Sabrina Elysia Shillingford

Update: Sabrina has won the 2025 Advocacy Award from the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers !

Update 2: Sabrina has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada (2027 Edition) for criminal defence !

Sabrina is a fearless advocate, dedicated to championing the rights of accused persons in the legal system. Sabrina’s greatest strength is her attention to detail. She is skilled at catching irregularities and inconsistencies in the evidence of both police and complainant witnesses. She has a background in psychology and leverages her knowledge of human behaviour to inform her approach to all cases.

Sabrina has successfully represented clients in a variety of cases, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and sexual offences. She is a skilled negotiator who has successfully secured a complete withdrawal of charges for clients even before setting foot in a courtroom. Sabrina adeptly navigates complex Charter issues and has secured acquittals for her clients at trial in jury and judge-alone trials. Sabrina has a particular interest in appeals and has secured bail pending appeal for her clients.

Sabrina also has experience taking legal action against the police and has been successful in achieving favourable civil settlements for her clients.

Prior to joining Ruby Shiller Enenajor, Sabrina worked for the City of Toronto, as a Law Student Caseworker for Parkdale Community Legal Services, and at two other criminal defence firms. Sabrina served as President of the Black Law Students Association at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she was recognized for her leadership, advocacy, and work to implement sustainable change. Shortly after graduating from law school, Sabrina was commemorated by the Osgoode Women’s Network where they named an award in her honour – the Sabrina Shillingford Award.