Languages: English and French
Law Society of Ontario — 2006
New York Bar— 2009
Quebec Bar — 2010
Audrey acts in complex trials and appeals, in all areas of public, civil and commercial law. In 2020, she was listed as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer and was named Woman of the Year at the Canadian Law Awards. She has appeared numerous times before the Supreme Court of Canada including as amicus curiae in Vavilov, Bell and NFL, a landmark set of three administrative law appeals that reshaped the standard of review in Canadian administrative law. In 2019, Audrey successfully represented Instrubel, N.V. before the Supreme Court of Canada in a major appeal in private international law.
Audrey is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is recognized as a top litigator in every major industry publication including Chambers, Lexpert, Benchmark (Top 50 Women in Litigation), Best Lawyers and Who’s Who Legal. A former law clerk to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, PC, Audrey is also past president of the Canadian Bar Association, Québec Division and has taught civil procedure at the Faculties of Law of the University of Montreal and McGill. Audrey is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs across Canada. In 2021, she received the CBA SOGIC Ally Award for her work as lead counsel in public interest litigation advancing equality for LGBTQ2+ people in Canada.
Boily v. Canada: Boily in the first ever Charter damages award against the federal government for extraditing an individual who faced a substantial risk of torture, contrary to s. 7 of the Canadian Charter.
Vavilov, Bell, NFL: Amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court of Canada to assist the Court in three appeals that reshaped the standard of review in Canadian administrative law.
Ross, Roy & Satalic v. Her Majesty the Queen: Lead Quebec counsel in a national class action against the Government of Canada for the targeting, investigation and discharge of thousands of LGBT members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the federal public service (the LGBT Purge). The parties reached a historic settlement worth $145M, the largest settlement for systemic discrimination against the LGBT community in the world.
Center for Gender Advocacy & al v. Attorney General of Quebec: The Center for Gender Advocacy and named plaintiffs in a case challenging the constitutionality of provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec governing gender identification in official documents.
Kazemi Estate v. Islamic Republic of Iran: Estate and son of the late photo-journalist Zahra Kazemi, at all levels of Court including the Supreme Court of Canada, challenging the constitutionality of Canada’s State Immunity Act in so far as it bars Civil redress for torture.
Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation vs. Hydro Québec: Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation, at all levels of Court including the Supreme Court of Canada, in a dispute regarding the duties of good faith and cooperation arising out of its long-term contract with Hydro-Québec.
Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd. v. United Republic of Tanzania: Stirling Civil Engineering Ltd. in an action seeking recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards worth over $45M against the United Republic of Tanzania.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. et al v. Ben Aïssa et al: a Swiss law firm, sued by SNC in Canada, in connection with fraud and bribery committed by SNC’s officers in Libya.
R. v. Bird: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, as intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada, in a case about the applicability of the doctrine of collateral attack when Charter rights are at issue.
Lizotte v. Aviva & al: The Advocates’ Society, as intervener before the Supreme Court of Canada, in a case dealing with the extent to which litigation privilege can be abrogated by broad statutory investigative powers.
Villeneuve v. Ville de Montréal: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, as intervener in Superior Court, in a case challenging the constitutionality of Montreal City By-Law P-6 dealing with protests.
LL.B., McGill University, 2005
B.C.L., McGill University, 2005
B.A. (Hons) in Political Science and French (Gold Medalist), Western University, 2001
Law Clerk to the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C., Chief Justice of Canada, at the Supreme Court of Canada, 2005-2006
2021 Canadian Bar Association SOGIC Ally Award for excellence within the Canadian legal profession in advancing the cause of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and two-spirit (LGBTQ2+) people
Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada 2020 by Canadian Lawyer Magazine
2020 Co-gold winner of the Gowling WLG Award for Woman of the Year at the Canadian Law Awards
Phénicia Award 2018 (with Martine Roy), from the Quebec LGBT Chamber of Commerce, in recognition of the Ross, Roy, Satalic class action against the Government of Canada for the purge of LGBT members from the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and Federal Public Service
2024 Chambers and Partners: Administrative and Public Law; Commercial Law
2024 Best Lawyers in Canada: Lawyer of the Year (Montreal) Administrative and Public Law
2024 Best Lawyers in Canada: Appellate Practice, and Corporate and Commercial Litigation
2023 Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
2023 LEXPERT: Most Frequently Recommended: Litigation – Regulatory & Public Law
2023 Chambers and Partners: Administrative and Public Law; Commercial Law
2023 Best Lawyers in Canada: Administrative and Public Law, Appellate Practice, Corporate and Commercial Litigation
2023 Benchmark Litigation Top 100 Women in Litigation and Litigation Star
2022 Benchmark Litigation Top 50 Women in Litigation and Litigation Star
2022 LEXPERT: Consistently Recommended: Litigation – Regulatory & Public Law
2022 Chambers and Partners: Administrative and Public Law
2022 Best Lawyers in Canada: Lawyer of the Year in Administrative and Public Law
2022 Best Lawyers in Canada: Corporate and Commercial Litigation
2021 Benchmark Litigation: Top 50 Women in Litigation in Canada and Litigation Star
2021 LEXPERT: Consistently Recommended: Litigation – Regulatory & Public Law
2021 Chambers and Partners: Administrative and Public Law
2021 Best Lawyers in Canada: Administrative and Public Law
2020 Benchmark Litigation: Top 50 Women in Litigation, Litigation Star and 40 & Under Hot List
2020 LEXPERT: Consistently Recommended: Litigation – Regulatory & Public Law
2020 Chambers and Partners: Administrative and Public Law
Refer to Her (Class Actions and Public Law)
2020 Best Lawyers in Canada: Administrative and Public Law
2019 LEXPERT: Consistently recommended: Litigation – Public Law
Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders – Partners, 2018 and 2019
Benchmark “40 & Under Hot List” 2017, 2018 and “2019 Future Star”
2017 LEXPERT Rising Star: Leading Canadian Lawyers Under 40
2017 LEXPERT Zenith Award Celebrating Women in Law
Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
Canadian Bar Association
The Advocates’ Society
Canadian Bar Association (National), Board Member (2022 – present)
Canadian Bar Association, National Equality Sub-Committee, President (2022 – present)
Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Division, Equality Committee, President (2019 – 2021)
Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Division, President (2018-2019), Vice-President (2017-2018)
Canadian Bar Association, National Administrative Law Section, Chair (2017-2018), Vice-Chair (2016-2017), Treasurer (2015-2016), Secretary (2014-2015)
Canadian Bar Association, Quebec Administrative Law Section, Chair (2011-2014)
Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Member of the Board of Directors and Pro Bono counsel (since 2014)
Supreme Court of Canada Advocacy Institute, Advisor (2013 – present) and Sessions Coordinator (2016-2019)
Tyndale Community Center, Member of the Board of Directors and Legal Clinic volunteer (2013-2017)
Sessional Lecturer, Judicial Institutions and Civil Procedure, McGill University (2017-2018)
Sessional Lecturer, Common Law Civil Procedure, University of Montreal (2013, 2014, 2015)
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, STAR: A Systematic Approach to Mediation Strategies (Pepperdine School of Law, June 2016)
Audrey Boctor and Johanna Mortreux, “Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Quebec: Family Law Considerations”, in Safa Ben Saad, David Koussens and Benjamin Prud’homme eds., La religion en droit de la famille, (Montréal, Éditions Thémis, 2020), 197-221
“The Abolition of the Death Penalty in Rwanda”, Human Rights Review, Vol. 10 No.1, March 2009 (Springer Netherlands) 99-118, chosen in 2013 to be part of the Ashgate International Library on Capital Punishment, Policy and Governance, Volume III (published November 2013)
Diversity on the Bench (Moderator), Canadian Bar Association Equality Committee (December 6, 2022 – virtual)
Exclusion and Limitation of Liability Clauses, OsgoodePD’s National Annual Symposium on Canadian Contract Law: Essential Updates and Practical Analysis (December 1, 2022 – Toronto)
Fireside Chat with the Honourable Justice Mahmud Jamal, CBA National Administrative Law & Labour and Employment Law Conference (November 5, 2022 – Ottawa)
Think Like an Appellate Lawyer: Strategic Considerations on Appeal, The Advocates Society (October 19, 2022 – Toronto)
Class Actions (2022): The Great Debate, OsgoodePD’s National Class Actions Symposium (April 29, 2022: virtual)
Litigating and Defending Systemic Discrimination Cases, Canadian Bar Association Constitutional Law and Human Rights Section (April 19, 2022: virtual)
(Un)reasonable Disagreement: Administrative Law Before the SCC, Agree to Disagree: Dissent in Canada’s Appeal Courts (Hosted by Torys LLP and Lerners LLP) (October 19, 2021: virtual)
Remote Appellate Advocacy: Best Practices for Virtual Appearances : Canadian Bar Association Skilled Lawyer Series (April 20, 2021)
La mention du sexe à l’État civil: révolution?: Salon VISEZ DROIT 2021 du Barreau de Montréal (March 29, 2021)
Keynote Address: University of Toronto Women’s Association Law Government & Public Policy Forum (March 8, 2021)
The Vavilov Impact: One Year Later : Canadian Bar Association (February 24, 2021)
The Year in Review: Key Cases from the Past Year : The Advocates’ Society Spring Symposium (May 7, 2020)
Making Your Mark: How to Build Your Reputation: The Advocates’ Society Symposium for Women in Litigation, November 14, 2019 (Montréal)
Supreme Court’s View on Standard of Review: CBA National Administrative Law, Labour and Employment Law Conference, November 8, 2019 (Ottawa)
The Rights of Trans, Non-binary and Intersex People in Quebec: CBA-Québec and SOQUIJ: Emerging Legal Issues Conference, October 31, 2019 (Montréal)
Contractual Disputes and Judicial Review: Canadian Institute Advanced Administrative Law and Practice, October 30, 2019 (Ottawa)
Administrative Law Update Plenary Session, Canadian Council of Administrative Tribunals 35th Annual Symposium, May 27, 2019 (Montréal)
Who’s Sorry Now? The Lavender Scare and its Aftermath: A Case Study of the LGBT Purge Canadian Class Action, American Bar Association Section of International Law Annual Conference, April 12, 2019 (Washington, D.C.)
The 6-Minute Administrative Lawyer, Law Society of Ontario, March 5, 2019 (Toronto)
Colloque sur la responsabilité du juriste, Quebec Court of Appeal, Le mandat de l’avocat, October 12, 2018 (Montréal)
Co-Chair, The Advocates’ Society Symposium for Women in Litigation, May 31, 2018 (Montreal)
Rights and Status of Transgender, Intersex and Non-binary Individuals in Quebec, Annual Conference of Young Bar of Montreal, May 10, 2018 (Montréal)
Co-Chair, CBA National Administrative, Labour and Employment Law Conference, November 17-18, 2017 (Ottawa)
Standard of Review: Where Are We Now?, Canadian Bar Association National Administrative Law and Nova Scotia Branch Spring Event, June 16, 2017 (Halifax)
Lightning Round: Update on Privilege, The Advocates’ Society Fall Convention, November 11, 2016 (Sonoma)
L’indépendance des tribunaux administratifs : Commentaire sur l’arrêt Association des juges administratifs de la Commission des lésions professionnelles c. Québec (Procureur général), 2013 QCCA 1690, Déjeuner causerie Quelques aspects du statut juridique des juges et des décideurs administratifs, Association du Barreau canadien – Division Québec, 18 février 2014 (Montréal)
Courting Independence : View from Quebec, Courting Independence : Tribunal Governance, Independence and Accountability in Canada, Association du Barreau ontarien, 31 mai 2013 (Toronto)
Civil Liability in Canada and Quebec for War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and Torture : An Overview, Centre canadien pour la justice internationale, conférence annuelle, 30 septembre 2011 (Montréal)
Audrey Boctor inducted as Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (2023-09-27)
Audrey Boctor Named in Benchmark Litigation’s Top 100 Women in Litigation (2023-08-03)
Audrey Boctor Voted Woman of the Year at the Canadian Law Awards (2020-10-08)
Two IMK lawyers amongst the Top 50 Women in Litigation (2020-08-17)
Audrey Boctor nominated for Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers (2020-05-12)
Audrey Boctor Selected as Finalist for the Woman of the Year Award at the Canadian Law Awards 2020 (2020-03-31)
This is Major: Canadian Companies Can Be Sued in Canada for Breaches of Customary International Law that Occur Abroad (2020-03-27)
Audrey Boctor in Advocacy Matters (2020-03-09)
CBA-Québec Presidential Dinner 2019 (2019-06-07)
Audrey Boctor nominated for Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers (2019-04-26)
Are Clients’ Names Privileged? It Depends (2018-10-25)
Audrey Boctor to Serve as President of CBA-Quebec for 2018-2019 (2018-09-04)
Overturning Precedent is (Still) Hard to Do (2018-01-19)
Audrey Boctor wins a 2017 LEXPERT Rising Star Award (2017-11-17)
Audrey Boctor named on Benchmark’s “2017 Under 40 Hotlist” (2017-08-03)
Audrey Boctor wins a 2017 LEXPERT ZENITH AWARD: Celebrating Women in Law (2017-07-10)
Cost Awards against Lawyers: What Does Jordan Have to Do with It? (2017-05-26)
The Superior Court Clarifies the Scope of Professional Fee-sharing (2017-01-13)
Court of Appeal Confirms Constitutional Invalidity of Sections of the Pay Equity Act (2016-11-11)
Court of Appeal (reluctantly) clarifies starting point for time limit in appeal (2016-07-15)
Lawyers beware: not following the rules may cost you (2016-03-18)
New Regulations in Court of Appeal – Beware of the 10-page limit! (2016-01-19)
