Sumeet (Sonu) Dhanju-Dhillon

Tel: 416 360 4738 Fax: 1 877 689 3896

Profile

Sonu is a partner in our Litigation Group, practising in all areas of civil and commercial litigation, with a particular focus on business law. Sonu is routinely retained to provide advice on litigation issues involving technology, real estate, shareholder rights, partnership disputes and breach of contract. She has a range of experience dealing with critical business issues arising from corporate transactions and contractual and business relationship disputes.

Sonu has appeared before masters and judges of the Superior Court of Justice and has assisted on numerous cases that have gone before the Court of Appeal and administrative tribunals. She has also been involved in numerous private mediations and arbitrations. 

Sonu is a strategic and creative advisor who evaluates the merits and potential success of a case against a client’s unique business and legal objectives. Her advice is drawn from experience and detailed case analysis and is always creative in approach. She is able to distill legal knowledge and information in a way her clients understand and provides a clear and factual picture of the various options available to her clients, addressing her clients’ business objectives throughout the litigation process. She understands the cost of doing business, keeping proportionality in mind at all times. 

Her in-depth understanding of business operations is rooted in her client engagement approach, which often involves onsite visits (she has been known to put on a hardhat or hairnet at points) and incredible client service. Her well rounded approach to legal and business advice allows her to tap into her clients’ mindsets and understand their communication style.

Sonu was an Excellence Awardee for Female Trailblazer of the Year in the 2021 Canadian Law Awards - recognizing leading women lawyers for their professional accomplishments, leadership, community involvement and their contribution to gender equality in the legal profession in 2020. In 2018, Sonu was named a Lexpert Rising Star: Leading Lawyers Under 40. Lexpert's Rising Stars pays tribute to those who are at the top of the legal profession and leaders in the legal community. Sonu is an immediate past co-Chair of Torkin Manes’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a current member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Languages: English, Punjabi

CLA21-Silver-EA-Medal_Female-Trailblazer

2018 Rising Star Badge

Awards & Recognition

  • Named a 2021 Canadian Law Awards Female Trailblazer Excellence Awardee
  • Named a 2018 Lexpert Rising Star: Leading Lawyers Under 40
  • In law school, Sonu received the first place oralist award in the Martin Domke Award competition at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria

Memberships

  • The Advocates' Society, Standing Committee
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)
  • Magna Carta Canada Committee
  • Ontario Bar Association
  • Ontario Bar Association Professional Development Committee, Past Co-Secretary
  • The Toronto Computer Lawyers' Group

Community Involvement

  • Board Member & Chair of the Governance Committee, Crohn’s & Colitis Canada
  • Chair, The Roger Fisher Negotiation Training Scholarship
  • Past Director, Legal Advisor, The North Toronto Aquatic Club
  • Past Executive, Toronto Sikh Professionals
  • Past Director of Public Relations, Sikh Centennial Foundation, Gala Committee
  • Past Volunteer, Women’s College Hospital Foundation

 

Publications & Presentations

Presentation Sep 9, 2021

Exceptional Women of the Bench and Bar

Ontario Bar Association
Presentation May 28, 2021

Cultural Competence and Client Service for Litigators

Speaker, The Advocates’ Society 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Lunch

Education

  • LL.B., Osgoode Hall, York University, 2007, including a term at the Cornell-Sorbonne Summer Institute in Paris, France, studying International Commercial Arbitration and Comparative Corporate law
  • University of Toronto, English, Philosophy and Biology 

Credentials

  • Called to the Ontario Bar, 2008