Jessica Szabo
Education
2018 - Called to Ontario Bar, Law Society of Ontario
2016- Juris Doctor, Bond University
2011 - Masters of Science in Forensic Mental Health, King’s College of London
2007 - Bachelor of Science, University of British Columbia
Experience
2023-Present - Lawyer and Founder, McIntyre Szabo PC
2021-2023 - Legal Counsel, Ontario Health
2018-2021 - Associate Lawyer, Borden Ladner Gervais
2017-2018 - Legal Counsel, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
2016-2017 - Legal Consultant, International Criminal Court (The Hague, Netherlands )
Recognitions
2023-2024 - Future Litigation Star, Benchmark Canada
Experience
Legal Roles
Prior to joining forces with John, Jessica (she/her) worked at Legal Counsel at Ontario Health, a Crown Agency of the Government of Ontario. She was exposed to and provided advice on a wide array of legal and risk issues including corporate, digital, privacy, clinical, litigation and mental health issues. This in-house corporate work was a natural complement to her previous role as an associate in the Health Law Group (Specialized Disputes) at Borden Ladner Gervais and Legal Counsel at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Jessica also has experience in human rights and international criminal law, after working as a Legal Consultant on the successful defence team of Mr. Jean-Pierre Bemba, at the International Criminal Court.
Practice Areas
Jessica represents and advises clients in the health care sector, including health care organizations (big, small, acute, sub-acute, community) and individual practitioners. She is especially passionate about mental health law, human rights applications and providing pro-active risk management advice to health care organizations. Jessica is comfortable providing day-to-day corporate, research and privacy advice to clients, including reviewing data sharing, service and payment agreements and drafting policies, while also having experience in medical staff credentialing and civil litigation files (including sexual assault and medical malpractice).
Courts & Tribunals
Jessica has regularly appeared before the Consent and Capacity Board and the Ontario Review Board for civil and forensic mental health hearings respectively. She has also appeared before the Landlord Tenant Tribunal and the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. In civil litigation and appellate matters, Jessica has appeared before the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal of Ontario.
Health Industry
Prior to studying law, Jessica did policy work and worked with the Home Care teams at Humber River Hospital and North York General Hospital while working at the Central Community Care Access Centre. While obtaining her Masters in Forensic Mental Health, Jessica worked with a multidisciplinary team to support female offenders detained on secure forensic unit in England. She later worked managing a number of community and acute care projects that used data and patient centred outcomes to allocate services more effectively to those with mental health needs.
External Activities
Jessica enjoys being on the faculty of the Osgoode Professional Development courses in Health Law and Mental Health Law. In recent years, she has served as a team mentor and judge for the “Undergraduate Mock Trial” program (University of Waterloo) and has been a member of the executive committee of the Ontario Bar Association Health Law Group.
Outside the Law
On most Monday nights, you can find Jessica bowling with her 93 year old grandmother (the captain of their team). Jessica likes to keep active by walking her bear dog, skiing and doing yoga to heal some pesky sports injuries. She can often be found roadtripping on the weekends to visit her niece and nephew or heading to the cottage.
Representative Cases
OHIP v. K.S. (2024, Divisional Court) - successfully represented KS, who is transgender and non-binary, in challenging OHIP’s decision to deny funding for medically necessary gender affirming surgery
Skeete (Re) (2024, Court of Appeal) - successfully represented a Hospital in an appeal of the decision of the Ontario Review Board regarding a Board ordered hospital transfer
Lalani v. Lykos (2023, HPARB) - successfully defended a dentist in an HPARB appeal of an RCDSO ICRC decision on a regulatory complaint
M.F. v. Milovic (2023, Court of Appeal) - successfully represented physician on a CCB appeal regarding treatment incapacity
M.L. v. Meng (2023, Superior Court) - successfully argued that a patient’s professed religious beliefs and thought processes were a manifestation of his mental condition and that, given the record, the Board was not required to engage in a Charter values analysis in its reasons confirming the psychiatrist’s finding of incapacity.
L.L. v. Rohani (2023, Superior Court) - successfully represented a physician on a Consent and Capacity Board appeal regarding procedural fairness, reasonable apprehension of bias and incapacity
Nookiguak (Re) (2022, Nunavut Review Board) – successfully represented a hospital in a complex annual forensic hearing, part of which was to address the issue of whether the Nunavut Review Board has the jurisdiction to order an accused to be transferred to this hospital, absent its agreement. (unreported)
R v Grant (2021, Superior Court) - represented a psychiatric facility in the first Criminal Trial pursuant to section 672.84 in Ontario and second in Canada regarding a review of the “High Risk Accused Designation”. (unreported)
Landrus (Re) (2021, Court of Appeal) – successfully defended the psychiatric facility’s decision to restrict the liberty of an accused based on increasing instances of verbal aggression and hostility towards co-patients and staff.
Dr. Tenn-Lyn v. Medical Advisory Committee of Mackenzie Health (2019 and 2021, Hospital Board of Directors)- successfully defended the Hospital’s decisions to not renew the physician’s privileges (2016/2017-2017/2018), to revoke the physician’s privileges (2019) and to not approve her application for re-appointment. (unreported)
Abernethy (Re) (2021, Court of Appeal) – successfully defended the psychiatric facility’s decision to transfer an accused to a maximum secure facility as the psychiatric facility could no longer safely manage the accused.
GS (Re) (June and July 2021, Consent and Capacity Board)- successfully represented a psychiatrist in a lengthy hearing regarding the psychiatrist’s application to determine whether a substitute decision make has complied with the principles of substitute decision making as set out in the Health Care Consent Act (i.e. Form G hearing). Went on to defend the psychiatrist’s decision to involuntarily detain the patient at the Hospital.
Harris v. Bluewater Health (2021, Human Rights Tribunal) – successfully argued that two Applications alleging discrimination on the basis of age and/or gender brought on behalf of a patient’s daughter should be dismissed as there was no reasonable prospect for success.
Shahwan v. Harrigan (2020, Superior Court) – successfully advocated for the Court to uphold a psychiatrist’s finding of incapacity, despite the patient’s argument that Consent and Capacity Board’s Reasons at first instance did not address the patient’s position at the initial hearing.
Almeida v. Morgan (April and August 2020, Superior Court) – successfully represented a psychiatrist on a motion to treat a patient pursuant to section 19 of the Health Care Consent Act, pending the appeal hearing. This was also the first urgent virtual hearing related to Mental Health appeals during COVID. Went on to successfully defend the psychiatrist on the merits of the appeal at a later appeal hearing before the Superior Court.
B.L. v. Pytyck (2020, Superior Court) – successfully responded, on behalf of a psychiatrist, to a patient’s appeal of a Consent and Capacity decision finding him incapable of consenting to treatment.
C.F. v. Weinstein (2019, Superior Court) – successfully argued that an appeal from a Consent and Capacity Board decision regarding incapacity was moot and that the Court should not exercise its jurisdiction to hear the appeal, given the appeal was commenced over 4 years prior to the appeal hearing and the patient had no further interaction with the mental health system.
Mitchell (Re) (2018, Court of Appeal) – successfully defended a psychiatric facility’s decision to remove community living from an accused’s disposition, as it was not a realistic prospect in the upcoming year.
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