Excellence in Advocacy – An Interview with Sarit Batner

Sarit Batner (McCarthy Tetrault LLP) is the 2020 recipient of the Douglas K. Laidlaw Medal for Excellence in Advocacy. In this episode of Friends Who Argue, Chloe Snider (Dentons Canada LLP) interviews Sarit Batner about what makes for excellent oral advocacy, whether oral advocacy is still important, and how Zoom may be changing advocacy. Sarit also shares her journey to becoming a distinguished oral advocate and key oral advocacy tips.

Sarit E. Batner is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault LLP’s Toronto Litigation Group, and a former member of the firm’s Board of Partners. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America. Sarit maintains a significant trial and appellant litigation practice, with a focus on complex commercial litigation and arbitrations. Sarit has experience before courts of appeal, including as lead counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada. She has received a number of accolades, including being listed as a leading litigation lawyer in Lexpert, Benchmark, and Chambers Canada.

Chloe Snider is a partner in Dentons’ Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Transformative Technologies groups. Chloe’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and arbitration, with particular expertise in information and technology disputes. Chloe is a business advisor to local, national and global clients, assisting them in managing risk in corporate transactions and commercial relationships. Chloe has been recognized for corporate commercial litigation in Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert.

Land Acknowledgement
The Advocates’ Society acknowledges that our offices, located in Toronto, are on the customary and traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinabek, the Huron-Wendat and now home to many First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples.  We acknowledge current treaty holders, the Mississaugas of the Credit and honour their long history of welcoming many nations to this territory.
 
While The Advocates’ Society is based in Toronto, we are a national organization with Directors and members located across Canada in the treaty and traditional territories of many Indigenous Peoples. We encourage our members to reflect upon their relationships with the Indigenous Peoples in these territories, and the history of the land on which they live and work.
 
We acknowledge the devastating impacts of colonization, including the history of residential schools, for many Indigenous peoples, families, and communities and commit to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in an informed legal profession in Canada and within The Advocates’ Society.