Judicial appointments announced: Steve Coroza, Leonard Ricchetti, Melanie Kraft, Giulia Gambacorta

Steve Coroza and Leonard Ricchetti have been with the Ontario judiciary for over a decade

Judicial appointments announced: Steve Coroza, Leonard Ricchetti, Melanie Kraft, Giulia Gambacorta
David Lametti

David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, has announced four new appointments in Ontario courts.

Steve Coroza has been appointed a justice of appeal of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, replacing Justice Kathryn Feldman, who elected to become a supernumerary judge, effective Jan. 1.

Called to the bar in 1997, Coroza holds law degrees from the University of Windsor (LLB) and from Osgoode Hall Law School (LLM). He was previously staff duty counsel for Ontario Legal Aid in Toronto and senior counsel with the Department of Justice and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. He was then appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines in 2009 and to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in Brampton in 2013. He also has teaching experience, having taught at Osgoode Hall Law School and at the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Leonard Ricchetti was appointed regional senior judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario for the Central West Region, replacing Brampton Justice Peter Daley, who elected to become a supernumerary judge, effective Jan. 31.

Admitted to the bar in 1981, Ricchetti graduated from the law school at the University of Western Ontario. He was previously an associate, then a partner at McMillan Binch Mendelsohn, focusing his practice on the fields of municipal law, environmental law, constitutional law and commercial law. In 2008, he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario.

Melanie Kraft has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario replacing Justice Julie Thorburn (Toronto), who was elevated to the Court of Appeal, effective Sept. 1, 2019.

Called to the bar in 1996, Kraft is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School. She completed her articles then later became a partner at Epstein Cole LLP in Toronto, where she centred her practice on family law. She was formerly duty counsel at the Ontario Court of Justice and dispute resolution officer and advice settlement counsel at the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario. She is an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she teaches in the area of family law.

Giulia Gambacorta has been appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, replacing Justice Theresa Maddalena (Welland), who was appointed to the Family Court Branch on Apr. 4.

Admitted to the bar in 2002, she obtained her law degree from the University of Windsor. She was an assistant Crown attorney with the Ministry of the Attorney General before opting to start her own practice. Most recently she was defence counsel and legal agent for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. She has teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and has been involved in many community organizations, including the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton and the Council of Catholic Service Organizations.

(Photo by Sebastiaan ter Burg, Creative Commons license.)

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