Anita Szigeti Advocates
1 lawyer · Established 2013 · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 369 handling Administrative & Regulatory Law.
Accepts Legal Aid
Accepts Legal AidAbout Anita Szigeti Advocates
Anita Szigeti Advocates is a small Toronto firm, three lawyers and seven people in total, that concentrates entirely on mental health law in both the criminal and civil justice systems. Founder Anita Szigeti was called to the Ontario bar in 1992 and to the Nunavut bar in 2014, and has practised in this narrow field for more than 30 years, first as a sole practitioner from 1994, then in partnership as Hiltz Szigeti from 2002 to 2013, and under the current name since 2013. The firm represents clients with serious mental health issues before the Consent and Capacity Board and the Ontario Review Board, in related appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario, and in coroner's inquests, and it has appeared more than a dozen times at the Supreme Court of Canada as counsel or amicus curiae. Almost all of the firm's clients are legally aided.
The practice has an academic side as well. Szigeti co-authors five LexisNexis textbooks on mental health and consent and capacity law, and joined the University of Toronto law school's Trial Advocacy faculty in 2016, where teaching continues today. Szigeti also founded the Law and Mental Disorder Association (LAMDA), a national umbrella group of about 200 lawyers who practise mental health law, and serves as its President, and founded Women in Canadian Criminal Defence (WiCCD).
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Founded in 2013 as Anita Szigeti Advocates, following the founder's earlier solo practice (1994 to 2001) and the partnership Hiltz Szigeti (2002 to 2013).
- The founder was called to the Ontario bar in 1992 and to the Nunavut bar in 2014.
- The founder has appeared more than a dozen times before the Supreme Court of Canada as counsel or amicus curiae, and hundreds of times before the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
- The founder joined the University of Toronto law school's Trial Advocacy faculty in 2016 and continues to teach there.
- Co-author of five LexisNexis textbooks on mental health and consent and capacity law, including editions updated through 2024 and 2025.
In the community
- The founder started and leads the Law and Mental Disorder Association (LAMDA), a national umbrella group of about 200 lawyers practising mental health law.
- Founder of Women in Canadian Criminal Defence (WiCCD).
- Serves as an emeritus board member of the National Association of Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA) and previously served on the board of the Pilot Place Society.
- A long-time member of the Criminal Lawyers' Association, having chaired its Mental Disorder Portfolio and served as its Women's Director.
- Co-director of the Mental Health Law course within the Health Law LLM program at Osgoode Professional Development.
Fees & payment
Legal aidWho handles what
The neighbourhood
The firm's office is on University Avenue in downtown Toronto, a stretch known for two very different clusters of institutions that happen to line up well with this firm's work. Toward the south end, near Queen Street, sits Osgoode Hall, home to the Court of Appeal for Ontario where the firm regularly argues mental disorder appeals, while the avenue is also nicknamed Hospital Row to the north for the concentration of major hospitals along it, including Toronto General, Mount Sinai, and the Hospital for Sick Children, the kind of institutions where Consent and Capacity Board hearings are often held. For a practice built entirely around mental health law in the courts and before tribunals, an office on this particular street puts the firm close to both worlds it works in every day.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of law does Anita Szigeti Advocates practise?
- The firm concentrates entirely on mental health law, both criminal and civil, representing people with serious mental health issues before the Consent and Capacity Board and the Ontario Review Board, in related appeals, and in coroner's inquests.
- I have a Consent and Capacity Board hearing coming up. Can this firm represent me?
- Yes. Representing clients before the Consent and Capacity Board on capacity and consent to treatment matters is a core part of the firm's practice.
- I'm dealing with a Not Criminally Responsible finding and an Ontario Review Board hearing. Does the firm handle that?
- Yes. The firm represents clients in Ontario Review Board matters and in related appeals arising from findings of not criminally responsible.
- Does the firm only work on legally aided cases?
- Almost all of the firm's clients are legally aided, reflecting its focus on people navigating the mental health and criminal justice systems who often cannot otherwise afford representation.
- How long has Anita Szigeti Advocates been practising mental health law?
- The founder has practised exclusively in this area since the mid-1990s and has run the firm under its current name since 2013, with the practice going back to an earlier sole practice and the Hiltz Szigeti partnership before that.
- Does the firm handle appeals, including at the Supreme Court of Canada?
- Yes. The firm has argued mental disorder appeals hundreds of times at the Court of Appeal for Ontario and more than a dozen times at the Supreme Court of Canada, as counsel or as amicus curiae.
Where to find them
Suite 2001, 400 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1S5 · 416-504-6544
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