Jennifer Egsgard mediates commercial, employment, intellectual property, tort claims and other disputes. Her approach draws on insight from 18 years of legal practice and an exclusively mediation-focused career since 2019.
A Harvard-trained mediator and Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, she brings perspective, preparation, and persistence to every dispute.
About Jennifer
Jennifer is available for virtual and in-person mediations. Advocates who have used Jennifer as a mediator have said that she has “tremendous skills with dealing with complicated parties and situations”, a “high level of skill and natural aptitude”, “is engaged, knowledgeable, efficient, prepared”, and is able to “gain the trust of both sides”.
Areas of Practice
Jennifer has mediated a wide variety of disputes including:
- Contract, shareholder, partnership and other commercial matters
- Employment
- Trademark and IP
- Personal injury and other civil litigation matters
- Director and officer liability, coverage, professional errors and omissions and other insurance-related matters
- Board relationship conflicts
Training & Credentials
- Mediating Commercial Disputes, Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation
- Mediator Skills Training, Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), London
- Member, CEDR International Mediator Panel
- Distinguished Fellow, International Academy of Mediators
Legal Background
Before mediating exclusively starting in 2019, Jennifer practised law for over 18 years including:
- Litigation practice at Fasken LLP (Vice-Chair, ADR Practice Group)
- Co-founded and ran partnership for six years, Sills Egsgard LLP
Her work as counsel covered:
- Negligence and professional liability
- Product liability
- Breach of contract
- Wrongful dismissal
- Personal injury
- Trademark and IP
- Defamation
- Estates
- Environmental liability
- Procurement and tenders
- Landlord–tenant and real property disputes
- International trade, refugee, foreign anti-corruption law
As counsel Jennifer acted for individuals, corporations, governments and professional bodies in a wide range of industries including real estate, energy, insurance, technology, advertising, hospitality, entertainment, sports, transportation, railway, food products, construction, mining, not for profit, retail and manufacturing, including automotive and automotive part manufacturing.
Testimonials
I know we were difficult in our room, we could not have resolved this without you.
You did a great job in mediating this case. My clients are happy with the settlement and appreciated your calm and focussed approach.
You approached [a very contentious topic] with respect, with an open mind and in a non-discriminatory manner. I really appreciated that.
Thanks again for your assistance last week – our client made a point to say they enjoyed working with you.
This is a great result for my client. I will be recommending you.
I really appreciate your outside the box approach to this case. You are going on our list of recommended mediators.
I was very pleased with your work. You had an exceptionally difficult job.
You were engaged, knowledgeable, efficient and prepared.
As a lawyer who has been practicing in Toronto for approximately a decade, I have used Jennifer Egsgard as a mediator on numerous occasions and find her to be very effective and efficient mediator. Ms. Egsgard has tremendous skills with dealing with complicated parties and situations. I would highly recommend her to any of my colleagues and I will continue to use Ms. Egsgard for mediation in the future given her high level of skill and natural aptitude.
This was a difficult thing to mediate, with difficult subject matter… you handled it really well and I know the client was happy, and happy with the process.
Thought Leadership & Professional Service
Jennifer is active in serving the legal profession and improving mediation systems. Her roles include:
- Executive Member, Ontario Bar Association (OBA) ADR Section
- Practice Group Leader, The Advocates’ Society – Mediation & Arbitration Group
- Chair, International Academy of Mediators Scholar-in-Residence Program
- Leader of major initiative on expanding mandatory mediation, resulting in formal OBA submissions to government and civil society engagement worldwide.
- In London, UK, worked with leading UK mediators, barristers and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in developing a new mediation facility for resolution of transnational ESG disputes
She frequently speaks or chairs programs at professional associations including the American Bar Association, OBA, Advocates’ Society, Canadian Corporate Counsel Association, International Academy of Mediators, and Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, and she teaches mediation skills at several law schools.
Background
Raised in small-town Ontario, Jennifer has lived in London (UK), Switzerland, Manhattan, Washington D.C., New Mexico, Ottawa, Toronto, and Jaipur, India. These experiences inform her appreciation for different perspectives and she enjoys working with people from Canada and around the world.
Jennifer shares practical insights for lawyers who mediate on LinkedIn and in her newsletter, The Mediation Brief.
Mediation Approach
Tailored & Practical
Every dispute is different. Jennifer draws on a range of techniques depending on the legal issues, personalities and dynamics involved.
Preparation matters
Jennifer believes preparation is often the key to a productive session, and carefully reviews all materials before mediation. She offers pre-mediation calls with counsel and parties to address information gaps, discuss dynamics, and tailor the process to the particular dispute.
During the mediation
Jennifer is respectful, direct, and persistent. She adapts the process as needed, and uses a variety of approaches as necessary throughout each mediation:
- Exploring costs and risks of continued litigation
- Considering party goals, underlying interests and solutions to address them
- Reviewing legal and evidentiary strengths and weaknesses
- Identifying hidden issues through observation and active listening
- Working with parties to evaluate options and craft solutions
- Remaining optimistic to move difficult negotiations forward
After the mediation
If the matter does not resolve on the mediation day, she follows up with counsel and remains available to help facilitate further discussions.
Fees are determined based on the complexity and nature of the matter, and number of parties involved.
Please contact info@egsgardmediation.com, or 647 799 1028 for more information on the fees applicable for your dispute.
Fees include all preparation time as well as pre-mediation conferences.
Jennifer’s availability is listed here.
After obtaining available dates, book a mediation by emailing info@egsgardmediation.com with the following information:
- preferred mediation date(s) and time;
- half or full day;
- preferred location for mediation (if known);
- style of cause and court file number;
- contact information for counsel; and
- nature of the dispute and amount at issue;
You will receive written confirmation of a booked mediation. Cancellation fees will be charged if a mediation is cancelled within 30 days of a booked mediation date.
Press, Publications & Presentations
Frequently Asked Questions
With their lawyers, parties should prepare for mediation by taking a hard look at their case and reviewing its strengths and weaknesses. Parties and counsel should also consider the costs, risks and benefits of going to trial, and a range of acceptable settlement possibilities.
Mediation provides an opportunity for parties involved in litigation to control how their conflict will be resolved. Unlike a trial, where an uncertain outcome will be imposed by a judge or a judge and a jury, a case at mediation will not be resolved unless every party agrees to the settlement terms.
While every mediation is a little different, many mediations begin with a meeting between the parties to the litigation, their lawyers and the mediator. The mediator will explain the process and purpose of the mediation to the parties. In some cases, the parties and their lawyers may speak to summarize their positions; other times the mediator will summarize the party positions. From there, the parties may remain together to discuss the issues, or they may break out into separate rooms to discuss the case with their own counsel and with the mediator. Parties can expect that the mediator might: spend time making sure all parties are mutually understood; discuss and possibly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of all sides of the case, providing a “reality check”; talk about the specific risks of continued litigation; discuss offers being exchanged between the parties; explore settlement options that might not be available through litigation; and help the parties craft language to translate an idea into a settlement agreement.
No cancellation fee will be charged for mediations cancelled 30 days or more before the scheduled mediation date. Mediations cancelled 15 to 30 days before the mediation will be charged 1/2 of the agreed mediation fee. Mediations cancelled 14 days before the mediation date will be charged the full mediation fee. No mediation fee will be charged if counsel involved arrange for a different mediation to take place on the date of the cancelled mediation.
The mediation fee includes all time spent preparing for and attending the mediation for the scheduled length of time, as well as pre-mediation conference(s) with the parties if desired, and follow-up in cases that don’t settle. Travel fees may be included depending on the location; please consult with Jennifer.
The mediation fee does not include: services tax, additional mediation hours in excess of what was originally booked, any facility rental fees, food or disbursements.
Pre-mediation conferences (PMCs) are meetings between the mediator and some or all parties, which address a number of issues to make the mediation day more efficient. For example:
- PMC with mediator and all counsel – This type of PMC may address: whether counsel have any preferences on mediation process, for instance what form of joint session might be beneficial if any; who should attend the mediation; and whether there is any information which ought to be exchanged prior to the mediation.
- PMC with mediator and each lawyer/their client: These PMCs provide a chance for the parties themselves to meet and start to become comfortable with the mediator, ask questions, hear about the mediation process and provide their thoughts on process and goals. This allows the mediator to design a mediation process best suited to the dynamics of the particular dispute.”