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32 www.canadianlawyermag.com TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS 2026 to opt out of a sexual abuse file entirely, no questions asked. Making the system work better, not just win Bowker sits on the Class Proceedings Committee, jointly appointed by the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Attorney General, though she's careful to separate her committee work from her personal views. Speaking only for herself and based on her observations as defence counsel, she'd like to see more discipline from the plaintiffs' bar in how class actions get structured. "Sometimes access to justice for plaintiffs who may have meritorious cases is delayed because a class action is made way too broad, or bites off more than it can chew," she says, arguing that narrower, more carefully scoped claims would often serve plaintiffs better than expansive ones that trigger lengthy certification fights. Q&A with Elizabeth Bowker Stieber Berlach LLP, Toronto, ON Q: The Ragoonanan principle case has attracted multiple intervenors and gone before a five-judge panel at the Court of Appeal. Why do you think this case has drawn that level of attention? A: The previous decision on the Ragoon- anan principle was set out 24 years ago in Hughes v. Sunbeam, and that's been the law in Ontario ever since, shaping how class actions are conducted. Our appeal in the birth alerts class action is the first time the Court of Appeal has been asked to reconsider it, and the first time since the Supreme Court's decision in Marcotte, which dealt with Quebec's Civil Code but made broader comments about the under- lying principles of class actions, including access to justice. Q: You often defend institutions responsible for children, patients, or long-term care resi- dents in class actions brought against them. What does procedural fairness look like to you when the stakes are this sensitive on both sides? A: Our existing rules of civil procedure already do a good job of ensuring fairness for both sides, so I don't think we need to change the rules just because a case is sensi- tive. Procedural fairness includes the ability to test the other side's evidence, and it doesn't mean shielding the plaintiff from the realities of litigation. But these cases do involve very sensi- tive, personal information, so it's incumbent on counsel for all sides to think about how to implement our existing rules in the most respectful way possible, whether someone needs a support person during discoveries or more frequent breaks. There's also an evidentiary fairness ques- tion for defendants in historical abuse claims, when witnesses have died or records no longer exist decades later, that's something our sector is grappling with, too. Q: You speak on trauma-informed approaches to civil sexual assault litigation. What does that look like in practice, and how has it changed the way you approach these cases? A: I don't know that it's changed my personal approach so much as it's always been there. I like to think I've always treated people with respect and kindness, and at a fundamental level that's a large part of what trauma-informed litigation means. It also means recognizing everyone's humanity in the process. From a defence counsel's perspective, I can defend my clients on the facts, the law, and the damages, while still treating the person on the other side with kindness. It also means recognizing that the indi- viduals representing institutional defen- dants, people who often went into that field hoping to make the world better, are personally affected by these allegations too, and that court reporters, judges, mediators, and the people in my own office hearing these stories every day carry real risk of vicarious trauma. We give people in my office the choice not to work on a sexual abuse file at all, no ques- tions asked, and that choice stands at any point if they change their mind. Q: You sit on the Class Proceedings Committee, jointly appointed by the Law Foundation of Ontario and the Attorney General. What's one change to how class actions work in Ontario that you'd like to see come out of that work? A: I want to be careful not to speak for the committee or use anything confidential from that work. Speaking only for myself, based on what I observe as defence counsel and in reading cases generally, I think access to justice for plaintiffs with meritorious cases sometimes gets delayed because a class action is structured too broadly, or takes on more than it can realistically prove, which leads to lengthy, expensive certification motions. Some cases would genuinely be better served as individual actions or as much narrower class actions. More critical analysis upfront by plaintiffs' counsel, rather than a throw-everything-at-the-wall approach, would in the long run serve access to justice better. IN-HOUSE Farah Ismail BUILDING TRUST BEFORE BUILDING A DEPARTMENT Senior vice-president, chief legal, privacy, and compliance officer, SE Health, Toronto, ON Farah Ismail is senior vice-president and chief legal, privacy, and compliance officer at SE Health in Toronto, named one of Canadian Lawyer's Top 25 Most Influ- ential Lawyers in Canada for 2026 in the In-house category. When she joined SE Health in 2020, the organization SPECIAL REPORT