Anna Abbott

Anna is a seasoned legal professional who offers comprehensive counsel to employers across both provincial and federal jurisdictions on a variety of employment, human rights, and regulatory issues. She is adept at providing employers with actionable advice on the full gamut of employment law, including but not limited to recruitment practices, employment contracts, wrongful dismissal cases, addressing workplace violence and harassment, privacy concerns, human rights, performance management, compliance with accessibility standards, and occupational health and safety regulations. Furthermore, Anna is skilled in crafting and implementing workplace policies and procedures, and she regularly conducts educational sessions for employers on diverse aspects of employment and occupational health and safety law.

Anna has honed her expertise in guiding and defending clients through occupational health and safety regulatory matters and criminal prosecutions. Her experience also extends to handling employment-related class action lawsuits. Her legal acumen has been recognized in her appearances before a range of courts and administrative bodies, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada, and various administrative tribunals.

Before her tenure at Blakes, Anna served as employment counsel at a leading Canadian financial institution and as an associate at another prominent national law firm.

Anna's contributions to legal scholarship include co-authoring articles on the rights of unionized employees to bring human rights claims before the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal or labour arbitrators, and on the implications of the new Pay Equity Act for federally regulated employers.

Anna's legal journey began with her admission to the Ontario Bar in 2010, following her LLB from the University of New Brunswick in 2009 and her BA from Mount Allison University in 2004. Her areas of practice encompass a broad range of employment and labour law issues, including employment advice and disputes, health and safety compliance, human rights and accommodation, and labour law, with a particular focus on the sports sector.