Mary Elizabeth Dill

Mary-Elizabeth Dill practices labour law primarily in the university and broader public sectors. Whether litigating complex policy grievances or advising on nuts and bolts collective agreement disputes, Mary-Elizabeth brings her passion for workers’ rights to every case. Mary-Elizabeth has developed particular experience in harassment and discrimination, duty to accommodate, and workplace investigation matters and speaks regularly on these issues at client seminars.

Mary-Elizabeth’s notable arbitration wins include successfully challenging an employer’s drastic cuts to employee support services, enforcing an employer’s obligation to provide life insurance benefits to older employees, and requiring an employer to disclose demographic data to an association in the context of a systemic pay discrimination grievance.

Mary-Elizabeth also has a growing public interest litigation practice. She has particular experience in constitutional cases involving conflicting Charter rights. Together with co-counsel at the firm, Mary-Elizabeth has intervened on behalf of public advocacy organizations seeking to defend, in one case, equitable access to stigmatized healthcare services and, in a separate set of cases, the rights of those negatively impacted by misleading anti-choice ads on public buses.

Mary-Elizabeth’s commitment to social justice is longstanding. Her graduate research on the systemic inequities inherent in Canada’s migrant domestic worker program fuelled her dedication to workplace rights, particularly for the most precarious sectors of the workforce. Throughout law school she volunteered weekly at a local immigration clinic and, in her final year, blogged about human rights issues for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Mary-Elizabeth continues to dedicate her time to social justice causes, including by regularly acting as a Lawyer Supervisor with Pro Bono Students Canada, where she oversees student volunteers who provide free legal support to public interest organizations.