Janani Shanmuganathan

On the hunt for a new addition to our team!

Come be my very first articling student!

The last few years brought many challenges: learning to practice law w/a child, Owen leaving for the Crown & practicing alone while grappling w/a serious family illness. What these years have shown me is that while I am resilient, I enjoy law more when I am part of a (great) team

As always, love being co-panelists with my law bff. This year’s panel at the CLA Fall conference was on the spicier side: “BDSM & the Criminal Law”. FYI @ClaOntario - @BreanaVandebeek & I are available for future comedy routines.

@SewrattanLaw Thanks for the shout out, but to clarify, I did not assist on the ineffective assistance ground, only the second ground of appeal. As a policy, the probono inmate appeal program does not assist on ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Thanks!

R. v. R.S., 2024 ONCA 462: No precedential value in this case, but shout out to @_JananiS for doing an ineffective assistance appeal as duty counsel. These are the hardest appeals, and she did it for free. coadecisions.ontariocourts.ca/coa/coa/en/ite…

Federal Court finds that the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was unreasonable & ultra vires & that the meaures violate ss. 2(b) & 8 of the Charter & not saved by s. 1. Gosh, a case of a life time for me! Thanks to my co-counsel @sujit_choudhry & our client @CDNConstFound

Thank you to @OwenGoddard and to my colleagues on both sides of the bar, to judges and to court staff for giving me grace and empathy during this first year as I tried to get a handle on how to lawyer and mother in tandem.

And just like that, our baby is 1 today. This first year was hard - the anxiety, uncertainty, sleepless nights & constantly feeling like I was underperforming as a mother & as a lawyer. But watching these two become best friends was without a doubt my favourite part. 1/2

Best place to nap a baby in the city - the quiet halls of Osgoode Hall.

I articled here over a decade ago and they’re still my “phone a friend” when I need advice. What a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best.

Thanks for having me (& Mia)! While it’s uncomfortable to be vulnerable about one’s insecurities, there’s so much “bravado” in this profession that I feel a sense of obligation to be open about the fact that motherhood has only made these feelings worse for me, but that that’s ok

Looking forward to @SABAToronto's Annual Women Lawyers' Symposium this Saturday. Will be on a panel chatting about practicing law while pregnant/with a baby and what "maternity leave" looks like when running your own firm. Register now for what will be a fun in person event.

Spent the last 2 weeks in Costa Rica as our new family of 3. This was the first real time off I’ve taken since giving birth. Despite appearances, balancing work w/a baby has been hard & I’ve struggled a lot, questioning my abilities as a lawyer & as a mom. But it’s been worth it.

@MDRobitaille @Gerald_Chan_law Neither you nor anyone should feel “humiliated” - as we tried to explain in the video, the mere effort to pronounce our names correctly goes a long way. So thank you again for taking the effort that day.

It took about a 100 takes for my co-star @Gerald_Chan_law & I to get through this script because we kept laughing, but the message is worth the cringe I feel seeing myself in this video. Our names are important & we shouldn’t feel embarrassed asking people to pronounce them.

Take your (nursing) baby to court day - Newmarket courthouse

Off to the @ClaOntario fall conference. This time last year, I came home after the conference (& after party) & based on a “feeling” took a pregnancy test & found out I was pregnant. And now we have a baby. It’s crazy how so much can change in just a year ❤️

It’s never easy getting the Crown to concede an appeal, let alone concede that an acquittal is appropriate. Kudos to ⁦@OwenGoddard⁩ for writing a persuasive factum and highlighting the racial undertones in this case. theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

Owen & I argued at the Nfld CA last week on a s650 issue (pre-charge conf & discussion of jury qs in chambers). It’s interesting how well developed the s650 jurisprudence is in Ont vs Nfld where it was portrayed as an argument “unique” to Ont. Curious to see what Nfld will do.

I echo that sentiment today, and even more passionately: please pass Bill C-5 and please pass it fast. 3/3

He told the Senate "That’s why she spoke passionately in favour of Bill C-5 at committee and urged us to pass it fast. She told our committee: I have clients who are hanging on to this bill passing . . . . I have actual clients for whom this bill would change their lives." 2/3

The result in Sharma is disappointing for many of us today but it only makes the passing of Bill C-5 all the more important. I understand that at yesterday's debate during the 3rd reading of Bill C-5 @SenMarcGold recounted a story of a client of mine I had shared w/ committee 1/3