Judicial appointments announced also include Robin Lepere, Paula Bateman, Vasundhara Naik
New judicial appointments to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice or its Family Court included Chantal Brochu, Michael Derstine, Andrew Spurgeon, Sunil Mathai, Robin Lepere, Paula Bateman, and Vasundhara Naik in Thunder Bay, Brampton, Brantford, Oshawa, Newmarket, and Ottawa.
“I wish Justices Brochu, Derstine, Spurgeon, Mathai, Lepere, Bateman, and Naik every success as they take on their new roles,” said Arif Virani, Canada’s justice minister and attorney general, in the news release announcing the Ontario appointments last Monday.
Chantal M. Brochu – judge of the Ontario Court of Justice (OCJ) in Thunder Bay – was appointed a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay. She replaced Justice Bonnie Warkentin in Thunder Bay, who resigned effective last Sept. 9.
Michael P.D. Derstine – partner at Derstine Bariteau Criminal Lawyers in Toronto – was named a Superior Court judge in Brampton. He replaced Justice Ivan Bloom in Brampton, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective last Dec. 11.
Andrew J. Spurgeon – counsel at Ross & McBride LLP in Hamilton – was appointed a Superior Court judge in Brantford. He replaced Justice R. Dan Cornell in Sudbury, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Jan. 1.
Sunil S. Mathai – general counsel at the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario in Toronto – was named a Superior Court judge in Oshawa. He replaced Justice Hugh K. O'Connell in Durham, who resigned effective last Sept. 20.
Robin A. Lepere – partner at Petrone & Partners in Thunder Bay – was appointed a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay. She replaced Justice Robbie D. Gordon in Sudbury, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective last June 30.
Paula L. Bateman – partner at KMB Law in Mississauga – was named a judge of the Superior Court’s Family Court in Newmarket. She replaced Justice Richard T. Bennett in Newmarket, who elected to become a supernumerary judge effective Feb. 5.
Vasundhara Naik – founding partner at Robins Naik LLP in Ottawa – was appointed a judge of the Superior Court’s Family Court in Ottawa. She replaced Justice Darlene L. Summers in Ottawa, who resigned effective last Dec. 16.
Justice Brochu completed her LLB in 1999 from Université de Moncton, said the news release from the federal justice department. She was admitted to the Law Society of Ontario in 2001. Appointed to the OCJ in 2017, she worked as a local administrative judge in Thunder Bay starting in 2021.
She presided over numerous family and criminal matters in both English and French. She was a partner at Buset & Partners LLP in Thunder Bay, where she focused on civil litigation and insurance law.
Justice Derstine graduated from the University of Toronto law school in 1992. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1993. He co-founded the firm of Derstine Penman (now Derstine Bariteau) in 1999.
He worked as a criminal trial lawyer for more than three decades. He conducted jury trials in both official languages and over 100 homicide trials. His practice focused on the defence of serious indictable cases.
Justice Spurgeon earned his LLB at Osgoode Hall Law School. He joined the Ontario bar in 1995. He practised civil litigation as an associate then as a partner with Ross & McBride. He has been president of the Hamilton Law Association and a director of the Advocates Society.
He has also been a deputy judge of the Small Claims Court, an adjunct law professor at the University of Western Ontario, a bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and chairman of the board of directors of the Lawyers Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO).
Justice Mathai obtained his LLB from the University of Ottawa. He was admitted to the Ontario bar in 2004. He handled complex civil litigation matters focusing on administrative law and Crown liability.
He conducted criminal appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario and prosecutions before the Superior Court. He was counsel at Falconers LLP and an associate at Blake, Cassels & Graydon.
Justice Lepere received her LLB from the University of Western Ontario in 2005. She was called to the Ontario bar in 2006. Her diverse civil litigation practice focused on estate litigation, construction litigation, and corporate/commercial litigation.
She was president of the Thunder Bay Law Association and a director on the board of the Advocates’ Society. She taught as an instructor in the civil practice course at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law.
Justice Bateman completed her LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1989. She joined the Ontario bar in 1991. She has practised exclusively in the area of family law throughout her career. She focused on high-conflict parenting and complicated property disputes.
She became a partner at Keyser Mason Ball LLP last year. She has been a dispute resolution officer in Brampton, president of the Peel Law Association, and a director of Peel Family Mediation Services.
Justice Naik earned a BA LLB (Hons.) from the National Law School of India University and an LLM in human rights and intellectual property law from Lund University in Sweden in 2003. She was admitted to the bar in New Delhi, India in 1998 and the Ontario bar in 2010.
She practised primarily in family, child protection, and adoption law. She taught trial and family advocacy at the University of Ottawa and sat on the board of the Community Legal Services Ottawa Clinic.
