Ontario, amicus curiae for civil motions at the Ontario Court of Appeal
- Laskin Moot Competition Judge (constitutional and administrative law)
- Shantona Chaudhury will co-chair (with Crawford Smith) the Advocates’ Society’s “Legal Drafting for Litigators” on February 19, 2021
- Shantona Chaudhury will present on “Waivers of Liability” at the Advocates’ Society Tricks of the Trade Conference on January 29, 2021
- Shantona Chaudhury will present at the Ontario Bar Association & Association de juristes d’expression francaise “Bilan 2020 – survol des arrêts clés de l’année rendus par les cours d’appel” on January 28, 2021
- Shantona Chaudhury co-chaired (with Justice Feldman and Alison Warner) the LSO’s Civil Appeals (The Year in Review 2020) on December 8, 2020
- Shantona Chaudhury taught (with Justice Lauwers and Melanie Stevenson) the Osgoode/Advocates’ Society’s 24th Annual Course on Written Advocacy on November 9, 11, 17 and 19, 2021
- Shantona Chaudhury co-chaired (with Kent Thompson) the Advocates’ Society’s “Mastering Winning Discovery Techniques” on October 14, 2020
- Shantona Chaudhury presented on “The World of Appeals Post Covid-19” with Justices Jamal and Huscroft and Guy Pratte at the LSO’s “Our Civil Justice System: What’s Next?” – October 14, 2020
- Shantona Chaudhury presented (with Justice Miller and Cynthia Kuehl) at the TLA’s “Protecting the Record: Advice for Trial Lawyers from the Appeal’s Perspective” on September 10, 2020
- Shantona Chaudhury listed in Benchmark’s 2020 Top 50 Women in Litigation
- The Advocates’ Society and The American College of Trial Lawyers Presented their Spring Symposium on April 29, 2020
- Shantona Chaudhury was featured in McGill Law’s “Focus Feature”
- Vivekanandan v Terzian, 2020 ONCA 110
- Shantona Chaudhury presented at The Advocates’ Society’s “Administrative Tribunal Advocacy” on February 20, 2020
- Fertility Law 2020: Critical and Emerging Issues
- Balancing the Public Interest in Expression and the Right to Sue: How Much Protection Should Anti-SLAPP Laws Provide?
- Shantona Chaudhury will co-chair “Civil Appeals: The Year in Review”
- Shantona Chaudhury co-chaired “It’s Not Just What You Say: Winning Body Language for Litigators”
- Little v Floyd Sinton, 2019 ONCA 865
- MacLeod v Marshall, 2019 ONCA 842, Decision
- Pape Chaudhury LLP ranked in Chambers Canada 2020
Presentations
- Shantona taught at the 22nd Annual Course on Written Advocacy by the Advocates’ Society on October 26, 2018
- Shantona co-chaired the Advocates’ Society education program on Appellate Advocacy with Bryan Finlay, Q.C. on October 25, 2018
- Shantona co-chaired Civil Appeals: The Year in Review with Justice Feldman on December 12, 2017
- Shantona had been selected as a Lexpert Rising Star, Leading Lawyers under 40 in 2017
- Shantona is ranked as an “Up and Coming Individual” in the Chambers Guide to Canada’s Leading Lawyers
Publications
- Chaudhury, “Effective Commercial Arbitration: An Interview with Robert Armstrong, Ian Binnie, and Stephen Goudge”, in M. Huberman (ed.), A Practitioner’s Guide to Commercial Arbitration, (2017: Irwin Law) 291.
- Chaudhury, “The Supreme Court of Canada Recognizes the Need for Procedural Innovation in the Management of Multi-Jurisdictional Class Actions (And Beyond?)”, (2017) 6:1 Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Review 5.
- Chaudhury, “Causation in Law of Negligence: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Going? Clements v Clements; Ediger v. Johnston” (2012) 40:2 Advocates’ Quarterly 257.*
*Cited in: Ketler v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General), 2015 NSSC 170
- Chaudhury, “Settlement Privilege 101”, LSUC CPD – “What Civil Litigators Need to Know About Privilege” (April 28, 2015)
- Chaudhury, “Hryniak v. Mauldin: The Supreme Court issues a clarion call for civil justice reform” (Adv. Journal Winter 2014)
- Chaudhury & N. Rouleau, ‘The Eric v Lola case – equality rights and de facto relationships in Québec’, (Adv. J. Autumn 2013)
- Chaudhury and P. Pape, “Damages in Waiver of Tort”, for presentation by P. Pape, LSUC CLE – The Law of Damages.**
**Cited in: Andersen v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., 2012 ONSC 3660
- Chaudhury, “Disruptive Physician Behaviour and Hospital Liability in Tort: Rosenhek v. Windsor Regional Hospital”, for presentation by P. Pape, Canadian Bar Association Health Law Summit