About Us
Gartner & Associates Animal Law is Canada’s leading animal law firm. Located in downtown Toronto, we deal exclusively with animal law matters and are dedicated to helping clients resolve animal disputes with our tailored mediation and litigation services.
With extensive and specialized knowledge and experience in animal law matters, our team understands your issues and concerns.
Our practice areas include pet custody disputes, dog breed discrimination/bite allegations, veterinary malpractice, condominium disputes involving pets, wills and estates matters for surviving pets, resolving pet insurance claims, and animal care related negligence claims.
Suzana Gartner
B.A., J.D., LL.M (ADR), Firm Founder, Mediator
Suzana Gartner is an animal lawyer and mediator. She completed her Master of Laws degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution at Osgoode Hall Law School combining mediation methodology with the emerging field of animal law. Suzana launched the first law firm in Canada dedicated exclusively to animal law matters. She has successfully helped many clients settle their cases using a mediated approach in the following areas: alleged dog bite incidents, dog “breed” bans, dog and cat custody disputes between separating couples, condominium disputes involving pets, incidents of injury or death of a beloved pet as a result of negligence, breeder disputes, insurance claims, equine-related matters, and many other animal-related disputes.
David Samuels
B.A., LL.B., Associate Lawyer, Litigator
Krista Staley
Law Student
Krista is joining the Gartner & Associates team for the summer of 2018 after completing her second year at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. Prior to her law degree, Krista completed a BA (Honours) in Sociology at Queen’s University, and a makeup art and design degree at CMU Toronto. While at CMU, Krista realized her passion for animal welfare by advocating to ban animal testing in the cosmetic industry.
For the past two years at Windsor Law Krista has been a member and volunteer coordinator for the Only Yes Means Yes initiative, a project of Pro Bono Students Canada. As volunteer coordinator, Krista was given the responsibility of training students on running workshops at local high schools to help educate students on consent, issues of violence in intimate relationships and a variety of other legal rights and responsibilities. Krista is excited to transfer the skills she has developed from this extracurricular position into animal law issues.
In her spare time, Krista enjoys researching and speaking about the health and ethical benefits of a plant-based lifestyle, and spending time with her adopted cat Maggie.
Daniel Fin
Law Student
Daniel comes to Gartner & Associates for the summer of 2018 after completing his first year of law school at the University of New Brunswick. Before starting law school, Daniel graduated from York University completing a BCom in Accounting with honours. During his time at York University, Daniel was heavily involved with the community where he volunteered in numerous wildlife rehabilitation projects.
His love for animals started at a young age. Being raised around dogs, he knew that animals would always be a major part of his life. Having experienced injustice with his own canine companion in a veterinarian malpractice incident, Daniel’s passion for animals naturally led him to a career in animal law.
In his spare time, Daniel loves being outdoors, weightlifting, and spending time with his dog.
Christopher Clark
Law Student
Christopher Clark H.BA., M.A., B. Ed., J.D. (expected 2018) – Winter and Summer Law Student
Christopher is completing a placement with Gartner and Associates as part of the Integrated Practice Curriculum provided by Lakehead University’s Bora Laskin Faculty of Law in Thunder Bay which was founded on the principle of enabling new lawyers to enter the profession and serve underrepresented fields including: Aboriginal Peoples, the environment, and small-town communities.
He completed an Honours Undergraduate and Master of Arts Degree in History at McMaster University before completing a teaching degree with Brock University’s Faculty of Education. Lastly, he completed a human resources certificate through McMaster University’s Continuing Education Program.
Christopher received the Dean’s Honour Award – Second Place for completing the 2016/2017 academic year with the second highest cumulative average in his cohort.
Christopher hopes to bring a diverse experience to support the team at Gartner and Associates in their continual efforts to give a voice to animals and their guardians.
Olena Stevenson
BComm, CPA, CMA
Olena graduated from the University of Ottawa with a major in Accounting and earned her professional accounting designation as a Chartered Accountant. Olena is the firm accountant for Gartner & Associates and proud to be part of a team committed to giving a voice to animals in our society.
Olena also has her own bookkeeping and accounting firm OM Bookkeeper. Her firm focuses on providing bookkeeping to companies and non-profits working for good causes, specifically on animal welfare issues and vegan lifestyle.
Olena is very active with environmental and animal welfare causes. Olena dedicates her time volunteering for numerous organizations, such as: Toronto Bruce Trail Club, The Literacy Group, etc. She is founding a new charitable organization the Grand River Veg Association and working on Vegan Theatre project together with other animal lovers.