Roles: Lawyers /

416.365.1603
mpolley@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Mark is the Managing Partner of Polley Faith. He acts for corporations, other organizations and individuals engaged in complex and high-stakes litigation, arbitrations and appeals. He has experience dealing with a wide range of litigation including commercial, proxy battles, investigations, special committee investigations and corporate governance, professional liability, white collar crime, libel, insolvency, competition, administration and regulatory, class actions, securities, and public inquiries.

He has represented clients based in Canada and internationally, as well as in cross-border litigation, across many different industry sectors including accounting, automotive, cannabis, chemical manufacturing, construction, finance, health, entertainment, energy, hospitality, insurance, professional sports, transportation, and universities, colleges & schools.

Mark has received numerous recognitions over his career including being named Litigation Star by Benchmark Canada and being listed in Best Lawyers in Canada and Chambers Global Canada. Mark teaches as a guest instructor at the Osgoode Hall Intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop, and is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Advocates’ Society, and the Toronto Lawyers’ Association. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, the Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, and a member of the Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute. He is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel and a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

416.365.1602
afaith@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Andrew is regarded as one of the leading trial lawyers in Canada. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, rated by Martindale-Hubbell as AV Preeminent in litigation, commercial law and regulatory law, and recognized as a top commercial litigator by Chambers Canada, Lexis Nexis, Best Lawyers, and Benchmark Litigation. Andrew has extensive trial and appellate experience before all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

Andrew is regularly chosen by corporations, institutions and individuals to assist in complex commercial, regulatory, insolvency and white-collar criminal litigation and appeals.

In addition to his commercial litigation practice, Andrew has particular experience both prosecuting and defending allegations of civil, regulatory and criminal wrongdoing. He has acted as external prosecutor to the Ontario Securities Commission, Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Law Society of Ontario, Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, and Professional Engineers of Ontario, is general counsel to a national police service, and has been appointed by the Superior Court as Independent Supervising Solicitor in Anton Piller (“civil search warrant”) matters. He has also defended corporations, employees, and individuals in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act investigations, federal regulatory investigations, Securities Act prosecutions, white-collar civil and criminal litigation, and corporate internal investigations.

Andrew began his career in the International Arbitration and Litigation group of Shearman & Sterling in London, England and later joined the litigation group at McCarthy Tétrault in Toronto. In 2006 he became an Assistant Crown Attorney, conducting hundreds of jury and non-jury trials and hearings, including white collar, cyber-crime, firearms, and murder cases. In 2010, Andrew was awarded the Excelsior Award for excellence by the Ministry of the Attorney General.
Andrew received his BCom from McGill University and his LLB from UBC. In 2001, he was designated a Wesbrook Scholar, one of the University’s highest distinctions. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2003. Following law school, Andrew served as clerk to the Hon. Justice Robert Décary of the Federal Court of Appeal.

In 2019, Andrew was elected to a four-year term as a Director of the Advocates’ Society. He is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Litigation Counsel of America, and the International Association of Defense Counsel, and a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Toronto Lawyers’ Association, and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.

416.365.0404
jhaylock@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Jeffrey is a partner at Polley Faith, practising corporate/commercial, civil and regulatory litigation. He regularly acts corporations and individuals in complex, high-stakes commercial disputes and internal investigations. He has acted in matters before all levels of court in Ontario, and before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Jeffrey holds a BA (Hons) from Trinity College, University of Toronto; an MPhil in linguistics from Queens’ College, University of Cambridge; an LLB from Dalhousie Law School; and an LLM, also from Queens’ College, University of Cambridge. While at law school he held the Borden Ladner Gervais research fellowship, served as a Co-Editor- in-Chief of the Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies, represented Dalhousie at the Gale Cup national criminal moot and won several awards. He has also published articles in the fields of legal history, private international law and administrative law.

After finishing his legal education Jeffrey served as clerk to the Hon. Justice Eleanor Dawson of the Federal Court of Appeal. He subsequently served as clerk to the Hon. Justice Thomas Cromwell of the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Jeffrey was called to the Ontario bar in 2012. He is a member of the Advocates’ Society, the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Toronto Lawyers’ Association and the Ontario Bar Association. Jeffrey teaches in Osgoode Hall Law School’s international LLM program.

416.306.6451 
bkirkham@polleyfaith.com 
Download VCF

Brookelyn is a litigator who acts for institutional clients and individuals in professional liability, corporate-commercial, and civil disputes. She has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario, as well as in arbitrations and administrative tribunal proceedings. 

Brookelyn regularly works on health litigation, representing healthcare professionals and organizations in civil, regulatory, and criminal matters. She was counsel to a party that appeared before the Long-Term Care Covid-19 Commission. 

Beyond health law, Brookelyn acts in many other areas of litigation including complex contract interpretation, shareholder disputes, public inquiries, criminal investigations, class actions, academic and professional discipline, and regulatory prosecutions. She also has extensive experience managing legal risk on behalf of clients facing public investigations and reputational crises. 

Before joining the firm, Brookelyn served as a judicial law clerk at the Federal Court of Appeal for the Honourable Justice David G. Near, where she focused on administrative and regulatory law, as well as judicial and appellate review. Brookelyn summered and articled at the Crown Law Office-Civil of the Ministry of the Attorney General, working closely on civil, commercial, and public law litigation matters.

416.306.8077
eyoung@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Emily has a broad litigation practice that includes civil, commercial, regulatory, and public and constitutional matters. She has appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and at the Supreme Court of Canada. She served as Commission Counsel for the Ottawa Light Rail Transit Public Inquiry in 2022.

Before joining Polley Faith as an associate, Emily summered at the firm and completed her articles at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, clerking for the Honourable J. Michal Fairburn, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario; the Honourable Kathryn Feldman; and the Honourable Benjamin Zarnett. Emily then served as a law clerk to the Honourable Andromache Karakatsanis of the Supreme Court of Canada. 

Emily received her Juris Doctor (Honours) from the University of Toronto, earning distinction standing in each of her three years. Emily also holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University, where she graduated with the gold medal in Philosophy.

During law school, Emily was a student caseworker at Advocates for Injured Workers, a legal researcher at the Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario, and a senior editor for the Journal of Law and Equality. Emily also mooted in the Kawaskimhon National Aboriginal Moot and the National Labour Arbitration Competition, volunteered with Pro Bono Students Canada, and co-chaired the Feminist Law Students’ Association. In her final year of law school, Emily spent a semester studying at the University of Amsterdam.

Prior to law school, Emily worked as a student guide at the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France, leading historical tours on the Canadian D-Day landing site for visitors from around the world. She is fluent in French.

Emily was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2019.

416.306.8080
rlapensee@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Ryan has broad experience dealing with complex securities and commercial disputes, such as regulatory investigations and prosecutions, proxy battles, shareholder disputes, special investigations, and white-collar crime.  Prior to joining Polley Faith, Ryan was a litigator at the Enforcement Branch of the Ontario Securities Commission, where he investigated and prosecuted securities offences such as fraud, insider trading, market manipulation, misleading disclosure, and compliance failures. 

Ryan completed the combined Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Engineering Science program at Western University, where he specialized in Software Engineering. During law school, Ryan volunteered as a caseworker at Western Law’s legal clinic, where he focused on criminal defence and civil disputes. 

Ryan was called to the Ontario Bar in 2019.

416.365.3113
jwang@polleyfaith.com
Download VCF

Jeffrey is an associate at Polley Faith and previously articled and summered with the firm. He obtained his JD from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. While at law school, Jeffrey volunteered with the TransID Clinic, a free legal clinic helping transgender and non-binary clients change their government identifications. He also was a mooter in the Callaghan Memorial Moot and served as a student coach. Jeffrey has an avid interest in constitutional law. In addition to working as a research assistant on constitutional matters, he assisted with constitutional litigation at the Supreme Court of Canada and led a student working group during his time at the David Asper Center for Constitutional Rights. Jeffrey is also a fan of theatre, having acted in Law Follies in all three years of law school.

Prior to law school, Jeffrey obtained his Honours Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Criminology and Linguistics with a minor in Psychology. He graduated with The Prince of Wales Silver Medal. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 2022.