Sarah Hahn
Biography
Sarah’s practice is focused on municipal litigation including land-use planning, development and expropriation law. She regularly appears before the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal "LPAT" (formerly the Ontario Municipal Board or OMB), administrative tribunals, and all levels of court in Ontario acting for municipalities, private landowners and resident groups. Some of the specific issues that Sarah deals with include: appeals to the LPAT and TLAB; official plan and zoning by-law amendments; minor variance and consent applications; site plan approvals and agreements; expropriation representation; development charges, conflict of interest and municipal election matters; prosecuting and defending individuals in provincial offences matters; drafting municipal bylaws and resolutions, as well as freedom of information and privacy matters.
Matthew C.M. Lakatos-Hayward
Biography
Matthew is an associate in the Administrative Law Group at Goodmans. He is developing his practice in the area of land use planning and municipal law, with a particular emphasis on environmental law and alternative dispute resolution. Matthew acts for real estate developers, corporations, and landowners in connection with business, municipal, environmental, and planning disputes, including contaminated land lawsuits, impact assessment and regulatory prosecutions. He also advises clients on planning and environmental matters, including compliance, remediation, and natural heritage. Matthew has appeared before the Federal Court of Canada and has experience in multi-party arbitrations and mediations. Matthew obtained his J.D. from the University of Ottawa where he was named to the Dean’s List and graduated cum laude. While at law school, Matthew competed in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, where his team received international recognition and was the highest ranking Canadian team. He was also the President of the Environmental Law Student’s Association and organized a national conference on environmental law.
Katryna Vergis-Mayo
Biography
Katryna Vergis-Mayo (she/her/hers) is an associate in the Municipal, Planning & Environmental Group at Cassels. Katy’s practice focuses primarily on municipal and planning law, in addition to expropriation matters. Katy gained valuable insight into the complex issues of municipal and planning law during her time working at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. She is a member of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute and the Canadian Institute of Planners. While completing her law degree at the University of Windsor, Katy served as the president of the Windsor Municipal and Planning Law Association, which held numerous events related to prevalent issues in the field. Katy was also the recipient of several municipal/land use planning awards while at Windsor Law including the Max N. Mousseau, Q.C., Memorial Award in Municipal Law, the R. Lawrence DeShield Memorial Award in Municipal Law Studies, the Kellerman Family Bursaries, and the Morris D. Baker Scholarship in Honour of Armando DeLuca. Prior to law school, Katy graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor’s in Urban and Regional Planning and subsequently went on to complete a Master of Spatial Analysis, also at Ryerson. She is currently in the process of becoming a Registered Professional Planner. Before joining Cassels, Katy was an associate in the Toronto office of an international law firm.
Eric Michael Davis
Biography
Eric’s practice focuses exclusively on Municipal & Planning Law. He acts for homeowners, businesses, developers and other private sector clients. He also represents municipalities and other public bodies across Ontario, including school boards. Eric regularly assists clients with planning- and zoning-related matters, including re-zonings, plans of subdivision, site plans, minor variances, and severances, as well as Ontario Land Tribunal Appeals. He also regularly handles municipal conflicts of interest, prosecutions, by-law drafting, municipal tax sales, heritage matters, public procurement, and municipal elections. He focuses on matters related to municipal governments. Eric regularly appears before local boards, Municipal Heritage Committees, Committees of Adjustment, the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal and the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Darrell B Mast, LL.B.
Biography
Darrell is Municipal Solicitor and Director of Legal Services for the County of Northumberland, assisting County Council and departments with a variety of issues including land development, planning policy, by-laws, environmental issues, brownfield development, and property assessment matters. Darrell has appeared as counsel before the Superior Court of Justice as well as frequently representing clients before administrative tribunals including the Ontario Land Tribunal (formerly the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal and the Ontario Municipal Board), the Assessment Review Board (ARB), Conservation Review Board (CRB), and the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). Darrell's broad experience comes from working as in-house counsel for two large Southern Ontario municipalities as well as private practice as an associate with firms serving numerous municipalities and other clients across Ontario. He has advised municipal clients extensively in the areas of development and policy planning, expropriations, real property matters, inspections and orders under the Building Code Act and zoning by-laws. He has also provided opinions and advice on a wide range of issues related to municipal liability, governance and procedures including council procedures and operating procedures related to pandemic response and recovery. Originally from the Town of Carleton Place, Darrell received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science and Mass Communication from Carleton University in Ottawa in 2001, and worked as a legislative assistant and policy advisor at the Senate of Canada for several years before obtaining his LL.B. From the University of Ottawa. Darrell completed his articles and worked as an associate with an Ottawa firm specializing in municipal law and land development. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2011 and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario. Darrell currently serves as the Public Affairs Liaison for the Ontario Bar Association's Municipal Law Section Executive.
Lee English
Biography
Land use planning and expropriation lawyer.
David J. Potts
Biography
David J. Potts is Peterborough's City Solicitor and Commissioner, Legislative Services. Since 1992, David has served a broad range of clients including municipal and financial institutions. David joined Oshawa's legal department in 1999 and was appointed City Solicitor in 2001 where he served until being appointed Peterborough's City Solicitor in June, 2018. David has practised in all areas of municipal and planning law, has appeared before various tribunals and all levels of Court in Ontario and has chaired and presented at continuing legal education programs on a variety of topics. David has contributed to others' work on municipal issues including The Law Commission of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. David is a member of the Peterborough Law Association (Treasurer), Municipal Law Departments Association of Ontario (past Vice-Chair), the Ontario Bar Association (current member and past Chair, Municipal Law Section Executive) and the Canadian Bar Association (past member of the Municipal Law Section Executive). David is a Certified Specialist: Municipal Law (Local Government).
Carina Reider
Biography
Carina Reider works in-house as the Assistant Town Solicitor (Litigation & Risk Management) for the Town of Innisfil. Carina oversees the Town’s litigation matters, prosecutions and AMPs. Prior to joining the Town in 2023, Carina was as associate at Jillian M. Siskind & Associates, where she litigated on behalf of regulators and conducted prosecutions, Carina also oversaw the establishment of ODACC, the first Authorized Nominating Authority in Canada. Carina graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2016. She articled in-house at Tarion Warranty corporation and was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2017. Carina was born in Argentina and immigrated to Toronto at the age of twelve. Carina enjoys giving back to the legal community by mentoring new lawyers. She volunteers as a Peer Support Worker with the Member Assistance Program, as a Coach with the Coach and Advisor Network, and with the MLDAO’s New to Municipal Law Group. She is a mother of two young kids and an avid pickleball player.
