Background

Cynthia (Cindy) Clarke is the Regional Practice Group Manager for the Health Law Group in the Toronto office. She graduated from the University of Western Law School in 1997 and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1999. Before entering law school she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Huron College, University of Western Ontario (1993). She was recognized as one of Lexpert's Rising Stars Leading Lawyers Under 40 in 2008.

Areas of Practice

• Civil litigation with a particular expertise in medical malpractice. Ms. Clarke regularly defends hospitals, Community Care Access Centres and their employees in medical malpractice claims.
• Leading participant in the firm's class action litigation.
• Appears before administrative tribunals, including Coroner's Inquests, the Consent and Capacity Board, the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board and Health Services Appeal and Review Board.
• Has an expertise in e-discovery matters and document retention issues.
• Presents lectures and provides advice to Community Care Access Centres and hospitals on a wide range of issues, including consent and capacity matters, privacy, release of medical information and responding to adverse events.

Professional Experience

• Regularly defends hospitals, CCACs and their employees in medical malpractice lawsuits as counsel to the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC), along with other members of the Health Law Group. This involves carrying out investigations, drafting pleadings, and conducting examinations for discovery, motions, mediations, pre-trials and trials.
• Has been counsel to hospitals and CCACs on numerous coroner's inquests, many of which received widespread media attention.
• Frequently retained by hospitals and CCACs to provide advice and representation for staff and physicians before the Consent and Capacity Board to participate in hearings with respect to findings of incapacity
• regarding treatment, admission and property decisions. Ms. Clarke also represents psychiatrists who face a challenge to community treatment orders they have issued. She also appears before the Divisional Court on appeals arising from hearings before the Consent and Capacity Board.
• Provided advice to hospital administration with respect to the management of the hospital's relationship with its physicians, including representation at Medical Advisory Board meetings and before hospital Boards.
• Involved in defence of a national pharmaceutical action and is responsible for overseeing the document collection and review.
• Responsible for numerous large actions that are document intensive with extensive electronically stored information requiring the use of litigation support software.
• Has been retained to draft and review contracts for hospitals to facilitate co-operative working relationships between hospitals and community.

Professional and Community Activities

• Member of the Ethics Committee of Mount Sinai Hospital
• Regularly prepares papers and presents lectures before various groups of health practitioners at conferences sponsored by the Ontario Hospital Association, Ontario Association of CCACs and other private conference organizers.
• Presents lectures to a variety of CCACs, hospitals, and other non-profit health care organizations on risk matters and legal issues.
• Member of the Canadian Bar Association ( Ontario ) Health Law Section and Civil Law Section
• Member of the Advocates Society and the Medico-Legal Society.
• President of the Volunteer Board of the Canadian Mothercraft Society.

Recent Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, Osgoode Professional Development Course, 'Obtaining, Producing and Presenting Electric Evidence', Understanding Types and Sources of Electronic Evidence, with Peter Vakof of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, June 10, 2009
• Speaker, OACCAC Knowledge and Inspiration 2009 Conference, Conducting an Evaluation of Capacity and Preparing Your Case for the Consent and Capacity Board, with Jane Meadus, Staff Lawyer, Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, June 5, 2009
• Speaker, OCCAC Knowledge and Inspiration 2009 Conference, When Can a CCAC Draw the Line? A Review of an HSARB Decision, with Cathy Hecimovich, CEO, Central West Community Care Access Centre, June 5, 2009
• Speaker, Osgoode Professional Development Course for Long-Term Care Homes, Transferring from Hospital to a Long Term Care Facility: Problems and Pitfalls, February 20, 2009
• Speaker, OHA Conference, Risk Management in Obstetrical Care, Moderator of Panel Discussion, Inter-professional Teams focusing on midwives working in a hospital setting with nurses and obstetricians, December 12, 2008
• Speaker, PHIPA Summit 2008, Protecting Privacy While Managing Health Information, Legal Issues Facing CCACs, December 3, 2008
• Faculty, The Osgoode Certificate in Mental Health Law, Overview of Mental Health Law in Ontario, September 26, 2008
• Speaker, OACCAC Knowledge and Inspiration 2008 Conference, Legal Issues Facing CCACs: The Challenge of Consent, Capacity and Substitute Decision Making – MA01; and Managing Quality Care from the Perspective of the Public and the Coroner, June 23 and 24, 2008
• Speaker, Canadian Institute's 8th Annual Conference on Managing Legal Risks and Responsibilities in Mental Health Care: Protecting the Rights of Geriatric Psychiatric Patients: Providing Proper Care, April 10 and 11, 2008
• Speaker, The Scarborough Hospital Social Work Department & Risk Management Navigating Through the Challenges of Substitute Decision Making Conference, The Real World, The Law in Practice, February 29, 2008
• Speaker, Ontario Bar Association 2008 Institute of Continuing Legal Education Health Coroner's Inquests in the Health Care Sector and Beyond Conference, Pre and Post Inquest: Advising Clients Interacting with the Coroner, February 4, 2008
• Speaker, Together We Soar, OACCAC Annual conference, CCACs in the Spotlight: A Review of Legal Issues Facing CCACs, June 8, 2007
• Speaker/Organizer, BLG Inaugural CCAC Event, Seminar Program highlighting many of the legal issues facing CCACs today. Speaker on the issue of CCACs' Role in Long Term Care Placement, May 14, 2007
• Speaker, Canadian Institute Mental Health Care Conference, An update on Effectively Implementing and Managing Community Treatment Orders, April 12, 2007
• Speaker, Whitby Mental Health Centre, Ontario Psycho Geriatric Association, Advocacy in Action: Best Practices in Psychogeriatric Treatment of a Violent Patient in a Long-Term Care Setting: The El Roubi / Lopez Inquest, May 5, 2006
• Speaker, HIROC Risk Management Conference, El Roubi/Lopez Inquest - Lessons Learned, April 24, 2006
• Speaker, Institutional Advocate, Advocacy Centre for Elderly, Best Practices in Psychogeriatric Treatment of a Violent Patient in a Long-Term Care Setting: The El Roubi/Lopez Inquest, April 10, 2006
• Speaker, Canadian Institute, Reducing the Risk of Medical Malpractice, Post Conference Workshop, Developing Your Own Patient Safety/Risk Management/Quality Assurance Compliance Plan, March 29, 2006