Durant Barristers

About Durant Barristers

Durant Barristers is a small litigation firm founded by Erin H. Durant in 2021, after Durant left a partner role at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Ottawa to build a practice with a smaller, more selective client list. The firm is based in the Ottawa area, keeps a mailing address in Russell, and meets clients at an office on Catherine Street in Ottawa, but its lawyers and staff mostly work virtually and handle matters across Ontario. It bills mostly by the hour, though it's also introduced flat fees for mediation, HR training, and trial days, part of what it calls trying to move away from the traditional billable hour model.

The firm's work sits in three areas: civil litigation and appeals for small businesses, insurance companies, public institutions, and other lawyers who need short term help with a trial or appeal; workplace and sport investigations into harassment, fraud, and code of conduct complaints; and mediation and arbitration, including doping and team selection disputes for national and provincial sports organizations. Associate Andrew Paterson, called to the bar in 2017, spent ten years as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces before practicing commercial litigation and international trade law, and now handles files across Ontario alongside Durant. Law clerk and office manager Wanda Michie has worked in litigation support for four decades.