About Gitanjali Lena
Principal Consultant and Lawyer
Gitanjali believes that clients benefit most when their issue is analysed in an all-inclusive manner through the lens of different areas of law. They are well-versed in laws governing federal and provincial not-for-profits, human rights law, contract law, employment law and worker's rights, and they work in the intersections of these areas. Their strength is applying various areas of law and providing legal and non-legal options to marginalized clients with different needs. Gitanjali's legal training and experience, as well as their continuing professional development, mentoring and equity community of practice, allow them to be informed and consistently updated. Gitanjali navigates their clients through legal systems and makes vetted referrals as needed.
-
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.”
— Angela Davis -
"Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks."
— Ruth Bader Ginsburg -
#MeToo
— Tarana Burke
-
Gitanjali is looking at a replica of the Two Row Wampum Belt agreement kept at the Law Society of Ontario (formerly the Law Society of Upper Canada), which licenses all lawyers and paralegals in Ontario. The Wampum Belt is an agreement between the Haudenosaunee and European settlers, bestowing continuing obligations to all settlers in Canada still. While the Two Row Wampum seeks to consolidate a respectful, equitable relationship symbolized by the white and purple rows of beads, monies from sales on land in the Haldimand Tract granted to Six Nations in 1784 were not kept for the benefit of Six Nations but were used to found various provincial institutions including an 1847 transfer of 1,000.00 to the Law Society of Upper Canada. The monies generated by sales of lands legally belonging to the Haudenosaunee would, in today's currency, equal about 11 billion dollars.
"Between the 1830s and Confederation, our money was used to start running the country. There were no financial institutions per se that were creating revenues like Six Nations lands were. We built a lot of the infrastructure within the province of Ontario today, and we've got no returns for it." Philip Monture (Land Claims Researcher Six Nations)
Skeletons in Legal Closet: Activists Charge Law Society with Stolen Six Nations Funds, Now Magazine, September 13, 2007.
For more on this history of Haldimand Tract payments and the lawsuit Six Nations of the Grand River vs. Canada and Ontario launched in 1994 to be heard in Spring 2023, see:
Justin Chandler, January 5, 2021, TVO Today
Cheyenne Bholla, November 9, 2021, The Record
Six Nations Lands and Resources
Philosophy
Gitanjali’s practice approach is anti-racist, healing-centred, compassionate, and supportive of anti-oppressive social movements. They value the quality of their work highly, and they are proud to deliver results. Gitanjali is aware of how legal institutions and superficial EDI gestures perpetuate systemic oppression. They dedicate their practice to exploring opportunities and strategies within these systems and challenging them whenever necessary to co-create a more just and liveable society.
Helping their clients obtain just results while maintaining valued relationships that benefit a collective society is what they love about offering equity and justice services in their unique, non-traditional fashion.
Qualifications
Gitanjali possesses a unique combination of legal knowledge, community-based participatory research skills, social services and legal clinic experience, and equity and justice consulting expertise.
They are focusing their equity and justice focus on not-for-profit organizations and public institutions. Clients they've worked with on equity change include Greenpeace Canada, The Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, Kids Help Phone, Victoria Sexual Assault Centre, the ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency, The United Church of Canada, Centre for Christian Studies, OUTniagara, The Peak Magazine, Pay Your Rent, Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes, SickKids Hospital, and East Toronto Health Partners to name a few.
Major Accomplishments
-
Gitanjali began working in community agencies and public institutions.
-
After completing their law degree at the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto, Gitanjali articled at the criminal defence firm Lockyer Campbell Posner LLP. They were called to the Ontario Bar in 2007 and have since developed a practice as a lawyer and a consultant.
-
Gitanjali completed the Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall Faculty of Law Graduate Studies in the Research Stream. Their research with trans racialized youth participants used law and photography. You can read their thesis here: Understanding Trans Racialized Youth Autonomy in Health Care Decision Making in Ontario.
Notable Experiences
-
Gitanjali had a private practice in criminal, education and human rights law, appearing before Superior Courts, the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Landlord Tenant Board, and the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. They also worked at the South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario and West Scarborough Community Legal Services as Staff Lawyer. In terms of their background in communities, they worked extensively in programs and services that address issues of domestic violence and assault, supporting survivors of violence of all genders, including men in the legal system. They have worked in harm reduction and continue to apply what they have learnt in the community in their practice.
-
They are passionate about knowledge exchange between academia, service providers, and communities. They have been a sessional and guest lecturer at the Women and Gender Studies Institute and the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto, as well as the School of Journalism and School of Social Work at Ryerson University. They were teaching in the role of Administrative Law Review Counsel at the Community and Legal Aid Services Program at Osgoode Hall Law School. Most recently, They were the Senior Legal Researcher at Egale Canada, where they curated, designed, produced, and delivered the Access to Justice webinar series accredited as CPD by the LSO.
Professional Development
Gitanjali keeps their skills and knowledge of evolving legal issues up to date by regularly taking Continuing Professional Development courses offered by the Law Society of Ontario and the Ontario Bar Association on Human Rights law, employment law, workplace health and safety law, and not-for-profit regulation. Between 2015 to 2022, they also completed the following training on workplace investigations and assessments with Rubin Thomlinson LLP: Conducting Sexual Violence and Harassment Workplace Investigations, Investigating Complex Cases, and Advanced Challenges in Report Writing. They regularly watch webinars, read books on equity and organizational change by EDI practitioners, and study governance with the Ontario Nonprofit Network.
Volunteer Work
Gitanjali volunteers as a Legal Observer for the Movement Defence Committee providing legal support to progressive social justice movements. Gitanjali is an active member of queer and trans communities, regularly sharing legal information and resources with artists activists and community members.
Continuing Professional Development
-
Mental Health Summit for Legal Professionals, Law Society of Ontario
The Employment Standards Act—A Primer
Annotated Employment Agreement Clauses 2023
-
Charity and Not-for-Profit Law Seminar
Conducting Workplace Assessments
Back to Basics: Incorporating a For-Profit Business (Share Structures and More)
Access to Justice Week: AI, Human Rights and Access to Justice
Access to Justice Week: People-Centred Data Collection
Access to Justice Week: Access to Justice in Arab Communities in Ontario
Back to Basics: What Business Lawyers Need to Know about Non-Profits
-
A Strategy Toolkit for BIPOC Inclusion
Developments in Health and Safety Law
Understanding the New Provisions of the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) Part 2
-
Black Women in the Justice System
Workers' Rights During COVID-19
Human Rights Summit