Dina Awad

Practice Areas

Dina Awad is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution group. Known for her expertise in regulatory and civil litigation, Dina’s practice focuses on environmental law, public law, infrastructure and commercial disputes. She offers strategic advocacy and compliance advice to clients, guiding them through incident response, investigations and enforcement actions, day-to-day compliance matters and liability risk management.

Dina is instrumental in guiding Canadian companies through environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges, ensuring they meet their goals while minimizing risk and optimizing market opportunities. Part of Dina’s practice involves helping clients with overlapping disputes involving regulators and civil litigation. She is often called upon to assist clients in investigating and responding to incidents to avoid litigation. Dina also represents Dentons Canada on the Firm’s Global ESG Steering group.

Bilingual in English and French, Dina brings extensive advocacy experience in both languages. She has acted as trial counsel and appeared before several courts and administrative tribunals, including the Federal Court of Canada, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Commercial List, the Ontario Divisional Court, the Ontario Court of Justice, the Ontario Land Tribunal, the Health Professions and Services Appeal and Review Board, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the Ontario College of Teachers and before arbitrators in confidential commercial arbitrations. Dina has also been appointed arbitrator in commercial disputes and completed the Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society’s Gold Standard Course in Commercial Arbitration in 2019.

Prior to joining the Firm, Dina was legal counsel to a regulator, where she acted as a prosecutor. From 2012 to 2013, Dina served as judicial law clerk to the Honourable Justice Gauthier at the Federal Court of Appeal.

Beyond her legal practice, Dina is deeply committed to community involvement. She serves on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association’s Environmental and Administrative Law Sections and sits on the Steering Group for the Cambridge Forum’s 2nd Generation Environmental Law Forum. As an advocate for inclusion and diversity, Dina co-chairs the Firm’s Toronto Belonging Network, promoting initiatives that foster a more inclusive and equitable environment. She also serves on the Board of the Empire Club of Canada, a speaker forum that advances dialogue on issues vital to Canadians.

Career

Called to the bar: Ontario, 2012

Professional Memberships

Steering Committee, Cambridge ‘2nd Generation’ Environmental Law Forum; Member-at-large, Environmental Law Section, Ontario Bar Association (OBA); Member-at-Large, Administrative Law Section, OBA; Board Director, Empire Club of Canada; Co-chair, Dentons Toronto Belonging Network