Appointment of Danielle Szandtner (LLB/MSW 1996) to the Ontario Court of Justice

From Attorney General of Ontario news release

Attorney General Doug Downey announced April 19, 2022 the appointment of a new judge to the Ontario Court of Justice, effective April 21, 2022.

Justice Danielle Szandtner received her joint law and Master of Social Work degree from the University of Toronto in 1996 and was called to the bar in 1998. She was in private practice with Goodman & Carr for seven years focusing on civil sexual assault litigation and family law. Following this, Justice Szandtner was a litigator for the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto for 11 years, representing the agency in trials before the Ontario Court of Justice and arguing appeals in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. In 2016, Justice Szandtner joined the Motherisk Commission as counsel reviewing child protection cases from across the province and exploring strategies to prevent miscarriages of justice in child protection law. In 2018, she opened a private practice as a child protection lawyer and family mediator, helping children, teenagers, parents, families, caregivers and adoptive parents understand and navigate the legal system.

Justice Szandtner has been an adjunct professor with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law for the past 20 years and, most recently, focused her curriculum on Indigenous child welfare and anti-Black systemic racism. She is a mentor to University of Toronto students enrolled in the joint law and social work program. Justice Szandtner was a Board member of the Teresa Group, a non-profit organization that provides services and support to HIV infected children and their families. She was also a member of the Crossover Youth Committee focusing on youth involved in both the child protection and youth criminal justice systems.

Chief Justice Lise Maisonneuve has assigned Justice Szandtner to Toronto.