Darren Avery

About Darren Avery

Occupational health and safety sits at the centre of Darren Avery's work as a partner in the London office of Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP. When a workplace injury or death turns into a prosecution, Darren is the lawyer standing beside the employer, company or individual who's been charged. Darren also helps clients deal with regulators and enforcement agencies, which can mean reviewing an order, getting into line with the legislation, or appealing the order when it's warranted.

Darren was called to the Ontario bar in 2017 and came to Filion in November 2018 as an associate in London, after time at a full-service firm in Belleville. The firm made Darren a partner in February 2024. Along the way, Darren has argued at several levels of Ontario's courts, in arbitration hearings and before administrative tribunals, among them the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

That safety focus has been noticed beyond the firm. Canadian Occupational Safety magazine named Darren a 5-Star Safety Lawyer in 2022 and, two years later, a Young Achiever among its Top Safety Leaders Under 35. Darren also helped edit the labour title of Halsbury's Laws of Canada for its 2020 reissue, and in 2019 Business Insurance turned to Darren to explain why workers' compensation had been slow to cover medical marijuana: the evidence on how well it treats some conditions isn't clear, and it may carry health risks.

Clients come in every size, from small family-owned businesses up to multinational corporations, and Darren also acts for hospitals, municipalities and post-secondary institutions. The practice takes in all areas of labour and employment law as well, plus the litigation that comes with it and privacy and administrative law.