Personal Injury Law Group - Bachmann Law - Simcoe Toronto and Kawartha Lakes

When I first met Qabaata, he was living in Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. We connected over Facebook and I was initially a bit nervous since I could not verify his identity. I reached out to people in Kenya whom I trusted, and who had connections inside the camp, and to my relief, they confirmed that Qabaata was indeed who he said he was.

With that concern out of the way, I asked Qabaata if he could have one wish fulfilled, what would it be? Without hesitation, he said he wanted to return to school. Qabaata was enrolled in university in his home country of Ethiopia when, due to his political activism, he became a target and had to flee to safety. That is how he ended up in a Kenyan refugee camp.

This story has a very happy ending. Qabaata somehow managed to enrol in university in Nairobi, and I helped by paying his tuition fees. However, about a year or so into his studies, Qabaata was accepted as a refugee by Canada. He now lives with his wife and child in Vancouver. We stay in touch, and I continue to hope that I’ll be able to see him and his family one day.

The Lynn Valley Trail is a beautiful pedestrian trail that starts in Port Dover and goes all the way to Simcoe, where it branches off to Paris and Brantford. I had walked and run the trail for many years, so it made sense that when approached, I would agree to sit on the Board of Directors of the Lynn Valley Trail Association.

The Board of Directors is made up of volunteers who like me, love and enjoy the trail. They are locals who care deeply for their community and put in great effort and countless hours maintaining and beautifying the trail. It was with pleasure and pride that I contributed both time and money to this most deserving endeavour during my time on the board.

I got to know Terrie when her late husband, who had fallen on ice and badly fractured a hip, came to me for help. It was heart-breaking when Mr. Wiley died of cancer prior to his matter being resolved. However, that was not by far the end of tragedies that befell Terrie. In short order, her only daughter passed away, then her son-in-law received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. That left Terrie with the responsibility of looking after her two young grand-children.

Thankfully, I was able to obtain a settlement for Terrie’s late husband, but the money did not arrive in time for Christmas. That’s when my staff and I decided to go shopping and put together a basket of goodies for Terrie and her grandchildren. They were thrilled and came into the office in January to thank us. This picture is one I continue to treasure to this day.

It was an incredible experience to be able to buy a parcel of land and build the place that would house my practice! And what better way to do it then to hire local professionals such as architect Paul Vehof and builders Brian and Sam Bunting of Prominent Homes. Coupled with the talent of my friend and office manager, Christine Zammit, who oversaw the entire project, they did an excellent job designing, building and infusing the place with a ‘zen-like’ feel that everybody who visits us feels from the moment they come through our front doors.

If you ever wondered whether Julia Roberts accurately depicted Erin Brokovich in the movie with the same name, trust me, she came pretty darn close! I had the pleasure of hearing Erin Brokovich speak at a conference in Toronto, and she was an amazing speaker. Charismatic, funny, totally comfortable in her skin, and having a blast recounting some of what happened in her real life saga of fighting PGandE but was left out of the movie.

After her speech, Erin Brokovich patiently waited around and spoke to every person who waited in line to get an autograph and a picture with her. And yes, that included me! A true inspiration, this woman, especially in a time when many lawyers have a somewhat cynical and jaded attitude towards their practice.

I was honoured to meet Robert Kennedy Jr. at a function of the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association during the time when I sat on its Board of Directors. An unassuming looking man, thin and fragile in appearance with a slight shaking of his hands, he was a commanding presence as soon as he started to speak. In an instance, he transformed into a larger than life presence and spoke, with no notes or memory aids, for close to two hours.

He spoke passionately about the environment and the need to protect it and keep it safe for our children and future generations. He recounted memories of his childhood, of going fishing with his father and how that stream was now so polluted, that he couldn’t take his children there.

When I met up with Robert Kennedy Jr. backstage, his voice and manners were mild and unassuming again. I asked for a picture, and he readily agreed. The consummate gentleman and intellectual.

I started running with the then Runners’ Den in Port Dover back in 2010ish. When I started, I couldn’t run to the end of the road without gasping for air. I still remember my first 10km run with Gail Walker. It was a hot summer day, I had not trained nearly enough for that distance, and I did not have any water with me – needless to say, it was one of the most difficult and painful runs ever. Fast forward to May 2015, when I completed 178 miles in 72 hours in New Jersey and set a Canadian record for my age group!

I had many people help get there, but mostly I am grateful to Charlie Upshall, consummate ultra-runner who has set numerous records in his lifetime, and continues to do so to date. Charlie instilled in me the love for running insane distances, he believed that I could do it before I believed it, and he showed me how to get there. Charlie exemplifies how one person can inspire another to excel and achieve goals.

I joined the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) back in 2017 and after some fairly intense training became a member of the Brant-Haldimand-Norfolk Disaster Management Team, as well as the Emergency Management Team. As a CRC volunteer, I was deployed to British Columbia as a case worker to help people who needed to evacuate their communities due to widespread wildfires, and to Timmins where I worked in logistics to assist those who had to leave their home due to extreme flooding. I spent time in Ottawa helping those whose houses were destroyed when a tornado touched down in 2018.

I was deployed to Toronto twice as a Safety and Wellbeing volunteer to help people who struggled with the loss of their homes when a flood, and then a fire, erupted in several high-rise buildings. Lastly, I came back to Toronto as a site manager during the height of the ‘refugee crisis’ that saw dozens crossing our border from the US. Volunteering for the CRC and helping those most vulnerable amongst us, has been one of the most rewarding experiences so far.

I met Mr. Justice Pringle back in the spring of 2000 when I started working as a new lawyer at Cobb and Jones in Simcoe. By that time, he had retired from the bench, but continued to attend social events and socialize with members of the local bar. Always jovial, always smiling and above all, genuine. When he asked how you were, he actually meant it. And he had an amazing memory – every time we met, he asked about my children by name and recalled conversations we had months ago.

I was honoured to accompany Mr. Justice Pringle as he lay a wreath on Remembrance Day in 2018. Despite his age and the effort and pain it took to stand, he refused to sit down for the duration of the ceremony. He spoke of his time as a soldier in the war and I saw tears coming down his face when he talked about his friends who did not come home. I was looking forward to accompany him again in 2019, but it was not to be. Mr. Justice Pringle passed away on August 27, 2019.

A few years back I read a book by Emmanuel Jal, titled “War Child: A Child Soldier’s Story”. At the end of the book, Emmanuel Jal spoke of his charity, Gua Africa, and provided a phone number for anyone wanting more information. I called, expecting a voice mail, but to my surprise Ruth Gumm, then director of the charity, answered the phone. We chatted and I knew right away that I wanted to help.

Ruth was looking for sponsors for 4 former child soldiers from South Sudan who were living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. Matthew, Gon, Kuneng and Nyamai all wanted to attend teachers’ college in Nairobi. Ruth said I could choose to sponsor any one of them. Of course, I couldn’t choose, so I sponsored all of them. Three years later I was able to accompany Ruth to Nairobi and witness 4 former child soldiers graduate from university. We remain in touch to this day.

I met John McCallum at a donor’s event in early 2016, as Canada was preparing to bring over 10,000 Syrian refugees. The conference addressed the many ways Canadians could help the refugees, from housing them, to helping them get medical treatment, to assisting with registering children in school etc. As a former refugee myself, I understood all to well how difficult it is to leave everything behind and come to a country where you know no one and no one knows you.

Adrian Rose, a dear friend and I had talked about partnering to welcome a Syrian refugee family into our homes, and attending this conference made a lot of sense. John McCallum, then Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship under the Trudeau government, was an unexpected guest speaker. The icing on the cake!

Riding a camel through the Sahara was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. In fact, the entire trip to Morocco was unforgettable. Starting in the legendary city of Casablanca, then moving north to the historic cities of Fes and Rabat exposed me to a world of color, smells and sights that at times felt overwhelming.

Morocco is a land of extreme contrasts. I went from having a cup of tea under the tent of local Berber family, to being invited into a private room where the bride was being dressed and prepared for the wedding. From the harsh environment and unforgiving heat of the Sahara, to the medinas (the ‘old cities’) full of street vendors, folk dancers and snake charmers, to Ifrane, a ski village known as the Switzerland of Morocco (yes, they actually get snow in Ifrane), Morocco has it all and I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Bachmann Law started this yearly event back in 2013 and it was a success from the beginning. Every year we fundraise and ask local individuals and businesses to donate money towards the purchasing of helmets for children and adults alike. Then, before the end of the school year, Bachmann Law staff attends local schools where we ask all the children to bring their old helmets in. For the most part, those helmets are no longer safe, and we then fit each child with a new helmet and teach them how to properly put it on in order to get maximum protection in the event that they fall off their bikes.

We also run a yearly event held either in Port Dover or Simcoe, where everyone is welcomed to attend for a fitting of a new helmet. In the past few years, Bachmann Law has partnered with a number of other local organizations, which has seen the event become even more popular.

The annual Christmas dinner is an event that everyone at Bachmann Law is looking forward to. It is a chance to unwind, to celebrate our achievements, to connect on a more personal level, and overall to just have a ton of fun. It is the one time a year when we don’t just socialize amongst ourselves, but also get to know each other’s spouses or significant others. Christmas dinner has certainly helped foster a feeling of family and belonging amongst all our staff.

Roméo Dallaire is a Canadian humanitarian, author, statesman and retired senator and general. I had the honour of meeting him during a conference he spoke at in Toronto. General Dallaire was in charge of the United Nations mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. When ordered to withdraw all UN soldiers and leave Rwanda, General Dallaire chose to stay behind and transform the UN headquarters into a safe haven for Rwandans who would otherwise have faced certain death.

The Rwandan experience took a terrible toll on General Dallaire. In 1997, he disclosed that he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and in doing so, paved the way for destigmatizing this diagnosis among military veterans as well as first-responders.

Lastly, Romeo Dallaire has devoted the remainder of his life to the eradication of the use of children in war, a mission he has publicly declared in his acclaimed book "They Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children?". He is a personal hero to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have met him.

I was introduced to Bob when I became a member of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association (OTLA). When Bob became President of OTLA, I had the opportunity to work closely with him to advocate for the rights of innocent Ontarians injured by the negligence of others. Bob is the consummate advocate, he leaves no stone unturned in his quest for justice for his clients. In 2002, Bob represented the OTLA as intervenor before the Supreme Court of Canada in the seminal case of Whiten v. Pilot Insurance Co., a case that set the high mark of damages against an insurer acting in bad faith against their insured.

Bob was a mentor who taught me to believe in myself and encouraged me to seek my own path within the legal profession. He didn’t just talk the talk, he also walked the walk and actively helped me establish my own practice. His friendship and support are an inspiration to this day.

It was at the 2005 Spring Conference of the Ontario Trial Lawyers’ Association that I heard Greg present his paper, “Building a Personal Injury Practice of Distinction”. Greg spoke about legal skills being only the beginning, and how one’s values, dreams and goals is what sets good lawyers apart from the truly exceptional ones. Greg believed that it takes self-discipline and leadership pride to build a highly successful practice, and that “finding the strength and courage to do what is right” is fundamental.

Greg taught me that “a true passion for excellence is a key ingredient” to building a practice of distinction, and I have tried to follow his example and implement his advice in building my own practice. I hope I have succeeded in doing so.